Stories about Media & Journalism from February, 2011
Macedonia: Global Voices Featured on a TV Show
GV author Filip Stojanovski was interviewed [MKD] for the TV show Nie (“We”) on the topic of “Kale, Internet, political parties, Facebook!? Whose fault is it?”, where he spoke about the importance of citizen media and Global Voices. The show also included a segment of Ethan Zuckerman's TED talk.
Africa: Africa Visual Media Blog
Africa Visual Media blog keeps track of African and Africa-related culture in the media (film, photography, television, and print).
Jamaica: Bloggers React to Banton Verdict
Despite bloggers' impassioned calls to “set the captive free”, the jury in the Buju Banton drug trial yesterday returned a guilty verdict on three of the four charges against him. The recent Grammy winner could be facing a sentence of as much as fifteen years behind bars. For many bloggers, the long-awaited verdict is an uncomfortable case of life imitating art - the critically acclaimed Before the Dawn, which won Banton the Grammy award for Best Reggae Album, includes “a song in which Banton proclaims he is wrongly convicted though God knows he is innocent.”
Cuba: Psychiatric Hospital Trial Over
Laritza's Laws is still haunted by the trial for the deaths at the Psychiatric Hospital, describing the proceedings as “a bad theater set painted by the official press.”
Haiti: Can News Ever Be Impartial?
“We have to remember that news – that holy, sacred source of information – is biased”: Throwing Down the Water reminds us to ask a few pertinent questions – “Whose story is being told? Through which eyes? For whose benefit?” – when sifting through the news.
Guyana: Journalist Sharief Khan Dies
Guyanese bloggers acknowledge the passing of veteran journalist, Sharief Khan.
Puerto Rico: A Student's Life Broadcast Through Youtube
Christian Ortega published the first episode of his regular web series "La Cabeza de Christian" back in the summer of 2009. Through LCC, as it is known for short, Christian generally speaks his mind about Puerto Rican politics, headline news, and his life on the island for seven to nine minutes at a time each week. Alfredo Richner interviews Christian about his online success, Puerto Rico's blogosphere, and the student strike at the University of Puerto Rico, among other topics.
Ukraine: “Undressing… With an Excuse”
Good Girl Gone Ukrainian explains her disappointment with what FEMEN, a Ukrainian “female protest group known for its provocative bare-breasted acts,” has evolved into over the years.
Ukraine: “Reasons For Not Believing Today's Authorities”
Foreign Notes provides a loose translation – here and here – of the “30 reasons why it is difficult to believe today's authorities,” which were published in the Feb. 11 issue of the Ukrainian weekly news magazine Korrespondent.
Cuba: Cigar Fest
Havana Times and Repeating Islands blog about Cuba's Cigar Festival.
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Outcry Over Molestation Charges
‘Three male teachers were questioned/detained on charges of gross indecency and acts of lewdness with their male charges”, causing a firestorm of reaction in St. Vincent. Abeni hopes to bring some reason to the debate, saying: “In the hysteria over a story that is yet to be proven we cry...
Cuba: Masses for Tamayo
Uncommon Sense reports that “State Security agents this week have been warning parishes in Havana to not celebrate Masses to commemorate the anniversary of the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo.”
Jamaica, Haiti: Insensitive Treatment?
“The Haitians are clearly hurt and humiliated” over the treatment of its youth football team, writes Active Voice, some of members of which were found to be suffering from malaria.
Jamaica: Awaiting Word on Buju
As the jury in Buju Banton's second drug trial continues to deliberate, Jamaica Salt “keep[s] looking for the result – but if the jury couldn’t decide last time, things are more hopeful for Buju this time round.”
USA: Journalists, Lawyers Forced to Handover Data At Airports
Several American journalists and lawyers who work abroad regularly, have their laptops, flash drives, notebooks and business cards copied by immigration authorities at airports, according to the ACLU. Amy Goodman shares the story of journalist Brandon Jourdan, who says it's happened to him seven times.
Taiwan:Is Central News Agency Censoring China's Jasmine Revolution?
The National News Agency-Central News Agency of Taiwan is suspected to censor related news about China's Jasmine Revolution yesterday. Jou Ying-Cheng, blogger and former reporter of CNA, accused CNA for not syndicating the second and further interview with Tan Lan-Yin(談蘭英)’ son due to political sensitivity, and such news blocking has...
China: A Chinese Perspective on the “Jasmine Revolution”
Jottings from the Granite Studio has a guest post by Yajun commenting on the so-called “Jasmine Revolution” in China.
Portugal: Fight against prejudice on transgenderism
In her blog, Eduarda Santos – a portuguese advocate for transgender rights – points several examples [pt] of transphobic prejudice by the mainstream media. In January she had posted a thorough analysis [pt] of President Cavaco Silva's enactment against the change of name and gender of transsexual people.
Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago: The Gay Agenda
Could prioritizing the gay agenda be diverting attention from more pressing issues? Iván's File Cabinet explores the possibilities, while gspottt says the Trinidad and Tobago government “has its priorities on GLBT issues wrong.”
Russia: Ulyanovsk News Portal Under Attack for Exposing Politician
73online.ru had been DDOS-ed for publishing compromising materials on Igor Bulanov, deputy speaker of Ulyanovsk legislative assembly. The portal published details on police detaining Bulanov and finding drugs in his car's glove compartment. After Bulanov was refused to remove the compromising publication, journalists started to receive threats while their website...
Russia: Blog Mapping Project Launches
Creators of crowdsourcing mapping service blog-map.ru ambitiously aim to “unite all bloggers on one map.” Despite many incorrectly mapped blogs, the service offers quite unusual experience of finding Russian bloggers even in the most distant places [RUS].