Stories about Media & Journalism from October, 2011
Jamaica: Conflict of Interest with Housing & Environment
Jamaica Woman Tongue questions whether the National Environment and Planning Agency of Jamaica (NEPA) “[has] the teeth to do [its] job properly”.
Nicaragua: Journalist Launches ‘The Nicaragua Dispatch’
Tim Rogers writes a guest post for the Knight Center's Journalism in the Americas Blog on his recently launched site The Nicaragua Dispatch: “The idea is not only to inform readers about what’s happening here behind the headlines, but also provide people with a virtual meeting place to gather, share...
Brazil: Journalists Collaborate with US State Department
Luis Cezar, from the blog Brasil Que Vai, publishes a paper by Helena de Souza which reports on documents released by Wikileaks that link journalists from the main Brazilian TV network and one of the largest in the world, Rede Globo, with the US State Department.
Russia: Ministry of Justice Plans to Monitor Online Content
Russian Ministry of Justice had published a public procurement proposal [ru] to purchase a content monitoring system worth of ~115,000 US dollars. The system is aimed to monitor the information published about the ministry and its representatives as well as about the president and prime-minister. The scale of the system...
Russia: Government Official Tries to Force Websites to Remove Discrediting Video
On October 23, 2011 Kseniya Sobchak, celebrity journalist, had shot a video of Vasiliy Yakemenko, the head of the Federal Agency for Youth, in the most expensive restaurant of Moscow. Criticism followed the video [ru] upload: according to his tax declaration [ru], Yakemenko could hardly afford attending such place. Later Anna Biryukova,...
Macedonia: Advocating Media Freedom Through Music
On the occasion of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days, the rock band Reporters, composed of prominent journalists, including veterans of critical investigative reporting who are now out of work due to closing of A1 TV, will hold a concert in Skopje (FB event) and present their new song “Freedom”...
Haiti: Enough of Occupation
The Haitian Blogger has had enough of the United Nations occupation of Haiti, saying: “All Haitian's [sic] will start respecting the U.S. and it's [sic] proxy the UN MINUSTAH military force when they begin to put a value on Haitian life.”
Russia: Government to Launch Content Monitoring in December 2011
Roskomnadzor, Russian telecommunications control body, will launch content monitoring system in December 2011, Kommersant.ru reports [ru]. The system ordered in March, 2011 (see GV analysis here) is now in pre-release condition. Its documented abilities allow the monitoring of up to 5 mln keywords published at the websites registered as online mass media...
Russia: President's Visit to Journalism Department Under Attack of Social Media
The New York Times explores the role of social media in exposing staged nature of Dmitry Medvedev's visit to the Moscow State Univerisity. The Twitter hashtag #журфак (shortened for Journalism department) as well as many posts on LiveJournal and Facebook made the controversy a trending topic and forced the president's spokesperson...
Spain: The October 15 Protests and Mass Media Coverage
The global October 15 manifestation that demanded the exercise of real democracy and protested against the corruption of elite financial corporations was truly massive in Spain. In this post, we reveal how a sector of Spanish mass media covered the event and the discussion among netizens.
Ethiopia: Netizens Shine Spotlight on Trial of Swedish Journalists
The trial of two Swedish journalists accused of terrorism in Ethiopia after being detained during a battle between government troops and rebels started on Tuesday. The story has become a hot topic of discussion in both traditional media and online communities worldwide.
Hungary: Oct. 23 Opposition Rally
Hungarian Spectrum and The Contrarian Hungarian write about the Oct. 23 anti-government rally, organized through a Facebook community called Egymillióan a magyar sajtószabadságért [hu; 88,272 ‘likes’]/One Million for the Freedom of Press in Hungary [en; 720 ‘likes’] – and about a pro-government rally, which was scheduled to take place on...
Trinidad & Tobago: Tweeting for Anya
Globewriter attended the Project Runway party yesterday evening, which Trinidadian designer and finalist Anya Ayoung-Chee attended via Skype.
Jamaica: I Think, Therefore I Am
Long Bench responds to a newspaper editorial suggesting that the “silent middle class must assert itself”, saying: “The term ‘well-thinking Jamaicans'…smacks of an elitism that is based in the editors’ sense of the moral superiority of some groups over others. Is ‘thinking’ supposed to allude to education level and capacity...
Cuba: Pollan's Death & the State Health Care System
Cuban bloggers report that some Cuban dissidents do not trust state hospitals after the death of Laura Pollan; babalu translates a blog post claiming that Pollan's hair and skin samples were collected before her cremation with the intention of sending them to an independent lab “in the hopes of determining...
Trinidad & Tobago: Urban Development's Bill
Diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch expresses his disgust at “the corruption that is rampant in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Haiti: Cholera, One Year Later
Dying in Haiti marks the one year anniversary of Haiti's cholera outbreak, saying: “Conservative numbers say that cholera has infected 500,000 Haitians and killed 6,500 of them. This is more than any place in the world.”
Libya: The Truth About Gaddafi's Death
Libya has broken out in celebration after Gaddafi's stronghold Sirte fell and the man himself was either captured and killed or killed and captured. On Twitter, journalists and pundits have tried to reconstruct his death circumstances.
Israel: Joy and Anger Continue Over Shalit Deal
Gilad Shalit's return has been one of the biggest events in recent Israeli history. The Israeli soldier was released from Hamas captivity after being held for 1,941 days, in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. Here are more reactions from the Hebrew blogosphere.
Sri Lanka: Lanka E News Blocked By Mobile Service Providers
Sunanda Deshapriya reports that “two of Sri Lanka’s Internet Service Providers – Dialog and Telecom – have illegally blocked Lanka E News to their customers”.
Italy: October 15 Protest Turns Violent in Rome
This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide. Inspired by the “Occupy Wall Street” movement in New York and by the Spanish “Indignados”, citizens in 951 cities and 82 countries across the world took to the streets on October 15, 2011, to protest against the stranglehold on the...