Stories about Media & Journalism from October, 2011
Italy: “Wiretapping Bill” could drastically limit freedom of information
The Italian Parliament is about to vote on a very stringent “wiretapping Bill” [it] aimed at drastically limiting judicial investigations and journalism inquiries, thus blocking free speech about new scandals exposing top-level politicians, as many of such cases keep emerging. After a recent “strike” by Wikipedia Italy [it] and a...
Curacao: Triple 10 – Fooled Again?
A year after the dissolution of the Dutch Caribbean federation formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles, TRIUNFO DI SABLIKA examines the fallout: “They still whipping us with a refurbished copy paste Dutch colonial constitution. Same old problematic political coalition system. New government old tricks new business elite same greediness as...
Cuba: New Independent News Agency
Pedazos de La Isla announces the launch of a new independent press agency in Cuba; Uncommon Sense comments: “Cuba's independent journalists…are deserving of respect and admiration because without their reports…from the front lines of the struggle for liberty, the world would know far less about the reality of life on...
India: Candle-light Newscast In A News Channel In Karnataka
Recently in Karnataka, newscasters of the Kannada language channel Suvarna News read out the news with a candle on top of their desks to convey the impact of the power cuts in the state, reports Sans Serif. “Hopefully, the channel’s viewers had electricity back home to see the candle-light bulletins”,...
Cuba: Outpouring of Support for Las Damas’ Leader
Over the weekend, the leader of Cuba's Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies in White), Laura Pollan, fell ill. Bloggers, both on the island and throughout the diaspora, reached out online to offer their support and wishes for Pollan's recovery.
Cuba: Fonseca & Husband Released
Uncommon Sense reports that “almost two weeks after they were arrested, Cuban activists Sara Martha Fonseca and her husband Julio Ignacio Leon were released from jail on Friday.”
Russia: Putin Gets Twitter Hashtag for His Birthday
#CпасибоПутинуЗаЭто (“Thanks to Putin for This”) hashtag that resembles the Soviet “Thanks to the party for this” became a “Twitter sensation” according to the Wall Street Journal and a “Twitter storm,” according to The Moscow News. The campaign that was started [ru] by a pro-Kremlin blogger Vladimir Burmatov as a way...
Kazakhstan: Online TV website shut down
Tomyris writes that Kazakhstan’s opposition news website Stan-TV was shut down by the court decision; it was ordered to close the production studio and dismantle its broadcasting equipment. The formal reason for closure is supposedly a failure to comply with the standards of Kazakhstan’s public health inspection agency.
Croatia: Court Forbids Homophobic Priest From Blogging
Serbia Insajd, a Hungarian blog about South-Eastern Europe, reports [hu] that the Rijeka Court has banned Franjo Jurčević, a Kastav-based Catholic priest, from writing homophobic blog posts [Jurčević's blog, hr: http://zupnik.blog.hr/]. The court has also ordered Jurčević to publish the court decision in two national dailies at his own expense.
Macedonia: Nude Swimming in Alexander the Great Fountain
A big hit in the social media in Macedonia last week was a video of a nude young man who apparently jumped in the new fountain beneath the grandiose monument to Alexander of Macedon and his horse Bucephalus, built as part of the Skopje 2014 project.
Curacao: Inadequate Narrative on Slavery
A Netherlands-based Curacaoan blogger shares his impression of the debate on the television series “De Slavernij” (The Slavery): “It seems…that the production team (I’m excluding the historians and experts for now) has put little to no thought in how to structure the complex narratives surrounding the subject of slavery.”
St. Vincent & the Grenadines: Blessing Up Vincy
“Lately, I've been feeling out of sorts with my island nation”: Still, Abeni believes that “despite the bad there's more to who/what we are.”
Bermuda: Economic Impact of Term Limits
“One day it's [term limits] about long term residency. The next about not letting expats steal jobs from Bermudians. Just pick one already will you”: Politics.bm says that the government is “doubling down on term limits with an election coming. This is very dangerous for Bermuda.”
Brazil: Mega No to Surveillance Wins FRIDA Award
The movement Mega No to Surveillance [pt], a Brazilian watchdog of online censorship, has won the FRIDA International Award in the category “Freedoms”. This joint initiative of Latin American Network Information Center, International Development Research Centre and Internet Society, rewards digital innovation and research initiatives that have made the Internet...
Caribbean: Remembering the Genius of Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs' death has left a gaping hole in the world of technology. Caribbean bloggers took the opportunity to say “thank you” and talk about the role that Jobs - and the company he helped revolutionize - played in their lives.
Italy: Wikipedia Italia on strike
The homepage of Wikipedia Italia is on strike from the evening of October 4th. Its content is blocked in protest against an Italian bill on telephone interceptions that will mean that all sites and blogs must amend their contents within 48 hours of a request by any applicant who judges it...
Cuba: Fonseca Told to Get Lawyer
Uncommon Sense finds it interesting that jailed dissidents Sara Fonseca and her husband Julio Leon have been advised to obtain legal counsel, calling it “a suggestion that indicates the regime plans to formally prosecute the couple because of their anti-communist activism.”
Jamaica: Vybz Cartel on Murder Charge
Dancehall star Vybz Cartel now faces murder charges in Jamaica; The Caribbean Camera has the details.
Trinidad & Tobago: Proper Procurement Procedure
Afra Raymond blogs about the importance of proper procurement practices regarding “the development of Invader’s Bay, a 70-acre parcel of State-owned reclaimed land”, saying: “The publication of the [Request For Proposal]…give the impression that a proper procurement process is underway at Invader’s Bay. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Colombia: Expouniversidad 2011 in Medellín
The University of Antioquia and Colciencias (Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation) [es], together with other organizations, have opened the sixth version [es] of Expouniversidad 2011 [es] (Sep.29 to Oct.7) in Medellín [es] to promote learning and to show advances in projects related to science, technology and innovation in...
Brazil: Digital Storytelling from a Squatted Building in Sao Paulo
Ipiranga 895 [pt] is the address of a squatter settlement [pt] in a São Paulo building that was occupied for less than two months, from October 3, 2010, until the police followed a court order to evict more than 1,000 homeless people. It is now the virtual address of a...
