Stories about Media & Journalism from March, 2013
Iranian Singer Ermia's Show Biz Veil
A young singer's decision to wear a veil on the Persian language hit television show Googoosh Music Academy attracted both cheers and jeers from Iranians who tuned in.
As Liberal Russia's Secret Superhero ‘KermlinRussia’ Unmasks, Some See Evil
Arseny Bobrovsky, the owner of a Russian PR firm called “Daily Communications,” would be a thoroughly typical example of Moscow’s “creative class” liberals, were it not for one thing: Bobrovsky has a secret identity. At least he did, anyway, until March 25, 2013, when he and his accomplice Katya Romanovskaya outed themselves to the world as the authors of KermlinRussia, one of the most popular accounts on Russian Twitter.
Beware: North Korea Rockets on Standby
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered rockets on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea in response to recent U.S.-South Korea joint military drills. North Korea Leadership Watch blog post a full script of North Korean state media report on this.
Trinidad & Tobago: Warner's Woes
The headlines in Trinidad and Tobago's mainstream media over the last couple of days have focused on a Reuters exclusive report that Daryan Warner, son of former FIFA Vice-President (and now the country's controversial Minister of National Security) Jack Warner, is allegedly assisting the FBI with its investigations into corruption allegations in the international football governing body. Social media users weigh in.
Film Exposes Madagascar's Child Sex Trade
The journeyman.tv published on March 25 a detailed investigation using undercover filming to expose the booming child sex trade in Madagascar: One mother in the film testifies: My daughter was at school, I had no money and no job so she decided to become a prostitute. I finally decided not...
Russians Can't Agree on Billionaire's Suicide
When Alexander Dobrovinsky, lawyer to Russia's rich and famous, announced on his Facebook that Boris Berezovsky, controversial Russian oligarch living as a refugee in London, had committed suicide, RuNet reacted with disbelief.
Trinidad & Tobago: The Golden Globe
It’s another piece of our history that may disappear from our landscape because we lack the interest in preserving things of value. Tillah Willah thinks that the Globe cinema is worth preserving for another generation of Trinbagonians, adding: “I would pay good money to go and see that and make...
Global Dialogues Seeks Stories for Short Films
Global Dialogues is promoting an international contest that challenges all young people worldwide (under 25 by April 10, 2013) to pitch an idea for a short film about HIV/AIDS and sexuality or about violence. Besides the prizes listed in the rules of the contest, Global Dialogues promises that “the best...
Venezuela: New Wave of Online Threats
Several Venezuelan cartoonists, journalists, writers and artists have been the target of a series of threats through Twitter, telephone and text messages, according to news portal Noticias 24. They began after a number of anonymous users spread the victims’ personal contact information, said the Press and Society Institute in Venezuela...
24 hours in the Life of a French Newsroom
The Journalism School of Lille [fr], in partnership with Canal France International (CFI), set up a website for online resources on journalism: 24 hours in the life of a newsroom. The objective of the site is that anyone who so wishes can learn through the experience of media professionals. The...
24 Steps to Improve Your Reporting
24 hours in the life of a news room shares great ideas and resources with journalists working in print, TV, radio or on the web. It is available in five languages. For online journalism, it covers topics from news monitoring and HTML basics to traffic analysis tools and comments moderation.
Remembering the Tenth Anniversary of the War Against Iraq
Last week marked a decade since the then George W. Bush administration declared the war against Iraq, as part as his fight against terrorism. In the United States, netizens react.
Jamaica: The Female Image in Dancehall
[It] can be seen…as a celebration of full-bodied female sexuality. Especially the substantial structure of the Black working-class woman whose body image is rarely validated… Jamaica Woman Tongue thinks International Women's Month is the perfect time to put forward a different perspective of dancehall culture.
Japan's Prime Minister On Your Smartphone
The Japanese prime minister’s office revealed apps that give smartphone users easy access to official announcements and photos from official events. Masaru Ikeda at StartupDating writes: for the younger generation who don’t subscribe to physical newspapers or watch TV news shows, it could be a good touch point for them to stay up to speed...
Condom TV Spot Pulled in Kenya After Religious Outcry
A public service announcement promoting condom use to combat the spread of HIV in Kenya was recently pulled from the airwaves after the TV spot caused an uproar among the country's religious leaders.
Protests and “Frozen Zones” in Brooklyn after murder of Kimani Gray
On Saturday, March 16, Kimani Gray, a 16-year-old African American boy, died at the hands of two New York City police officers. There have been riots in Brooklyn for four consecutive days and police have declared frozen zones in a neighborhood in this borough of New York. News of this event has spread through social networks due to lack of information in the mainstream media.
Shedding Light on Macedonia's “Black Monday”
In order to shed light on the events of Dec. 24, 2012, when journalists and opposition MPs were thrown out of the Macedonian Parliament [en, es, mk], Foundation Open Society Institute Macedonia (@fosim) published a study entitled “Black Monday” [.pdf: en, mk, sq], with testimonies of witnesses and participants and...
Cries of Censorship as Brazilian Satire Blog Ordered Shut Down
A Brazilian court has ruled that satirical blog Falha São Paulo must remain shut down because its name is too similar to the newspaper it mocks, a move that critics decry as a dangerous legal precedent for freedom of expression.
Russian Nationalists Rally Behind Subway Shooter
After all, how can one not react with outrage upon learning that Alexandra Lotkova, a pretty, twenty-one year old college student, got three years in prison for using a non-lethal gun to protect herself from knife-wielding thugs, who had already stabbed one of her friends!
Analysis: North Korea Behind Hack Attack?
A cyber attack hit South Korea's major broadcaster and bank websites. North Korea Tech blog tells more on the attack pattern and the possibility of North Korea's involvement.
