Stories about Media & Journalism from October, 2012
Japan: Election Tweeting Forbidden
Even though Japanese is the second most active language in the world on Twitter, for the country's political candidates, tweeting during election campaigns is forbidden. A group of young activists is seeking to change this situation.
Transcript of Catalan Journalists’ Video Against Their Libel Fine
Discover the transcript of some parts of the video that the editors of the Catalan magazine Cafè amb Llet uploaded to YouTube to comment on their recent libel sentence and fine.
Spain: Journalists Fined After Revealing Corruption in Catalonia
Marta Sibina and Albano Dante, editors of the citizen media magazine Cafè amb Llet, have been fined 10,000 euro for libel. They uploaded to YouTube a video strongly criticizing the lack of transparency in public healthcare financing in Catalonia, implicating Josep Maria Via, president of Barcelona MAR Health Park Consortium and healthcare advisor to Catalan President Artur Mas.
Puerto Rico: Prejudice Between the Lines
Félix Jiménez denounces in a short note in the digital magazine 80grados the prejudice that is revealed between the lines in the sports sections of the country's main newspapers when covering Orlando Cruz, the Puerto Rican boxer that recently came out as openly gay. Jiménez says: To review articles supposedly supporting Cruz is...
Brazil: Wikileaks Reveals Officials’ Disdain Towards the Guarani Kaiowá
Brazilian investigative journalism website Pública reports [pt] on documents leaked by WikiLeaks on the plight of the request for land of the indigenous Guarani-Kaiowá. A cable from 2009 reveals disdain by local authorities from the state of Mato Grosso do Sul towards Guarani-Kaiowá's demands for the demarcation of the lands...
Greece: Public TV Journalists Fired After Criticizing Minister
On October 29, two journalists, Kostas Arvanitis and Marilena Katsimi, were fired by the Greek Public Television (ERT) after analyzing claims by British newspaper The Guardian of police torture of Greek anti-fascist protesters in Athens, and criticizing the Greek Minister of Public Order. Explore this and other recent censorship examples.
Puerto Rico: The Unwritten Rule of the Puerto Rican Press
Luisa García Pelatti talks [es] in her blog Sin comillas (Without Quotation Marks) about the alleged illegal use of government funds by the newspaper El Vocero [es] (The Spokesman) that was denounced by the newspaper El Nuevo Día [es] (The New Day). García, a former employee of El Vocero, said the following: What El Nuevo Día published...
Greek Journalist Arrested for Publishing List of Alleged Tax Evaders
Greek journalist and editor of Hot Doc magazine, Kostas Vaxevanis, tweeted his arrest and posted a video message [el] a few hours after his magazine published a leaked list of over 2,000 names of Greeks with bank accounts in Switzerland, allegedly the “Lagarde list” that Greek governments had misplaced for years.
Discussing New Forms of Journalism
What distinguishes citizen media from traditional media? Is it even still possible do draw the line? Global Voices author Débora Medeiros shares her notes from a discussion on new forms of journalism, which took place during a barcamp session at the Berlin Colloquium for Internet and Society, on October 26,...
Colombia: Kien&Ke's Director Resigns After Journalist's Dismissal
Maria Elvira Bonilla, director of online portal Kien & Ke, resigned after acknowledging her error in firing journalist Daniel Pardo for his column about the influence exercised by the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales in media like W Radio [es]-a case that sparked outrage among Colombians.
Colombia: Journalist Fired Over Article About Oil Company
Colombian journalist Daniel Pardo was fired from the website Kien&Ke after publishing a column about the influence exerted by the Canadian oil company Pacific Rubiales in media like W Radio. Many netizens agree that the dismissal is an attack on freedom of the press.
Russia: the Scuffles of the Moscow Literati
Most online conflicts in the RuNet remain virtual. Sometimes, however, members of the Moscow creative class feel that fisticuffs are their only recourse, as a recent Twitter spat between blogger Maksim Kononenko and Pussy Riot lawyer Mark Feygin demonstrated.
Mauritania: Authorities Hand Over Gaddafi's chief intelligence to Libya
Mauritanian authorities handed over the Gaddafi regime intelligence chief Abdallah Senoussi to Libyan authorities. Ahmed Jedou collects blogger reactions to the development
Thailand: Problems in Implementing Information Act
Saksith Saiyasombut and Siam Voices translate an article written by ThaiPublica about Thailand's experience in implementing the Official Information Act of 1997: Thai citizens were given more rights to request the disclosure of official government information…But even with such progress, it hasn’t resulted in simpler access to official information yet,...
United States: Latin America Invisible in Third Presidential Debate
Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, was the venue of the third and final debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney amidst a tight presidential race. Despite its geographical proximity to the U.S., Latin America was the big absentee of the night.
Philippines: Anti-Mining Activist Arrested over Facebook Post
The arrest of a 62-year old anti-mining activist in the Philippines for a 'libelous' Facebook post spawned fears of a clampdown on dissenters through the recently enacted anti-cybercrime legislation.
African and Caribbean Magazine Thrives in Japan
‘Rendez-Vous en Asie – The Magazine‘ was the first publication of its kind for Africans in Japan, and will celebrate its first anniversary on October 26 in Harajuku, Tokyo.
Chile: What is Poderopedia and How Does it Work?
Poderopedia is an editorial and crowdsourced data journalism platform that maps who's who in business and politics in Chile.
Guyana: Upcoming Chris Brown Concert Upsets Anti-Violence Advocates
When news broke that Barbadian-born singer Rihanna's then-boyfriend Chris Brown had allegedly assaulted her, Caribbean bloggers were outraged. Talk of an upcoming Chris Brown concert in Georgetown has bloggers speaking out about the dangerous message it sends about gender violence.
Madagascar: Preserving National Heritage with Video Archiving
A Civil Society Initiative has been set up to preserve the 'collective memory' of Madagascar by digitally archiving videos detailing its, often controversial, history. The Fl@H Association was set up to preserve Madagascar’s audiovideo heritage and aims to be a force for the preservation of the country’s history. Members can already point to several achievements.
