· April, 2011

Stories about Media & Journalism from April, 2011

Zambia: President's Son Threatens Journalist

  29 April 2011

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

  28 April 2011

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

  28 April 2011

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

  28 April 2011

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

  28 April 2011

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...

Hungary: Hungarian-Roma Tensions Result in Clash in Gyöngyöspata

  27 April 2011

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.

Russia: Communist Party Leads Social Networks Activity Rating

RuNet Echo  27 April 2011

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...

Russia: Bloggers Discuss Best Practices of Crowd Funding

RuNet Echo  27 April 2011

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

  26 April 2011

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.

Russia: Regions Reduce Digital Divide

RuNet Echo  26 April 2011

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...

Brazil: An e-Book to Understand Social Media

  25 April 2011

“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.