· February, 2009

Stories about Media & Journalism from February, 2009

Azerbaijan: Popular website back — minus forum

  28 February 2009

After several days of closure, the popular semi-independent Azerbaijani news and discussion website, Day.az, is back. However, raising additional questions about its brief disappearance, the site's forum — known for its open and somewhat democratic discussion — is not.

USA: Activists Incensed after Fatal Shooting by Police

  28 February 2009

Several people recorded mobile phone videos of a police officer shooting and killing a young man named Oscar Grant on a train platform in Oakland, California, on January 1. Since then, citizen media have been central in the ensuing campaigns for justice.

Japan: Bloggers on the Nakagawa affair

  27 February 2009

Over a week has passed since now-infamous footage of Japan's former finance minister Shōichi Nakagawa stumbling through a 20 minute speech at the G7 meeting in Rome made world headlines and hit the top of YouTube charts. In this post I feature a handful of responses to the speech by Japanese bloggers.

Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 2)

  27 February 2009

Starting December 24th, the Alpha Blogger website called for people to nominate 1-3 blog entries written in 2008 that had affected them the most. Mid-term results were announced on January 16th, and voting was open until February 18th. The second half of this year's winners are featured in this post.

Jamaica, Guyana: Action or Reaction?

  26 February 2009

Both Active Voice [Jamaica] and Guyanese blogger C.D. Valere (writing at Baiganchoka) continue the discussion about recent attempts by the Jamaican Broadcasting Commission to “clean up” the airwaves.

Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: Injunction

  25 February 2009

Barbados Free Press finds it “interesting” that the Trinidad and Tobago Central Bank and the Colonial Life Insurance Company Limited (CLICO) have been granted an injunction against CL Financial.

Japan: Alpha Blogger Awards 2008 (Part 1)

  25 February 2009

On the 20th of February, the 2008 Alpha Blogger Awards were held in Tokyo. Sponsored by Pringles Chips, the event this year was attended by close to 80 people (including the team of GV Japan), awarding prizes to the twelve posts from the Japanese blogosphere in 2008 that received the most votes on the ABA site.

Fiji: Samoan PM criticisizes Fiji's government

  25 February 2009

Bloggers in Fiji and around the Pacific are remarking on recent comments by Samoa’s Prime Minister harshly criticizing Fiji’s military government. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said in an interview that he believes Fiji’s self appointed Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has no intention of relinquishing power. He also called on the people of Fiji to reclaim its government

China: Control 2.0 Mastermind

  25 February 2009

David Bandurski from China Media Project gave more background about the propaganda event in the “eluding the cat” case, especially on the mastermind behind the control 2.0 strategy.

Pakistan: Media Responsible

  24 February 2009

Thinking Out of the Box blames irresponsible journalism by a section of Pakistani media for the current state of affairs in Pakistan.

Cuba: One Year Later

  24 February 2009

Blog for Cuba says that one year after Cuba signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Personal Rights, “human rights abuses continue to escalate.”

Nigeria: Naijoo: Nigeria's Own Video Sharing Site

  24 February 2009

Nigeria has its own video sharing site, writes Loy at Startups Nigeria, “If you watch videos from Yahoo! TV, you’re probably going to enjoy Naija’s own video sharing community called Naijoo.Tv, an online video sharing site that allows you to upload, view and share video clips. When I first heard...

Hong Kong: Defending freedom of speech

  24 February 2009

On 22 Feb 09, more than a hundred Hong Kong people took on the street to voice out their concerns about the alarming shrinking of freedom of speech in Hong Kong. The protest was proposed by the Citizens’ Radio and supported by other democratic institutions including Save RTHK Campaign, Hong...

Global: Convoy to Gaza Makes History

  23 February 2009

History was made yesterday in the Maghreb as a convoy headed from the UK to Gaza was allowed to pass through the border between Morocco and Algeria, which has been closed for nearly 15 years. The border closed in 1994 after Morocco suspected Algerian involvement in the attack of a Marrakesh hotel.