Event Details:

Eric Freedman, Professor of Journalism - Michigan State University

Abstract

Freedom of religion is considered a fundamental human right, enshrined in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the constitutions of post-Soviet Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. However, in the more than three decades since the USSR collapsed, these countries have failed to adopt any democratic governance and protection of human rights, including religious freedom and press freedom. That failure receives virtually no coverage in domestic media in the Caucasus, largely because of direct and quasi-official government control over media outlets or because of fear of government reprisals. Any coverage of religious repression in the region comes from international news agencies. This study examines how one specialized international news outlet, Forum 18, covers constraints on religious freedom and practice in the region. That lack of coverage also reflects broader barriers to reportage in the region and the inability of its new media to provide information, direct and indirect, about levels of religious repression.