· February, 2010

Stories about Media & Journalism from February, 2010

Morocco: Maghreb Bloggers Search for Common Ground

  27 February 2010

A three-day workshop for bloggers from Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco was held from 15 to 17 February 2010 in the Moroccan capital Rabat. Participating bloggers reported and live-tweeted the event. They shared their blogging experiences, engaged in lively debates openly confronting their views on contentious issues and were encouraged to reflect on ways to find grounds for mutual understanding.

Azerbaijan: Oil Academy corruption allegations

  27 February 2010

ANTV, a citizen journalism site recently awarded for its contribution to freedom of the press in Azerbaijan, posts a YouTube video [AZ/EN] interview with Elmin Badalaov, a fourth year student at Baku's Oil Academy expelled allegedly because of his investigation into corruption at the prestigious institute.

Azerbaijan: ANTV receives freedom of the press award

  26 February 2010

ANTV [AZ/EN/RU], an online citizen journalism site co-founded by now imprisoned video blogging youth activist Emin Milli, has received an award from ZEIT-Stiftung for its work in promoting independent voices and alternative news and views in Azerbaijan [RU]. The Institute for Reporters Freedom and Safety (IRFS) also carries the news...

Trinidad & Tobago: New Opposition Leader

  26 February 2010

“Kamla Persad-Bissessar will take her seat today in the Red House in Port-of-Spain as Trinidad & Tobago’s first female Oppostion Leader”: Islandista and Trinidad and Tobago News Blog weigh in.

Cuba: On the Front Line

  26 February 2010

Cuban diaspora blogger Uncommon Sense says that “Orlando Zapata Tamayo's fight for liberty is not over, as reports…are that other Cuban freedom fighters are taking his place on the front lines of the struggle.”

Russia: Government Supports Blogger School

RuNet Echo  24 February 2010

Gov-gov.ru blogs [RUS] about a new online initiative: government-sponsored blogger schools that emerge in Tomsk (Siberia) [RUS] and Dagestan [RUS]. The Dagestan region has one of the lowest Internet penetration rates in the country. The schools involve the most popular Kremlin-affiliated bloggers.

Russia: Provider Sued For Not Blocking Web Sites

RuNet Echo  24 February 2010

The prosecutor's office of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Siberian region where most of Russia's oil comes from, filed a suit against a local Internet provider that refused to block “extremist” Web site, Regnum reported. However, there's no federal law that requires providers to block the sites.

Armenia: Working conditions

  24 February 2010

Adrineh Macaan details the trials and tribulations of working in Armenia. The blog says that conditions are inconvenient and lacking, hours are long, and salaries sometimes take months to be paid.

India: The Influence Of Local Language News Channels and Media

  23 February 2010

“The recent expansion in Indian language news channels and media, preceded by the expansion in the Indian language newspaper market has brought television to the fore, as a powerful new force in the evolving Indian society”, comments Vikram at An Academic View Of India.

Puerto Rico: Artifacts Seized

  23 February 2010

The Voice of the Taino People Online notes that “the French authorities confiscated a piece of the Taino culture valued as high as one million euros…”

China: Netizens make fun of charges for hacking Google

  23 February 2010

The so-called ‘Operation Aurora’, which attacked Google and at least 33 other western conglomerates, allegedly originated from two Chinese universities, according to a recent New York Times story. One of these ‘universities’ is, in fact, an obscure 4th- tier vocational school in Northern China. It is Shandong Lan Xiang Advanced...