As we head into a long weekend, we wish you and your family a Happy Easter if you celebrate it, and a restful break if you don’t.
Sadly, one family that won’t be resting easy this week is that of Wall Street Journal Moscow correspondent, Evan Gershkovich. The 31-year-old American (born to Soviet parents) was in Yekaterinburg reporting on the Wagner Group, the paramilitary unit that appears to be competing with the Russian military for power and Putin’s attention. Hours after he arrived in the city, he disappeared. The next morning, news came that Gershkovich had been arrested by the Federal Security Bureau, the successor to the KGB, and was to be charged with espionage – spying on behalf of the United States.
It’s a deeply chilling development. This is the first time Russia has brought a spy case against a foreign correspondent since the early days of the Cold War. And it’s done so in circumstances where media freedom has been extinguished and independent Russian news media operates entirely in exile. There are a few foreign correspondents who remain in the Russian capital. Gershkovich’s arrest would, no doubt, be making them feel very unsafe.
Of course, it’s easy in circumstances such as this to take to social media with hashtags such as #JournalismIsNotaCrime, which was born on Twitter when Peter Greste, then working for Al Jazeera International, was arrested and jailed in Egypt. But the intention to harm the US is far greater in this case. Russia believes it’s at war with the US in Ukraine, and it’s anxious about the amount of weaponry flowing into Ukraine from the US and NATO. Taking a hostage serves many purposes. We’ll be watching anxiously.
Also, in this week’s newsletter, Hamish Boland-Rudder from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which calls CMT home in Sydney, has been looking at the cultural impact the Panama Papers has had since the investigation was first published 7 years ago. If you want to refresh your memory about this extraordinary cross-border journalism that left political and business leaders scurrying for lawyers and PR consultants, you can read the piece here.
Derek updates you on the policy submissions CMT has been working on. We’ve contributed to discussions opened by the ACMA which is developing a new News Measurement Framework, and the ongoing and vital review of the Privacy Act.
Michael and Sacha have been burning the midnight oil at an international conference on Platform Governance Research where they talked about the News Media Bargaining Code, being replicated or adapted in other jurisdictions around the world. And finally, Sacha wants your VOTE!
Enjoy! Read our newsletter in full.
Monica Attard, CMT Co-Director