The Columbia Journalism Review examines the shaky situation for journalists in the Central African Republic. In a context of religious violence and revenge killings, journalists have been threatened and dozens of broadcast outlets closed. Radio stations are particularly targeted because they deliver a large share of the news to a country with lower literacy levels and limited Internet access. Only one radio station endures, with international support.
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The BBC Trust has criticized the network's Panorama program for putting students at risk in North Korea when BBC journalists posed as part of a visiting delegation in order to gain access to the country. BBC did not inform the London School of Economics students that two journalists were part of their tour. The Trust said that, while there was a strong public interest in the program, BBC violated its standards and there was a "serious failing" in the process.
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The Los Angeles Times fired a reporter Friday for a perceived conflict of interest because he had an "inappropriate relationship" with one of the sources of an investigative series about sexual abuse allegations at Occidental College. Jason Felch had reported that the college had failed to report allegations. The college met the newspaper's editors and satisfied them that the allegations were legitimately unreported. The New York Times noted Felch had not told editors, though, that he had been in a relationship with one of the story's source, a professional lapse that violated the newspaper's neutrality.
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