Stories about Media & Journalism from October, 2009
Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago: Dealing With H1N1
KnowTnT.com and Jamaica's Girl With a Purpose blog about the H1N1 virus in their respective countries,
Brazil: Between democracy and doubt
The country awaits its first National Conference of Communication that will signal a very first step in democratising Brazil’s communications system.
Russia: Soviet Legacy and Street Names
A few weeks ago, it seemed as if every single Russian blogger took the time to write something about the re-naming of Anti-Soviet Shish Kebab Restaurant in Moscow, a dissident journalist's protest article and a pro-Kremlin youth movement's counter-protest activities. One blogger alluded to the scandal in a post about street names that kept on preserving the questionable Soviet legacy.
Trinidad & Tobago: No Hope?
As a legendary Trinidadian artist's sculpture is given a coat of paint to “spruce it up”, Nicholas Laughlin says: “This…is a telling symptom. It tells me how unaware we are, as citizens, of the civic spaces we live and work in, and how irresponsibly we behave towards them. It tells...
China: Fanfou is coming back?
Fanfou is a micro-blogging tool similar to twitter which has been closed down for more than 100 days in China. However, many still have hope that it will be back. Chinageeks translated a blog post by He Caitou discussing fanfou users’ loyalty towards the platform.
Algeria: Poor News Coverage
The Maghreb region is not being given prominent coverage in the Press, complains Algerian blogger The Moor Next Door.
China: Best and worse countries for journalists
Joyceyland comments on the Reporter without borders‘ release on press freedom index. The blogger is surprised by the ranking of mainland China #168.
Russia: Stalin's Grandson vs Novaya Gazeta
Foreign Policy's Passport reports on a lawsuit brought against Novaya Gazeta by Josef Stalin's grandson, Yevgeny Dzhugashvili.
Trinidad & Tobago: Truth or Dare
“We are a society that publicly cries corruption but privately upload mega-project photos on Flickr with misguided pride”: This Beach Called Life uncovers “the hidden truth” about Trinidad and Tobago.
Russia: Polina Zherebtsova's 1999 Chechen Diary
Jost A Mon translates the intro and excerpts from Polina Zherebtsova’s 1999 Chechen Diary that were published in Bolshoi Gorod (RUS) in Sept. 2009.
Guinea: In the aftermath of a massacre
Amid widespread international condemnation of Guinea's military regime, the United Nations announced Friday it would launch a formal investigation into the September 28th massacre of opposition protestors in Conakry. Meanwhile, Guinean netizens continue trying to process and assess the meaning of the tragedy.
China: The Power of Symbolic Appropriation in Chinese Cyberspace
The China beat has posted an adapted article of Guobin Yang's recent talk at a conference on New Media and Global Transformations early this month. The talk was about Chinese netizens’ appropriation of an online anonymous post “Jia Junpeng, your mother wants you to go home to eat”.
Saudi Arabia: Where Plagiarism is a Crime
Saudi bloggers are rallying to the support of a fellow blogger who claims that a newspaper had lifted photographs and copy from his blog without permission.
Cuba: Press Freedom Ranking
“Press conditions were considered worse only in Burma, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea”: Uncommon Sense refers to the latest Reporters Without Borders index of press freedom around the world, noting that once again, Cuba is low on the list.
Bangladesh: Difficult Time For Journalists
Mahadi Hasan Talukder reports that the Bangladeshi journalists are passing through a difficult time because local corporates, non-profits and multinational companies have gripped the Bangladeshi media sector and are exploiting their influence on them.
ICT4D: When mobile phones link with computers
In the second of three posts, we ask: How are new technologies changing the field of ICT4D? Will linking computers to portable phones benefit human development in the developing world?
China: From heroic to ignorant masses, and then…
The Chinese communist ideology has been eroding rapidly in the past two decades due to economic development. Traces of its revolutionary belief can still be found in political propaganda pieces published in the state owned media. Words like “the masses” marks the past ideological imprint. However, in recent years, the...
Trinidad & Tobago: Who's to Blame?
As the Trinidad and Tobago government is criticized over the sub-standard living conditions of Chinese labourers brought in to work on state construction projects, Survivein’ Trinidad says: “If a private company offers me a fully loaded contract (housing, travel allowance, etc.) to work in Germany and I get there only...
Jamaica: Change Takes Time
Annie Paul blogs about everything from Jamaican coffee to reggae star Buju Banton's meeting with gay activists: “Yeah right, the Jamaican public is going to listen and learn from a castrated Buju when he tells them he has recanted and they should all follow suit by becoming ‘pro-gay’ whatever that...
Bangladesh: No Business Channel
Ten new private TV channels have been approved by the media regulators of Bangladesh but none of the 21 channels in operation in the country are business channels. Bangladesh Corporate Blog wonders why the Bangladesh business sector “would be deemed so negligible so as not to deserve any attention in...
China: Fisherman buys newspaper Ad to thank government
ESWN translated an interesting local news story about Chongqi fish farmers having spent 100,000 yuan in thanking the local government's anti corruption campaign. The story is both a praise and a parody of the government as fighting against corruption has become a credit rather than a duty.