Stories about Media & Journalism from April, 2011
South Sudan: Prose/Poetry Magazine for South Sudan
TORE is a poetry/prose magazine for South Sudan: “There are some great stories & poems in here as well as a few opinion peices on Sudan. There is also some excellent layout and design if I don’t say so myself.”
Bahamas: Grasping at Straws?
Jerome Pinder at Weblog Bahamas explains why the new Straw Market “will be a test for The Bahamas Government.”
Zambia: President's Son Threatens Journalist
A senior Zambia journalist recently received threats from the son of the Zambian president Rupiah Banda, James, following a story that appeared on the Zambian Watchdog, a leading investigative journalism website, alleging that James was a thief and was involved in major government deals and also State House officials are drunks and start drinking as early as 15.00 hours during working days.
Guyana: Unsolved Murder
Last week marked five years since Government Minister Satyadeow Sawh was was murdered in Guyana; The Caribbean Camera interviews his family, who are still searching for answers.
Cuba: Bosch Dies
Cuban bloggers note the passing of Orlando Bosch, with Machetera saying: “There are good terrorists and bad ones, and clearly the mainstream media have settled on the fiction that Bosch is the former, so he gets to be a ‘militant’.”
Peru: Second Electoral Round Kicks Off
A few weeks before the second round of elections in Peru, the choice between candidates Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori, the growing polarisation in Peruvian society, and ultimately from the electorate, is as notable in the press as it is on social networks.
Iraq: Is Saddam Still Alive?
Saddam Hussein is making the rounds on social media, with a new recording claiming that the Iraqi dictator is alive and well and that his double Mikhail was the one executed on December 30, 2006. Many netizens are quick to describe the video as phoney and assure readers that Saddam is dead and gone. Had he been alive, the former Iraqi dictator would have turned 74 today.
Azerbaijan: Royal Wedding Frenzy
Scary Azeri offers her own acerbic take on tomorrow's Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Despite a reported close friendship with the groom's Uncle, Prince Andrew, the blog says that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev doesn't appear to be among those invited and also comments on media coverage of...
Latvia: National news agency website hacked
Juris Kaža of Telecoms in Latvia draws attention to a recent hacker attach on the Latvian news agency LETA, closing down the website for several hours.
Thailand: Opposition radio stations raided
The Committee to Protect Journalists criticized Thailand authorities for raiding 13 radio stations which are aligned with the Opposition
Hungary: Hungarian-Roma Tensions Result in Clash in Gyöngyöspata
Last night, four people were injured in a clash between ethnic Hungarian members of the far-right group Véderő and members of the Roma community in the village of Gyöngyöspata. Contradictory accounts have been published in the Hungarian media about how exactly the fight started - and neither of the communities has taken responsibility for the clash.
Ethiopia: Read Latest Posts By Ethiopian Bloggers
Are you interested to know what is going on in Ethiopia at the moment? Read the latest posts by resident Ethiopian bloggers here.
Russia: Communist Party Leads Social Networks Activity Rating
Nikolay Podosokorskiy analyzes [ru] activity of Russian political parties in the social networks. According to his brief research, ruling party “United Russia” is one of the closest and inactive parties online, while the most active is the Communist Party of Russia with more than 73,000 members at Vkontakte groups and...
Kuwait: Sit-in to Rename “Journalism Street” After Al-Saleh Planned
Kuwaiti journalists are planning to stage a sit-in tonight (April 27) to demand renaming "Journalism Street" after the late Mohammed Mousaed Al-Saleh, who was one of the very well known Kuwaiti sarcastic columnists, who wrote for Al-Qabas newspaper for years, criticizing different political and social aspects found in everyday life.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Best Practices of Crowd Funding
Anton Nossik publishes [ru] 5 rules of successful crowd funding: 1.it should have an aim, 2. it should be transparent, 3. it should be tested before launch, 4. it should also facilitate non-financial help, 5. initiators should disclose their own efforts of improving the project they collect money for. Oleg Kozlovsky...
Trinidad & Tobago: Carib Queen Dies
Review of the Indigenous Caribbean and The Voice of the Taino People Online acknowledge the passing of Valentina Medina, the Carib Queen of the Santa Rosa Carib Community.
Trinidad & Tobago: Destroying Food
B.C. Pires blogs about “the Housing Development Corporation’s bulldozing of several acres of crops ready for harvest in Trinidad.”
Cuba, U.S.A.: Tamayo to Leave with Son's Remains
Bloggers are monitoring the impending departure from Cuba of Reina Luisa Tamayo, who is reported to be going into exile, but not without the remains of her son, “murdered Cuban prisoner of conscience Orlando Zapata Tamayo.”
Russia: Regions Reduce Digital Divide
More than 90 percent of new users are not from Moscow or Saint-Petersburg, Yandex regional Internet development report says [ru]. Authors note a significant increase in Internet use nation-wide, 30-60 percent decrease in broadband prices, 10 percent raise of everyday user share. The report, quite optimistically forecasts that country's Internet...
Syria: Defamation Campaign Against Human Rights Activist
From Syria, human rights activist Wissam Tarif tweets: “Sorry guys but I had problems with my twitter account, email, and website. And a defamation (hate) campaign in #Syria”
Brazil: An e-Book to Understand Social Media
“Aiming to stimulate discussion and sharing of best practices related to the universe of social networks”, Brazilian journalist Ana Brambilla has launched the e-book “Para Entender as Mídias Sociais” (To Understand Social Media) [pt] free for download on the blog with the same name.
