· October, 2009

Stories about Media & Journalism from October, 2009

Russia: Soviet Legacy and Street Names

  23 October 2009

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?

  22 October 2009

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?

  22 October 2009

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.

Trinidad & Tobago: Truth or Dare

  21 October 2009

“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.

Guinea: In the aftermath of a massacre

  21 October 2009

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

  21 October 2009

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”.

Cuba: Press Freedom Ranking

  20 October 2009

“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

  20 October 2009

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.

China: From heroic to ignorant masses, and then…

  20 October 2009

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?

  19 October 2009

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

  19 October 2009

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

  19 October 2009

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

  19 October 2009

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.