An international media freedom symposium held in London this week formally called on governments to bear the primary responsibility to ensure effective protections for free speech and the safety of journalists. But the inaction of the Canadian and Australian leaders in the case of the ‘Al Jazeera Three’ points to the reluctance of politicians to advocate for journalists. WAN-IFRA's Research Fellow, Australian journalist-academic Julie Posetti, reports.

Inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt, the people of Bahrain took to the streets on 14 February, 2011 demanding change. More than a year after protests began on Pearl Roundabout, the epicentre of the Bahraini revolution, many argue that little has changed for the better. For the press, this sentiment is echoed most acutely.