· November, 2008

Stories about Media & Journalism from November, 2008

Waxal: First African Blog Award for Journalists

  30 November 2008

The first Waxal Blogging Africa Awards have been just launched. All African bloggers who work as journalists can register. The deadline is the 7th of December 2008. The individual winners - one for an English blog, one for a French blog - and one for a blogging organization, will be rewarded with a cash prize, and all best blogs will be promoted by the organizers through various channels.

Brazil under flood: Bloggers form solidarity networks

  30 November 2008

While mainstream media was first slow to report news of the grave floods that have devastated the south of Brazil and then sensationalized the tragedy, bloggers responded by creating a network of support. This post explores the difference in the approaches between conventional media professionals and amateur and freelancer produced news blogs.

Japan: Mainichi's Wikipedia Slip-up

  30 November 2008

Ignoring the fact that Wikipedia timestamps are in GMT and not JST (Japan Standard Time), on the 18th of November the Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun published an article entitled, “Attack on the former vice-Director's home: crime announced on the Internet six hours earlier… hinting at the crime?”, in which a Wikipedia contributor (”Popons”) was erroneously identified as involved in the attempted murder of Kenji Yoshihara, wife of former vice health minister Kenji Yoshihara. Bulletin board commenters quickly spotted the mistake, and bloggers responded with criticism, but the Wikipedia editor in question was apologetic about the ordeal.

Russia: Yevgeny Kolesov and Politkovskaya Trial

  30 November 2008

Robert Coalson of RFE/RL's The Power Vertical writes about “the open-again, closed-again, open-again trial of three men allegedly involved in the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya” and the role that former juror Yevgeny Kolesov has played in it.

Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan: Calling Attention to Tragedy

  29 November 2008

Window on Eurasia writes: “Kyiv’s efforts to call attention to Stalin’s terror famine on the 75th anniversary of that tragedy and especially its moves to gain international recognition of it as a genocide against the Ukrainian people has generated much criticism by Russian officials from President Dmitry Medvedev on down...

Mumbai and Terror: The Day After

  28 November 2008

An attack of this scale has surprised the entire country. While India is no stranger to bomb blasts and attacks by terrorists, a prolonged hostage situation at prominent landmarks is a complete surprise. The last hostage situation that was covered this extensively was the hijacking of a flight in 1999....

India: Who are they, and what is the Media saying?

  28 November 2008

Smoke Signals slams the mainstream media coverage of the event, as the television screens are filled with almost panic inducing sequences, and hurried question and answer sessions. At the time that this post is being written, the gun battles are still going on in at least one of the hotels...

Haiti, Venezuela: Chavez's Change

  28 November 2008

The Haitian Blogger believes that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is the driving force behind “a global change agenda that gives voice to the poor and dispossessed.”

Trinidad & Tobago: Licensing Issue

  28 November 2008

As the license plate of the Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister's car is deemed “illegal”, Jumbie's Watch writes two scathing posts on the matter, here and here.

India: Mistakes, Media and Mumbai

  28 November 2008

The terror attacks have brought more media attention to Mumbai. The world is now aware and cautious of the situations in India. Many countries have already issued travel advisory for the visitors to India. The English Cricket team has called off its participation in the upcoming test series. And the...

Thailand: Airport takeover and Twitter

  28 November 2008

Twitter has become an interesting and good source of information about what is happening in Thailand. Twitter users in Bangkok have been exchanging travel tips, news updates, and opinions about the current situation.

Bulgaria: Inadequate Media Coverage

  28 November 2008

Veni Markovski writes about a recent case of misrepresenting Bulgaria in the International Herald Tribune and posts his letter to the editors. He also writes about the European Commission's decision to cut funding to Bulgaria (and so does The 8th Circle), and about Sofia mayor's explanation for a recent earthquake...

Terror in Mumbai: Theories, strategies and more Media

  27 November 2008

An online list of people who are injured, in hospitals or reported dead has been put up on a google spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has details of people's names and which hospitals they are in. At Mahalo, a comprehensive link list is being updated with links to various sources of information....

Cuba: Castro & Penn

  27 November 2008

American actor Sean Penn's interview with Raul Castro is being widely commented on by Cuban bloggers: Child of the Revolution, The Cuban Triangle and Havana Times.

Venezuela: Jose Ignacio Cabrujas and His Mark on Society

  26 November 2008

One of the great Venezuelan critics provided thoughts on daily life. However, since his passing, many are left wondering what he would have said about the events of today. Jose Ignacio Cabrujas, was a well-known playwright, director, and even transformed Venezuelan soap operas into social commentary that used many well-known literary works.

Watch ‘Best of the Blogs’ Awards LIVE

  26 November 2008

The winners of this year's Best of the Blogs awards (The BoBs) will be announced in Berlin tomorrow, November 27, 2008 (8pm CET). The event is open to the public. If you're not in Berlin, you can watch the whole thing online via this post. Global Voices website, Rising Voices has been nominated in the Best Blog category.