Stories about Media & Journalism from December, 2008
Trinidad & Tobago: Carnival Culture
“Minister of Culture Marlene Mc Donald has no doubts that Carnival 2009 will be a success even in the face of the global economic crisis”: Trinidad Carnival Diary is not so sure.
Bermuda, Grenada: Freedom of Information
Bermudian blogger Vexed Bermoothes reports that Grenada is in the process of introducing a Freedom of Information Act and public sector integrity legislation, with additional plans to “establish a common code of practice and ethics for media.”
Jamaica: Communing
“We won’t be condemning the Palestinians or the Israelis…we won’t be contributing to the chaos on frontlines…[we] have decided that our approach will be to help bridge communities”: Jamaica's Abeng News Magazine has a very clear goal for 2009.
Syria: More on the Israeli Massacre in Palestine
Diana Ghazzawi, a Gazan blogger who is now based in North America, shares with us her worries that she might not meet her relatives in Gaza one day, if they don't get lucky from the strategic Israeli shelling on the Gazans: This is not about politics. It's not about specifics...
Syria: Myths about Israeli Attacks in Palestine
Our coverage of Syrian bloggers reacting on the ongoing Israeli war in Palestine continues. Israel is still proceeding the attacks in Palestine for the forth day causing 385 civilian deaths and leaving 1700 injured. Yaman Salahi, a Syrian blogger based in the US, has posted a note on his Facebook...
Barbados: Football Match Mayhem
As four people are shot at a football match, Barbados Free Press says that this is “what happens when you combine no rule of law with no effective police force and a top-down culture of corruption in government…”
Southeast Asia: Controversies and tragedies of 2008
In the previous post (Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008), I wrote about the major events that took place in Southeast Asia. In this article, I will highlight other stories which became controversial as well.
Korea: Raising New Candles against ‘7 Evil Laws.’
While welcoming 2009, Korea has another series of candlelight vigils against the government. The major political party, the Grand National Party, and the government presented new and revised bills. Among citizens, it is called the ‘7 Evil Laws [KR].‘ They are about national security laws, communications track regulations (to make...
Syria: Bloggers Infuriated by Israeli Massacre in Palestine
"Many Syrian bloggers feel depressed and paralyzed over what's happening in Gaza now" writes Razan Ghazzawi as she brings us more reactions from the Arabic-language Syrian blogosphere in our continuing coverage about the current Israeli airstrike campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Cuba, U.S.A.: Lifting Limits?
Uncommon Sense links to an article which suggests that US President-Elect Barack Obama seems prepared to lift limits “on how often Cuban Americans can visit family members on the island and on how much money they can send them”, a move which the blogger says would end “one of the...
Jamaica: Blogging in Times of War
The Israeli strikes on Gaza cause Jamaican Annie Paul to remember Nobel Prize-winning German author Günter Grass’ “heartfelt rumination on war and the role of writers in times of war”, saying: “While Grass did not explicitly mention bloggers (perhaps in 2006 they were not as omnipresent as they are today)...
The Global Twittersphere Discusses Gaza
Twitter is the new blogging, or so the story goes. Never has that been more apparent than in times of crisis: During the Mumbai attacks, Twitter users provided up-to-the-minute coverage, and today, as Israeli airstrikes continue to hit Gaza, the Twittersphere is deep in discussion.
Syria: Outrage at the “Massacre in Gaza”
The Arab world is somber today. The feeling of shock and disgust at the events of yesterday can be felt at every blog. As the Israeli Defense Forces bombed and wrecked havoc in besieged Gaza the Syrian blogosphere had a sense of disbelief at what is happening and the international reaction to it, as Yazan Badran explains.
2008: A turbulent year for South Asia
Looking back on the events that rocked South Asia in the year 2008 we see that terrorism took the center stage in many places in this region. This was also a year of crucial and decisive elections in many South Asian countries. The Global Voices coverages of the blogospheres of...
Northeast Asia: 2008 Review
The northeast Asia region is becoming more integrated politically, economically and socially. State leaders from China, Japan and South Korea recently signed a Joint Statement for Tripartite Partnership to address the serious challenges in the global economy and the financial markets. Peace talk between North and South Korea continues, while...
Ukraine: “A Democratic Question”
Ukrainiana writes about president Yushchenko's answer to the question that got over 85,000 online votes: “A straight question needs a straight answer. Instead, we got a rambling lecture, replete with peripheral thinking.”
Russia: The New York Times’ LJ is One Year Old
The New York Times‘ Clifford J. Levy writes on The Lede about the first anniversary of the paper's interactive Russian-language LJ blog: “The results far exceeded my expectations. The blog has received more than 26,000 comments, and has become an important tool for the newspaper to better understand and explain...
Ethiopia: Most popular stories of 2008
EthioBlog at Nazret.com posted a list of the top 50 stories of 2008 in this popular Ethiopian news portal. At the top of the list there's a story about Forbes magazine listing Addis Ababa as the 6th world's dirtiest city.
Southeast Asia: Newsmakers of 2008
For Southeast Asia, 2008 was a year of terrible disasters, both natural and man-made. Rice consumption was reduced, milk products were contaminated with melamine, jobs were lost, bloggers were arrested, and homes were destroyed. But the situation is not hopeless.
Macedonia Timeless
On December 24, 2008, there was a presentation of a promotional video for Macedonia – “Macedonia Timeless.” The video is written and directed by Milcho Manchevski (an Academy Award nominee in 1995), and its purpose is to promote Macedonia as a tourist destination. The video will be aired on CNN, and a dozen countries in eight different languages. Elena Ignatova reviews bloggers' reactions to the video.
China: Interview with Bei Feng
Adam from DANWEI interviewed a famous blogger, Bei feng, who talks about new media space in China.
