Australia's newspapers protest with blacked-out front pages
In protest against increasing restrictions on press freedom, Australia's major daily newspapers appeared with blacked-out front pages on Monday. On papers such as the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian, black bars obscured text and photos.
They were protesting against a series of stricter laws that make journalists' work more difficult and against the searches of editorial offices by the Australian police.
The motto of the campaign was "Your Right to Know". A total of 19 newspapers and journalists' associations took part. They appealed to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's right-wing conservative government to better protect press freedom. Their demands include more rights for so-called whistleblowers who provide journalists with information.
According to the alliance, the Australian parliament has passed more than 60 laws in recent years that make it more difficult to uncover scandals and abuses. The newspapers also received support from television and radio stations. The head of the ABC radio station, David Anderson, said: "Australia is in danger of becoming the most secretive democracy in the world." (SDA)
