Media freedom will survive insult and emotion, calumny and invective

Press freedom was explained by English poet John Milton in his text Areopagitica (1644), in reacting to a repressive ordinance established by Parliament in 1643. The ordinance required authors to get prior approval from an official licenser before the publication of printed materials. Thus, Milton stated regarding the impugned ordinance, “Truth and understanding are not such […]

Ousmane Sembène at 100: A tribute to Senegal’s ‘father of African cinema’

Since his death in 2007, Sembène’s status as a pioneer has been further cemented. But the sheer variety and richness of his work, his ability to reinvent himself as an artist, has often been overlooked. On the occasion of his centenary, it’s worth looking at what made him such a remarkable creative presence. The novelist: […]