Stories about Media & Journalism from January, 2009
Czech Republic: News and Culture Roundup
A few updates from CzechFolks.com: Josef Lada‘s drawings; Karel Capek‘s life and writings; Vaclav Havel‘s health problems; the launch of a new Czech TV station; the 20th anniversary of Czech and Slovak ATMs; the gas dispute and the former Eastern Bloc countries’ dependency on Russia.
Sri Lanka: Journalists Are Fleeing
In Mutiny reports that some of Sri Lanka’s top columnists and media personalities are fleeing from the country fearing for their lives.
Bahamas: A Disgrace
Bahamian bloggers are incensed at the news that one of the island's senators was allegedly involved in the Travolta extortion plot.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.K., Israel, Palestine: Objectivity?
In response to the BBC's decision not to broadcast an appeal for funds for Gaza, Notes from Port of Spain says: “Someone, somewhere, has been leaning heavily on this famously objective broadcaster, and it has caved in.”
Myanmar: Kachin Conflict
Writing for The Pulitzer Center, Tim Patterson and Ryan Libre explain the backround of the Kachin Conflict in Myanmar. The struggle in Kachin is separate from the campaign of the political opposition of the ethnic Burmese majority.
Fiji: Bloggers debate ‘harsh’ newspaper penalty
Bloggers throughout the Pacific have been reacting to a recent Fiji High Court verdict against a local newspaper for printing a letter to the editor in October critical of a ruling validating the December 2006 military coup that brought the current government to power.
Taiwan: Books, Writers & Videos
China Times in Taiwan announces "Books of the Year" and makes short videos for awarded writers to share their writing experiences and perspectives. Hopefully their ideas will be portrayed through the power of images.
Japan: Looking back on 2008
The last year in Japan saw, among other things, an economic crisis, employment instability, and the beginnings of the collapse of journalism. While the year was already recapped here last month, we add to that recap the reflections of bloggers looking back over the year. Blogger Motohiko Tokuriki wrote about...
Iran: BBC launches new Persian TV channel
The launch of BBC Persian TV on January 14, attracted praise, enthusiasm, suspicion, and in one word: attention! Iranian bloggers are expressing their opinions on this new channel, and they are as diverse as ever.
Japan: Bloggers on TV-Asahi and “Uso Basutaa”
Heated has been the reaction of many Japanese bloggers over the last week who felt cheated by TV Asahi after it turned out that in the variety show ウソバスター！ (Uso Basutaa!, lit. lie buster), broadcast prime time on the 10th of January, the blogs quoted as sources had been created...
Russia: Robert Amsterdam's Interview on Echo of Moscow
Robert Amsterdam's interview on Echo of Moscow radio station about the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov – and a translation of LJ user varfolomeev-v‘s response (RUS) to it.
African Blogs Nominated for the 2009 Bloggies
Nominations for the Ninth Annual Weblog Awards: The 2009 Bloggies started January 1 and closed January 19. According to the awards, the Bloggies are the Web's longest-running blog awards, and the nominations, finalist selection, are up to the blog reader. The winner of the awards gets 2,009 US cents! So, which African blogs have been nominated for the Best African Weblog category?
Cuba, U.S.A.: An Important Introduction
“The man is worth your support, and then some, especially after he was arrested while traveling to Havana to watch your inauguration as a guest of the U.S. Interest Section”: Uncommon Sense would like President Obama to meet Jorge Luis García Pérez “Antúnez”.
Bermuda, U.S.A.: Ethics & Transparency
Vexed Bermoothes thinks that “it is telling that the first orders issued by President Obama…dealt with ethics and transparency in Government” and that “Bermudians must take note of our inadequacies in this area.”
Estonia: Arvo Pärt
Robert Amsterdam's Blog writes about “Estonia's most famous contemporary composer Arvo Pärt,” whose latest symphony is dedicated to Mikhail Khodorkovsky – and whose 2006-2007 works are dedicated to Anna Politkovskaya.
Egypt: Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya
Zeinobia compares here between Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya news channels, elaborating on why she hates Al Arabiya more than Al Jazeera.
Russia: Migration Issues
Window on Russia writes about a Ryazan Tajik activist's appeal to the Russian media to stop “fanning the flames of ethnic hatred against migrants” and the launch of the Migration-007 magazine, whose goal would be to “'change the stereotypes and myths’ that Russians have about migrants and that migrants have...
Armenia: Homophobic Media
Despite the country's recent endorsement of a UN declaration against discrimination on sexual orientation, Unzipped: Gay Armenia continues to expose the prevalent homophobia in Armenian society. Following recent discriminatory and alarmist comments from a leading member of civil society, the blog notes that one newspaper has discovered there are lesbians...
Belarus: “Image Is All”
Catherine Reilly's piece on Belarus – at OpenDemocracy.net (more Belarus stories by the same author – here).
Guyana: Dirty Laundry?
The new President of the United States is the Caribbean's darling, but the President of Guyana is having a tougher time of it. The latest controversy to plague him comes in the form of his ex-wife spilling the beans about their stormy personal relationship and Mr. Jagdeo's alleged failure to provide her with a divorce settlement. Bloggers, of course, are all over the story...
Cuba: Quelling the Rumours
Child of the Revolution confirms that recent rumours of Fidel Castro's demise have been just that – thanks to reports from Havana that the president of Argentina met with him on the last day of her visit to the island.
