Stories about Media & Journalism from December, 2008
China: Interview with Journalism Professor
ESWN translated an interview with associate professor Hu Yong of Peking University, School of Journalism and Communication at Tianya forum.
Philippines: Watching Pinoy Big Brother
Overwrite views the popular reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother from a Baudrillardian lense: ‘When one watches the show, where is the center-point? Who is watching who? And which side stands on reality? Does it mean that the actors are showcasing reality because they are in the “reality show”? Or...
Thailand: Blocked websites
The Freedom Against Censorship Thailand has just received a secret list of blocked websites leaked from Thailand’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. The report mentioned 1,303 websites which were censored by the government.
Vietnam: Blogging to be regulated
Vietnam has introduced some new restrictions on blogging. Blog posts which undermine national security, incite violence or crime, and disclose state secrets are banned. Internet companies are also ordered to issue reports to the government every six months.
Japan: The year in Japanese blogs
What were bloggers writing about this year in the Japanese blogosphere? The year in Japanese blogs at Global Voices included posts on everything from an American Enka singer making waves in Japan, to debates on the regulation of “harmful” Internet content, to the Olympic torch relay in Nagano.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Sock & Awe
Trinidadian blogger Attillah Springer is playing Sock and Awe, “the simply brilliant online game” in which more than 46 million people have pelted shoes at President Bush – but more importantly, she is “plotting ways to pelt intellectual shoes, coming up with ideas on how to bobolise those who would...
Barbados: Journalists Appear in Court
Barbados Free Press is keeping an eye on the case of the two arrested journalists, calling the open court hearing “a stunning victory by the dozens of local news media people who showed up to support”, while at the same time denouncing local mainstream media for not making an issue...
Jamaica: Bailout Plan?
“It is indeed a sorry state of affairs. Usually in times of downturn, alcohol sales increase as people look to drown their sorrows!”: As employees of a rum manufacturer are laid off, Jamaica Salt wonders whether “the government of Jamaica should be considering a bailout plan.”
Russia: South Ossetia; Relations With the U.S.; Sheremetyevo Ceiling
Some of the recent posts at Scraps of Moscow: a translation of a part of “a lengthy interview with former Russian army general and former South Ossetian de facto Minister of Defense which puts the region's president, former wrestling champion and phys. ed. teacher Eduard Kokoity, in a rather unflattering...
Russia: Patriarch; Yoshkar-Ola; Stalin's Legacy; Protests
A selection of recent posts from Window on Eurasia: a “Ukrainian” metropolitan who may or may not become Russia's next patriarch; Hungarians react to the Russian authorities’ suggestion to rename Yoshkar-Ola, the capital of Mari El, to Tsaryovokokshaysk, the city's pre-1917 name; some Russian history teachers’ efforts to educate students...
Ghana: Upcoming conference on communication education
Communication, Culture, Democracy & Development in Nigeria announces that the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) is organizing a conference to take place at the University of Ghana from the 4th to the 8th of August 2009 under the theme “Communication education and practice in Africa: a social contract for...
Caribbean: 2008 in Review
From natural disasters to lightning bolts of the athletic kind, 2008 was a busy one for the Caribbean blogosphere. Here are some of the highlights...
Barbados: Missing Money
The Bajan Dream Project reports that “a further BDS $100,000 is missing” from the Central Bank of Barbados’ vaults.
MSF's Top 10 Humanitarian Crises in 2008
MSF (Doctors without borders) has released its annual list of Top 10 Humanitarian Crises of 2008 and the DR Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Somalia and Ethiopia's Somali region made the cut. Several bloggers have commented on the list, including The Road to the Horizon who noted that there was “no under-reporting...
Press Under Attack in Nepal
Even after the restoration of democracy in Nepal, the country’s press has so far been unable to function without threat and intimidation. Violent attacks against journalists, publishers are becoming a common occurrence. On December 21st, activists belonging to the ruling Maoist party attacked the office of Himal Media, the publisher...
Bangladesh Election 2008 And Cyber Activism
Bangladesh goes into poll on December 29, 2008 for a much awaited parliamentary election. The scenario is lot different than the recent US presidential election where citizen media and Internet campaigning and fund raising were extensively used. With a penetration of 1% of the total population of 145 million, Internet...
Puerto Rico: License to Kill Trees
The recent administrative order by Puerto Rico's Secretary of Agriculture has created a shock wave of reactions in the blogosphere. In the island of Puerto Rico if a person had to cut down a tree he/she had to request permission form the island's Department of Natural Resources - that was until recently, when the Secretary of the Agency issued an administrative order that automatically grants a "fast track" permission to anyone who wishes to cut a tree.
Barbados: Journalists Arrested
The Barbadian blogosphere is an uproar following the arrest of two mainstream media journalists - a move that bloggers are interpreting as an assault on press freedom.
Jamaica: Christmas Present
All blogger Long Bench wants for Christmas is “a public apology from Bruce Golding for how he and his government have been a spectacular failure and embarrassment to Jamaicans in 2008.”
Barbados, St. Kitts & Nevis: Murderer Executed
Barbadian bloggers Gallimaufry and Barbados Underground take note of the recent execution of a convicted murderer in St. Kitts.
Jamaica: Half & Half
Jamaicans have an innovative method of dealing with the impact of the global economic crisis – Iriegal says that merchants “are now cutting everything in half and selling it at reduced prices.”
