Stories about Media & Journalism from September, 2009
Jamaica: Children & Violence
As the government signs a UN agreement aimed at protecting children from being recruited by armed forces, Letter From Jamaica wonders: “But what about children at home? Children don't just hide guns for gunmen, increasingly they are the gunmen.”
Ukraine: “The Ghosts of Chernobyl”/Destination Truth
Chernobyl and Eastern Europe writes about a Destination Truth episode about the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone – “The Ghosts of Chernobyl” – which is scheduled to air on Wednesday, Sept. 30, on cable's SyFy channel.
Ukraine: Political Rivalry and Journalism
Foreign Notes writes about a popular Ukrainian political talk show that was to feature “a battery of eminent journalists” posing questions to PM Yulia Tymoshenko this past Friday, but which evolved into yet another political battle when a group of Tymoshenko's rivals showed up in the studio, seemingly uninvited.
Trinidad & Tobago: Thinking & Drinking
Trinidadian blogger Andre Bagoo republishes an article he wrote in which he “began to think in earnest about the reasons why I drink.”
Cuba: Eye on Honduras
Writing at Havana Times, Circles Robinson posts an update on developments in Honduras, adding: “Here in Cuba, the parliament has taken a position of strong protest of the coup and the military repression, and the island’s media is closely watching developments.”
Jamaica: Gully Gaza
Active Voice offers an insight into the Jamaican “Gully Gaza phenomenon”.
Middle East: Arabisk, Blog Competition and Debate
Newly launched Arabisk is an annual competition to select the best Arabic blogs. First welcomed by bloggers, Egyptian bloggers are now complaining that they have been sidelined from the contest. Here is round up of their reactions.
Syria: First Bloggers’ Contest Winners Announced
The winners of the first Syrian blog contest have been announced. Many bloggers commended the initiative and hoped it becomes an annual event. However, a few of them expressed some criticism and frustrations, and offered suggestions to further develop the contest.
Japan: Lessons in Communication from the Hatoyama Essay
When an online Op-Ed piece by current Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama appeared in the New York Times just days before the Lower House elections last month, national reaction ranged from surprise to consternation to pure mortification. “A New Path for Japan” was an abridged and translated version of “My Political...
Hungary: Political Talk Show Taken Off Air
GV Author Marietta Le of Remainder of Budapest and Eva S. Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum write about Nap-kelte, a morning political TV talk show that was taken off air last week, some 20 years after its launch in 1989.
Japan: Measuring Celebrity Buzz on 2ch
Blogger APEESCAPE translated a 2ch post that measured the buzz of celebrity stories by counting the number of threads on 2ch from 2004 to 2009.
Japan: Animated Explanations of Policies?
Inspired by this American video explaining ‘Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance‘, Media Sabor suggests using some of the budget from the canceled National Center for Media Arts to have animators create understandable animations to explain new policies to the public [ja].
Israel: Palestinian TV Comedy Wins Applause from Bloggers
“Country on a String,” a new Palestinian comedy that aired during Ramadan, is being hailed by Israeli bloggers for its creative irreverence. Tamar Orvell of Only Connect writes: “I salute my brave Palestinian cousins who pick up pens, not guns, and who look within and without in a bid for...
Sri Lanka: Suppression Of Media Freedom
Concerned Citizen comments on the media freedom in Sri Lanka at Groundviews: “despite vehement denials, it is obvious that the government is guilty of suppression of media freedom and dissent through intimidation, threats, violence and extrajudicial acts which have seriously affected their credibility both nationally and internationally.”
China: Re-programming CCTV
In the coming year, CCTV will cut one third of its program in order to be more competitive. One of the program to be cut is “Tell it like it is”, a talk show that encourages audience to participate. Joel Martinsen from DANWEI translated a blogger, Hecaitou's post, explaining why...
Morocco: Teaching Tamazight
Jamal Elabiad, author of the blog A Moroccan Voice in English, discusses the limits of teaching the Tamazight language in Morocco.
Harvard Forum – What do we need to know?
Today's conversation starts with discussions of “knowledge gaps”, open questions we need to answer through research so we can understand what's succeeding and failing in our field.
Bangladesh: Can A Journalist Throw Shoes To A Leader?
“I cannot undermine the sentiment of Al- Zaidi and ordinary Iraqi people who are the sufferer of invasion and war. But he has misused his access and accreditation rights by throwing shoes. I would be happy if Al-Zaidi were a member of any other community except journalist,” comments Bangladeshi blogger...
Singapore: Beauty Queen's qualifications questioned
The crowning of Ris Low as the new Miss Singapore World generated mixed reactions in the Singapore mainstream media and blogosphere.
Harvard Forum: ICT4D and, and, and
Ethan brings the live-blog from day one to a close after questions and lively discussion with conclusion from Mike Best who suggests there's no way to summarize these discussions… with anything but an observation that the field is filled with “ands”.
Russia: Valery Shchekoldin Asylum Photos
Russian photographer Oleg Klimov reposts (RUS, ENG) three graphic and disturbing photos of mental asylum patients in Ulyanovsk region, taken by his colleague Valery Shchekoldin in 1998 for Stern.
