· May, 2009

Stories about Media & Journalism from May, 2009

Iran: State-run Press TV in London

Spider, an Iranian blogger, has published a photo of one of Iranian State-run Press TV‘s advertisement in a metro in London. In this publicity we read Press TV wants to ‘give a voice to voiceless’. The blogger has published several links to show that how ironically Iranian government who wants...

Madagascar: Protester Freed, Journalists Demonstrate Against Censorship

  20 May 2009

The Malagasy online community was relieved to hear the news that Razily, a protester who was arrested in late March, was seen in public and he seems well and about. While much is still unknown about the circumstances of Razily's release, many bloggers hope that this event signifies the beginning of a return to normalcy with respect to the conduct of the country's security forces.

Guyana: R.I.P.

  20 May 2009

“An era has quietly passed and hardly anyone has paid any notice”: Imran Khan pays his last respects to the Guyanese tradition of broadcasting death announcements.

Taiwan: Minister encounters protest at WHA

  20 May 2009

Some Taiwanese students protested against the Taiwanese Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) who is attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva. The students claimed he was selling out Taiwan by allowing the use of the designation Chinese Taipei at the WHA. The View from Taiwan looks at how the...

Macedonia: Seasoned Journalist Talks About New Media

NGO New Media Center provided a video recording of the presentation entitled “New Media Vs. Old Media” given by retired Time journalist Barry Hillenbrand on May 5, 2009, at American Corner in City Library “Braka Miladinovci” in Skopje [MKD], Macedonia. The video is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

Trinidad & Tobago: Why the Enquiry?

  19 May 2009

Trinidad & Tobago diaspora blogger Jumbie's Watch has his eye on developments with the Commission of Enquiry into the local construction sector, and fears that nothing with come from its findings: “Why then are we spending millions of dollars for this enquiry? Is the report to be used in place...

Guyana, Cuba: Day Against Homophobia

  19 May 2009

“What did it mean that there were no openly lesbian women where I lived in Guyana, a little over 20 years ago?” asks Signifyin’ Guyana, as she acknowledges the recent International Day Against Homophobia; Repeating Islands, meanwhile, notes that the occasion was recognized in Havana.

Malawi: Listen to Malawi Election Bloggers

  19 May 2009

Malawians are currently voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections. A group of Malawian bloggers were trained by PenPlusBytes, an International Institute of ICT Journalism in collaboration with New Media Institute to monitor and comment on the elections using blogs, twitter and mobile phones. Let's take a look at their blogs, which are hosted on The African Elections Portal. The African Elections Portal provides comprehensive election related information on the various countries in Africa.

South Korea: May 18

  19 May 2009

May 18 is the 29th anniversary of the Gwangju Democratization Movement. Ask a Korean! translated a review on a movie, May 18, which touches upon the media representation of democracy movement in Korea.

Caribbean: Bloggers React to Walcott's Withdrawal

  18 May 2009

St. Lucian-born Derek Walcott is truly a West Indian man. He has been embraced by literature lovers of countless other regional territories who identify with his writing and see the nuances of the Caribbean come alive in his work. Which was why his Nobel Prize win for Literature in 1992 seemed like a regional victory - and why his withdrawal from the tight race for the coveted position of Oxford Professor of Poetry has left a bad taste in many bloggers' mouths.

Japan: Video by Eric Testroete

  18 May 2009

Eric Testroete has posted ‘This is Japan!’, a fantastic video using hundred of images from a three week stay in Japan. [via watashi to tokyo]

Taiwan: Media mixes up history

  18 May 2009

Taiwanese Identity points out a mistake in a news article which demonstrates confusion about Taiwan's history. They argue that these kind of mistakes are common and the media needs to find new ways of writing about Taiwan.

Armenia-Azerbaijan: Political Eurovision

As voting for the Eurovision Song Contest gets underway in Moscow, bartlemot tweets that the telephone number to vote for the Armenian entry in Azerbaijan was censored. In a second tweet, the same user says that instead of displaying a telephone number in the lower section of the screen it...

Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: CLICO Investigations

  15 May 2009

“Bad judgment or criminal wrongdoing?” asks Barbados Free Press of the CLICO debacle, adding: “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has launched a criminal investigation into the house of cards known as CLICO and has hired one of the most respected forensic investigators in the world: Robert Lindquist.”