Stories about Media & Journalism from April, 2012
Colombia: What Did the VI Summit of the Americas Leave Behind?
Netizens commented on various events, some serious and some lighter ones, related to the Sixth Summit of the Americas. They also shared their opinion on the agreements that were reached (like the free trade agreement between Colombia and the U.S.) and on those that did not meet consensus.
This Week in the Caribbean Blogosphere
In last week's summary of the regional blogosphere, a young comtemporary artist from Barbados made the observation that the region is “more than the beach and coconuts.” Here's a round-up of what Caribbean netizens were talking about this week, with not one mention of beaches or coconuts...
Uruguayan Journalism in the Age of Twitter
In the blog El informante [es] (“The informant”), journalist Leonardo Haberkorn looks at how his colleagues are using Twitter and other social networks to report and present their investigations. He...
Panama: Italian Scandal Rocks Martinelli Government
Links between Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli and Italian citizen Valter Lavitolla have placed the Panamanian government in the eye of the story, following the arrest of the Italian at the Rome airport on accusations of bribery and corruption. Fingers have been pointed at other members of the Panamanian government for allegedly taking bribes during tendering for contracts to build prisons.
North Korean TV Announcer Appears with Double “Kim Pins”
North Korea Tech wrote a post on a new lapel pin made for the country's young dictator, Kim Jung-un. The “Kim pins” with the face of North Korean former leaders, are worn...
Colombia: Closing of Community Radio Station Sparks Debate
Community radio station Café Líbano, from Líbano [es] in the Tolima department, denounces its closing by the government, pointing out that it was carried out arbitrarily. According to Cesáreo Gálvez,...
Cuba: Diaspora Blogs About Dissidents
The plight of prisoners of conscience is a front-burner issue with Cuban diaspora bloggers. This week, they are talking about two in particular: Jose Daniel Ferrer Garcia, a former member of the Black Spring “Group of 75″ and Andres Carrion Alvarez, the man who was detained after shouting, “Down with Communism!” prior to the start of a mass during Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the island.
Australian Broadcaster Wins First Indigenous Journalism Award
The winner of the first journalism award for indigenous broadcasters hosted by the World Indigenous Television Broadcasters Network (WITBN) in Norway on March 29, 2012 was National Indigenous Television from...
India: Administration Backlash over a Political Cartoon and it's Aftermath
The recent arrest of an university professor in West Bengal, India, over a humorous political cartoon has been met by stiff resistance and protest both online and offline. On his...
Spain: King Juan Carlos and the Elephant in Botswana
Days after Felipe Juan Froilan accidentally shot himself in the foot during shooting practice, his grandfather, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, fell while he was hunting and broke his pelvis. This...
Kazakhstan: Hockey Star's Wife Leaves Her Mark on the Kaznet
Stacy Dallman, wife of former NHL hockey player Kevin Dallman, is likely to be remembered in Kazakhstan for a long time to come. Chris Rickleton explains why.
Italy: Netizens Ponder the April 2009 L'Aquila Earthquake
In the third anniversary of the tragic event, citizens came together in the streets and online, creating web-pages, posts and Twitter hashtags to share memories, comments and broader hope for a still lagging reconstruction.
Cuba: No Calm After Papal Storm
“The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Cuba left a storm of arrests, blocked phone lines, and beatings against non-violent dissidents”: Cuban bloggers note that dissidents are suffering in the...
The Balkans: Remembering the Bosnian War, 20 Years On
A red plastic chair for each of the 11,541 people killed in Sarajevo in the 1990s: on April 6, thousands of people came to this stunning makeshift memorial stretching along Sarajevo's main street, in order to honor the memory of the victims of the war that began 20 years ago.
Mali: Silence of the Local Blogosphere
While the internet is inundated with blogs, tweets and videos from other countries, Malian internet users remain silent. The capital, Bamako, is still affected by serious power cuts as the fuel required for power stations runs out. Under these circumstances, the priority is not sending messages, but finding information about the new leaders of the north.
India: Illegal Asphalt Plant's Pollution Causes Cancer in Villagers
A video report by Video Volunteers' India Unheard project exposes the plight of a community in Rajasthan, is where the people and farms are being affected by the pollution caused by several illegal asphalt factories. Juliana Rincón Parra reports.
Topics of Interest in the Caribbean Blogosphere
The Caribbean blogosphere has been talking about an array of different issues over the last week or so. Here's a look at some of them…
Puerto Rico: Kike Estrada's Cartoons Live on the Internet
Enrique "Kike" Estrada is a cartoonist of an endangered species in Puerto Rico. For a cartoonist with his sense of humor, the Internet is the perfect place to exhibit his work. In this online space, he found the freedom to express his point of view. Angel Carrión interviews him.
Greece: #Police_Victims
Following the serious injury of photojournalist Marios Lolos at Thursday evening's demonstrations in Athens, Greece, in memory of 77-year-old #Dimitris_Christoulas who committed suicide in Syntagma Square on April 4, Greek netizens have been...
Trinidad & Tobago: Madness in the Ministry
The curious case of Cheryl Miller, an employee of the Ministry of Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development who reportedly got into an argument with a senior official and, as a result, found herself being taken from her place of work to the St. Ann's Psychiatric Hospital, has caused a commotion in the Trinidad and Tobago blogosphere, with netizens insisting that the issue is not Miller's mental health but whether her employers breached human rights and industrial relations codes.
Grenada, Barbados: The Fallout over Journalist's Firing
Rawle Titus -veteran journalist and president of the Media Workers Association of Grenada since 2008- was dismissed from his post as editor of the Grenada Advocate after he refused to retract or apologize for a front-page story. As yet another regional journalist pays the price for standing by his story, bloggers are wondering about the state of press freedom in the Caribbean.
