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The office of the Pakistani media group Express News in Karachi has come under attack, the group says.
Express News says gunfire and at least two explosions were heard. Three people have been injured, it reports, but guards prevented "unidentified men" from entering the building.
Journalist Jahanzaib Haque tweeted that he saw two white flashes outside his window and heard a "hail of fire".
Two people were wounded in a shooting attack outside the offices in August.
Monday's incident happened at approximately 19:15 local time (14:15 GMT). BBC.
"RECKLESS JOURNALISM" COULD have affected Thomas Byrne's safety in prison his defence counsel argued in court today.
When requesting leniency for his client, defence counsel Damien Colgan SC told Judge Patrick McCartan that a number of newspaper reports claiming that Byrne had acted on behalf of suspected criminal figures, could mean "his own personal safety could become an issue".
During today's sentencing hearing, Colgan had questioned lead garda investigator Detective Sergeant Paschal Walsh on a number of claims made in the media since Byrne's conviction, specifically that he had acted for individuals investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB). The Journal
BANGKOK: Despite the ongoing anti-government protests and violence that has dominated the news out of Bangkok, its Imperial Queen's Park Hotel is bustling with excitement, enthusiasm and activities as delegates arrive to participate in the first ever 3-day Global Forum on Media and Gender scheduled to begin today.
The organisers are confident that despite the disturbances, they will attract a big group of experts to deliberate on this crucial aspect for shaping the media with a gender perspective. The Forum is the beginning of a global movement, one of the main objectives is to form a Global Alliance for Media and Gender (GAMG). The News.
Bill Maher and Anthony Weiner battled Real Time panelists GOPAC president David Avella and Victoria DeFransceco Soto over the media coverage of Obamacare and President Obama's apology for the botched rollout, with Weiner and Maher charging that however bad the rollout may have been, the Republicans had effectively no plan to deal with the health care crisis in the first place.
Whereas Maher thought the media's been doing a crappy job not reporting the facts to people about the lower costs and better options of health care plans, Avella said they're not doing their due diligence to report on the "hundreds of thousands of people who are losing their health care." Weiner shot back that Obamacare came from Republicans in the first place, shouting "That's your idea! Why don't you like it now that we wrote it into law?!"
Soto found it a huge mistake that Obama waited weeks before apologizing and explaining the faulty "if you like your plan you can keep your plan" line, and when Weiner pushed back, she said, "You're being paternalistic here." She argued that Obama's apology was too little, too late, at which point Maher cried, "When did Bush ever say he was worry!" Mediaite.
Los Angeles, CA, November 09, 2013 --(PR.com)-- While others simply complain about media bias, a group of liberty-minded entrepreneurs is determined to do something about it. The folks behind JAGTV have banded together to build a network catering to the growing but under-served audience of fiscally conservative but socially liberal viewers.
The startup is reaching outside the usual establishment funding sources to solicit $150,000 in grassroots contributions via Indiegogo. These funds will support its Phase One activities: Further pilot development, market research, focus groups, securing top production talent, advertising, and organization.
"Most people are libertarians – they just don't know it yet. We want to create a platform for libertarian-leaning and libertarian-curious viewers who today have almost no relevant cable broadcast products and extremely few high-quality outlets online," said JAGTV Founder and CEO Jennifer Grossman. "We envision a network that offers a mix of lifestyle, entertainment, and current affairs programming reflecting the values of free minds, free spirits, and free enterprise." PR.com.
Simon & Schuster has pulled The Embassy House after author "Morgan Jones" (real name Dylan Davies) was exposed as giving contradictory statements about his whereabouts on the night of the 2012 Benghazi attacks. Earlier today, 60 Minutes reporter Lara Logan apologized for airing Davies' account in an October 27 report.
Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster, said in a statement from spokesperson Jennifer Robinson: "In light of information that has been brought to our attention since the initial publication of THE EMBASSY HOUSE, we have withdrawn from publication and sale all formats of this book, and are recommending that booksellers do the same. We also are notifying accounts that they may return the book to us."
Threshold Editions released The Embassy House on October 29, two days after 60 Minutes ran a segment featuring Davies and his claims about his activities on September 11, 2012. The 60 Minutes report rehashed old myths about Benghazi, including the debunked claim that there's a "lingering question" about why no U.S. military forces from outside the Libya were able to help the diplomatic facilities. Media Matters.
The Washington Times has announced that it will no longer run Sen. Rand Paul's (R-Ky.) regular columns, after one of them was found to have contained material that was apparently plagiarized.
Paul's Times column is the latest example in a string of plagiarism allegations. Paul's speeches and his 2013 book were previously reported to contain language that had appeared on Wikipedia, an AP report and on conservative Web sites.
A Paul adviser on Tuesday cited staff error for the lack of citations and failure to attribute the material. Paul is considered a leading contender for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Washington Post.
In a bid to curb the menace of paid news in the media during the upcoming Assembly polls in the five states, the Election Commission has roped in senior academics, government information officials and even some journalists to keep tabs on the media houses and their poll coverage.
Those made members of the Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMC) in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and Delhi include journalism professors, information officers from the Central services and senior journalists. And the committees would monitor political advertisements on the TV channels as well as political analyses and flag instances of paid news in both the electronic and print media.
In Rajasthan, the Chief Electoral Officer has included Indian Information Service officer Ritu Shukla in the MMCC to deal with the advertisements of the political parties and the contesting candidates. The New Indian Express.
An easy election night win for Fox News, which topped the competition with 2,729,000 total viewers and 593,000 A25-54 viewers during primetime Tuesday. MSNBC was second with 1,035,000 total viewers and 244,000 A25-54 viewers, and CNN was third with 664,000 and 224,000 viewers, respectively.
Both MSNBC and CNN saw their highest ratings in the 9pmET hour: Rachel Maddow's program delivered 1,267,000 total viewers and 313,000 A25-54 viewers, while Piers Morgan's show had 734,000 and 239,000 viewers, respectively. Fox News peaked in total viewers at 8pmET and in the demo at 9pmET. Megyn Kelly's "The Kelly File" was the top-rated cable news show in the demo last night, delivering 653,000 viewers, a high for the show.
All three networks were up significantly compared to their Q3 2013 averages. MSNBC was up the most (+78%) in total viewers, while Fox News saw the biggest gains (+109%) in the demo. This was the lowest off-year election night ratings for CNN since at least 2001. TVNewser.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today sought to play down the issue of advisory issued to TV channels by the Union government, saying the media has neither been gagged nor it can ever be.
"I have nothing to do with it- or what Narendra Modi says -- you can pose this question to Central government -- As far as my information is --I don't think you people (Media) have any ban and neither anybody can impose ban on your," he said here.
"Media has neither been gagged nor can be gagged", Omar told reporters when asked about advisory of the Union government to TV Channels.
In an advisory issued on October 21, the Information and Broadcasting ministry had asked TV channels that when the Prime Minister or the President on a national day like August 15 or January 26, make an address, it should be taken with sensitivity. DNA India.
CBS News correspondent Lara Logan confessed that the network "erred" by failing to disclose the financial connection it shared with the subject of a widely criticized 60 Minutes report on the 2012 Benghazi attacks. But the network's admission of an ethics violation did not extend further, and Logan issued a general defense of the report's accuracy without addressing the persisting questions that surround the report's source's conflicting accounts of the night of the attacks.
On November 5, The New York Times reported that Logan and CBS News were standing by the network's Benghazi reporting, despite a stark admission by Logan that the network made a "mistake" in its failure to disclose that a subsidiary of CBS was publishing a book written by the report's source, Dylan Davies. Jeffrey Fager, chairman of CBS News and executive producer of 60 Minutes, added that he regretted keeping the connection under wraps. Media Matters.
David Miranda, Glenn Greenwald's partner, was in a UK court today challenging the legality of his nine-hour detention at Heathrow under anti-terror laws in August and requesting the return of confiscated material.
Under tough questioning from a three-judge panel, Miranda argued that the UK government illegally detained him and that the materials he was carrying were protected.
Greenwald is the ex-Guardian journalist who first broke the story of NSA spying with a trove of materials from whistleblower Edward Snowden. Miranda was carrying copies of materials related to the story from Berlin back to Brazil, where he lives with Greenwald, when UK police stopped him during a layover in London. Columbia Journalism Review.
It may not have been the most eventful election, but Tuesday's off-year races in a handful of states brought lifted ratings for cable's big three news networks.
Megyn Kelly, a month into her new primetime series, reaped the biggest ratings rewards. The Kelly File averaged 2.87 million viewers and 654,000 adults 25-54 during the 9 p.m. hour. It marks a demo best for the young broadcast, which saw last night's episode be the first to call Virginia's tight gubernatorial race in favor of Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
Competition Rachel Maddow on MSNBC was also up significantly, averaging second place in both measures with 1.267 million viewers and 313,000 adults 25-54. Embattled CNN, which saw multiple lows in the last week, was also up -- though not with the customary election dominance it tends to see. The network placed third in both measures, with Piers Morgan taking in 734,000 viewers and 224,000 in the demo. The Hollywood Reporter.
The successful launch of India's Mars mission has been covered extensively by the Indian media and many people have taken to social media sites to applaud Indian space scientists on their achievement.
"A day after the last of Diwali rockets was fired in this part of the country, 'the big one' blasted off from the first launch pad in Sriharikota on Tuesday afternoon, firing the ambition of a nation, and the imagination of many others," says the lead story on The Times of India website. BBC.
Washington: India's successful launch of its Mars mission has been described by the mainstream American media as "technological leap" and "a symbolic coup" against China in this field. "If it succeeds, India's Mars mission would represent a technological leap for the South Asia nation, pushing it ahead of space rivals China and Japan in the field of interplanetary exploration," The Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday. "A successful mission by India's Mars orbiter would make the country the first Asian nation to reach the Red Planet - and provide a symbolic coup as neighbouring China steps up its ambitions in space," the CNN reported, adding that this has given further credence to claims of an intensifying space race developing in Asia, with potentially dangerous ramifications. FirstPost.World.
India's Election Commission recently published a set of guidelines for the use of social media in political campaigns, requiring that candidates declare the amount of funds spent on social media campaigning and pre-certify their political advertisements, among other requirements. The new rules, sprung on political campaigners less than a month before the scheduled elections, have had mixed reception, with some saying that the rules do not go far enough.
The new guidelines, outlined and analyzed here by an Indian news analysis site, MediaNama, state that candidates must register all official social media accounts so that they can be authenticated, in order to prevent others from faking the politician's identity online. They must also submit their online campaigning expenditures and have all political advertisements, even those released on social media, pre-certified by the Election Commission. The guidelines also stipulate that public funds cannot be used to fund digital campaigns. Finally, candidates must abide by a "Model Code of Conduct" online, which forbids "any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic," and other "corrupt practices," like bribing voters and canvassing near polling stations. TechPresident.
Most Americans don't get their news on Facebook. It turns out the same is true for Twitter.
A new survey by the Pew Research Center found that about 8 percent of U.S. adults get news through Twitter. Of the 16 percent of U.S. adults with Twitter accounts, a little more than half (52 percent) of them "ever" get news on the microblogging site.
Pew's study defined "news" as "information about events and issues that involve more than just your friends or family." Upstart Business Journal.
Panaji: Nigerian Ambassador Ndubuisi Vitus Amaku on Wednesday lashed out at the media alleging bias in the press coverage of the murder of a Nigerian national in Goa. "The situation we are in is somewhat volatile. This is an issue both governments have to address mutually through diplomatic channels and not talk through media. I have not had a word with the Goa DG," the Nigerian ambassador said. The Ministry of External Affairs has reacted after a Nigerian complaint. Subsequent to the discussion with Nigerian High Commission over the matter, the MEA have got in touch with the Chief Secretary of Goa and have been assured that investigation is underway. IBN Live.
Iran's government should legalize access to social-networking websites including Twitter and Facebook, Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Ali Jannati said.
"Not only Facebook, but other social networks should be accessible and the illegal qualification should be removed," Jannati said, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Iran currently blocks access to websites it considers politically sensitive and to social-networking sites, which activists used in 2009 to organize street protests after a disputed presidential vote. President Hassan Rouhani, who was elected in June and has a Twitter account with more than 122,000 followers, has pledged to allow more social and press freedom and reduce state "policing" of Iranians' private lives. Bloomberg News.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — French troops who found the bodies of two slain French radio journalists in northern Mali followed footprints in the sand near the corpses to hunt their abductors, part of a search that eventually led to five arrests Monday, a Mali military official said. He added that the kidnappers' vehicle had broken down, possibly prompting their decision to kill the captives.
The director of Radio France Internationale confirmed multiple arrests had been made, although French government authorities gave no confirmations. What remained unclear was who the kidnappers were, and whether they had ties to ethnic Tuareg separatists or al-Qaida militants active in the region.
The slayings of Ghislaine Dupont, 51, a senior correspondent, and Claude Verlon, 58, a production technician, stunned France and were an unheard of assault on Western journalists in Mali, where a French-led military operation this year aimed to clear out Islamic extremists who had taken over the vast north. NPR.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's admission that he likely did smoke crack cocaine "during a drunken stupor" has sparked a social media sensation.
The hashtag #inoneofmydrunkenstupors soon started trending on Twitter, as users swapped hilarious tales of their most embarrassing memories while under the influence.
Scores of user admitted their dastardly deeds while inebriated, with G-rated mentions including, "I did the running man in the middle of one of those wedding floor dance circles," "I considered buying a pair of Uggs" and "I once posted 5 selfies in an hour."
Ford finally came clean Tuesday that he did indeed smoke the substance — after video reportedly emerged in May of the politician's illegal acts. New York Daily News.
In a second episode of apparent "checkbook journalism" in a week, NBC News has locked up exclusive interviews and amateur footage of an aerial accident with a six-figure fee to a group of sky divers who survived the collision of their two small planes.
NBC's news division has agreed to compensate the nine sky divers and two pilots who were involved in the accident for an appearance on Tuesday's "Today" show, a story on "NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams" and a one-hour "Dateline NBC" special.
The deal involves TV interviews and footage of the stricken planes taken by some of the sky divers' helmet cameras, according to Mike Robinson, a sky-diving instructor who was involved in the incident near Lake Superior in northwest Wisconsin. Washington Post.
CNN provided heavy coverage last week of the troubled introduction of the website tied to the Affordable Care Act. The result was the lowest weekly ratings for CNN in more than a year.
Did that mean people didn't want to hear wall-to-wall coverage of the failure of the site? Maybe not, if they were viewers already committed to the one of the partisan corners: Both Fox News and MSNBC did far better last week, with heavy coverage of issues related to the health care law.
But CNN, which led most of its news hours last week with reporting related to the site's inadequacies, drew little interest from viewers, even on the day that Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services, testified in Congress and took many hostile questions from Republican representatives. New York Times.
NEW YORK, N.Y. – CBS News hasn't invited Dan Rather back to participate in its 50th-anniversary coverage of the Kennedy assassination, but images of the longtime anchor who parted bitterly with the network will be a part of its upcoming documentary on how the story unfolded that day.
Rather helped organize CBS' plans for President John F. Kennedy's visit to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, and as a young reporter was a key component of assassination coverage. Now 82, with his own show on AXS-TV, he's one of the few reporters on the story that day still active in journalism.
Rather, who later became CBS News' top anchor for 24 years, will appear on NBC's "Today" show on Nov. 22 this year. Metro News.
Ray Suarez, the longtime correspondent at the national news show PBS NewsHour, has joined Al Jazeera America as host of "Inside Story," the network and the famed journalist announced Monday.
The 56-year-old told Fox New Latino on Monday after the announcement Monday that it will be great to have his own show, one that he will be able to cultivate and see grow.
"Al Jazeera has shown that it's really committed to hard news," said Suarez. Fox News.
Bob Schieffer, host of "Face the Nation" and CBS News correspondent, was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism by Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication on Tuesday.
The award is given annually to "a leading figure in journalism."
During his acceptance speech, Schieffer discussed the "revolution in communications" and the resulting "crisis in journalism." CBS News.
Argentina's Supreme Court has ruled that a media bill passed in 2009 is constitutional - clearing the way for the break-up of large media groups.
The country's biggest broadcasting and newspaper company, Clarin, had appealed against the law proposed by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
Critics say the bill is an attempt to silence opposition voices in Argentina.
Supporters say it will boost pluralism and reduce the dominance of big corporate interests. BBC.
The Federal Communications Commission finally has a full roster.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed venture capitalist Thomas Wheeler to head the FCC and, as a commissioner, Mike O'Rielly, who had been an advisor to Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Tex. President Obama nominated Wheeler in April after then-FCC chairman Julius Genachowski announced that he would step down in June.
O'Rielly will replace Commissioner Robert McDowell who left in May. The five-member commission, which has been led by acting chairwoman Mignon Clyburn, has been at less than full strength since then. USA Today.
The new MSNBC.com is finally here.
The network formally launched its own website on Tuesday, MSNBC president Phil Griffin announced in a email to the company on Tuesday.
"Some of you have been hearing about it for months – others for years – but I'm delighted to say the day has finally arrived." Griffin wrote. "For the first time in 17 years we have our own digital home, and starting this afternoon you can type in "msnbc.com" into your browser to see what all the excitement has been about." Huffington Post.
Social media is not a vital factor in winning an election, but political parties should not ignore its importance, a seminar in Bangkok was told yesterday.
Klaus Schuler, chairperson of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and a senior figure in Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent election campaign, shared his experiences with local politically minded groups. He said election campaigning via traditional media was the main reason behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's latest victory, not social media.
However, social media helped the party gain votes from young and first-time voters, he said. According to Schuler, in 2009, 4.2 million Germans used Facebook - but the number increased to 25.3 million in 2013. So his party paid more attention to campaigning through social media. Jakarta Post.
Russia has expressed its indignation over the lack of coverage that western media have offered to the report on Syrian rebels using chemical weapons against local Kurdish community.
Alexei Pushkov, a Russian lawmaker and chief of the Parliament's foreign affairs committee, has drawn attention to the media blackout on the gassing in the Kurdish city of al-Hasakah in Syria's northeast.
According to the Beirut-based TV channel al-Mayadeen, Islamist insurgents attacked yesterday the settlement in the Kurds-dominated region of Ras al-Ain, however the news appeared in the media a day later.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_10_30/Russia-irked-by-lack-of-Syria-rebels-chemical-attack-coverage-9283/ The Voice of Russia.
The Election Commission's recent move to monitor political parties campaigning on the web is likely to come a cropper due to operational challenges. The commission is planning to consult social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook for a way forward.
Last week, in a communication to political parties, the commission had asked them to provide details of their social media accounts and the expenditure incurred on web advertising and secure the commission's approval before posting advertisements online. The new guidelines are to be implemented for the coming Assembly elections and for the Lok Sabha elections next year. Business Standard.
The biggest national security breach in U.S. history was a warm-up for Glenn Greenwald. The former Guardian columnist who published Edward Snowden's revelations is to launch a well-funded news outlet with a priority to share secrets from the world of surveillance, raising fears that U.S. national security will suffer.
Pierre Omidyar, the founder and chairman of eBay, has pledged a minimum $250 million to the "mass media organization" and specifies a focus on "government transparency and accountability". Along with Greenwald, fellow NSA publisher Laura Poitras will be a founding member, as well as Jeremy Scahill, the man who exposed the Blackwater scandal in Iraq (when security contractors killed 17 civilians) and CIA torture practices. -
A newspaper industry group is to seek a judicial review after its regulation plans were rejected earlier this month.
The Privy Council, which rejected the industry plans, had been expected to rubber stamp a plan agreed by the main Westminster parties in the next week.
Opponents say this plan could result in the end of the free press and hope the legal move will delay its approval but the government says it will push ahead. BBC.
Sally Kohn, one of the Fox News Channel's most visible liberal pundits, parted ways with the network this week and turned up almost immediately on one of its rivals — MSNBC.
MSNBC wasted no time booking her Tuesday evening to discuss a commentary she had written for the FoxNews.com site, "I was an ObamaCare Guinea Pig." The article praised the new health care insurance program for saving her family money in the coming year and drew a favorable Twitter post on Tuesday from President Obama's account.
Ms. Kohn, 36, declined to comment. A Fox News spokeswoman called it "a gracious and amicable parting," and said Ms. Kohn's one-year contract with the network expired at the end of 2012. New York Times.
Time Warner Cable, one of the country's biggest cable operators, has agreed to carry Al Jazeera America, giving the Qatar-owned broadcaster exposure to millions more households as it seeks to build an audience in the United States.
The contract, to be announced on Thursday, is vital for Al Jazeera because Time Warner Cable supplies television to millions of households in New York and Los Angeles, two essential markets. Al Jazeera America will be added to the channel lineups in those markets this year, and in Time Warner Cable's other markets by March. New York Times.
A petition surfaced online Tuesday calling for the reinstatement of three journalists fired after the Associated Press retracted a story detailing alleged misconduct by Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe.
Members of the News Media Guild, which represents AP journalists, technicians, and support personnel, circulated the petition. Jim Romenesko posted it in its entirety on his blog Tuesday afternoon.
"It was only a matter of time before the severe under-staffing of AP bureaus across the country and the unrealistic demands put upon them combined to create a high-profile error," the petition says. "And when it did, AP management grossly overreacted."
Reached by phone, Guild President Martha Waggoner said the petition that appeared on Romenesko was an unfinished draft, although she hesitated to call it a "leak," chalking the premature release up to the result of a large email list full of journalists. Columbia Journalism Review.
The Criterion of Colorado Mesa University fired its online editor "after learning that as many as 16 of the opinion pieces she has written since October 2012 contain content plagiarized from at least 22 sources," the paper writes in an unbylined piece that doesn't name the editor.
"So far, The Criterion's editorial staff has determined that the former Online Editor plagiarized content from Alternet, The Associated Press, Backlash.com, The Chicago Reader, CollegeNews.com, E! Online, Jezebel.com, The National Post, The New York Daily News,The New York Post, the web portal Philly.com, Scene-Stealers.com, Slate, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post," the post says.
The post says The Criterion will "divulge any and all pertinent information as it comes to light" and asks anyone aware of additional plagiarism to contact Editor-in-Chief Levi Meyer. Poynter.
MANAMA: A top German delegation yesterday acknowledged Bahrain's secure atmosphere, slamming biased international media for spreading a distorted image of the kingdom.
"The government has created a solid ground for economic work and investments to bounce back," the Arab-German Friendship Association delegation said.
This came as they met His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday.
"The image spread by international media about Bahrain is distorted and detached from reality," they said. They also stressed that they realised the reality of the situation during their visit. Gulf Daily News.
In a dig at BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today alleged that "divisive forces" were using social media as tool for "character assassination" and spread of intolerance towards things they did not like.
"When famous economist Amrtya Sen praised Bihar model of development, divisive forces hailing from a party led a campaign on social media to assassinate his character," he said at a book release function here.
"Their intolerance towards things they do not like reminds of days of Emergency in 1975 when freedom of speech was throttled," Kumar said. DNA India.
While visiting Argentina a few years ago, just as president Néstor Kirchner was defending the biggest default in history, I saw a televised government message that concluded with the phrase, "Argentina . . . A serious country" ( "Un país en serio"). At the time, I dismissed the ad as more farcical than Orwellian, thinking that a government more obsessed with its image than with reality is its own worst enemy. Unfortunately, such a regime finds enemies elsewhere — starting with any independent journalist or media outlet that refuses to toe the party line.
The Kirchner-controlled congress propagated a media law in 2009 aimed at silencing such critics. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (successor and, now, widow of Néstor) claimed that the measure served the public interest by breaking up powerful monopolies in the communications sector. By requiring the Clarín media conglomerate and others to divest themselves of lucrative cable television licenses, the government will achieve its real objective of muzzling independent newspaper, television and radio outlets. Miami Herald.
Oct 22 (Reuters) - A Massachusetts judge has temporarily blocked the sale of The Boston Globe and Telegram & Gazette to Boston Red Sox owner John Henry because it could complicate a pending class action lawsuit, according to court documents.
The New York Times Co had been due to seal the reported $70 million deal for the papers and related businesses with Henry on Friday, nearly three months after it was first announced.
Judge Shannon Frison of Worcester Superior Court issued the order on Friday after lawyers said the sale could interfere with a lawsuit against the Telegram & Gazette filed by the newspaper's carriers, in which they are seeking status as employees instead of contractors. Reuters.
Another Huntsman. Another political media gig. Former 2012 GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman has signed on to host a weekly radio program on SiriusXM's POTUS channel, following daughter Abby's lead into the land of political media. She currently co-hosts The Cycle on MSNBC
Huntsman's show will be called "No Labels Radio with Jon Huntsman" and the former Utah governor and U.S. Ambassador to China will bring on guests to discuss bipartisan solutions for breaking up the gridlock in Washington. US News.
NEW DELHI: Ahead of parliamentary elections, Congresshas changed tack on its media strategy. It is no longer relying solely on senior leaders for briefing and training its spokespersons.
On party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's insistence, the party has brought in media strategists to provide professional inputs at brainstorming sessions. Apart from daily morning discussions on political issues, these strategists have been sharing the industry's point of view on important economic issues.
The induction of professionals into the party's media strategising has seen the comeback of Rajiv Desai,founder of I-PAN public relations agency, who used to advise exprime minister Rajiv Gandhi on media matters during parliamentary elections. The Economic Times.
Washington, D.C.– Speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank Wednesday, conservative author Ann Coulter said the current media landscape should provide Republicans with a bigger boost in favorability with the public than it actually is.
"[Conservatives] are up against a tougher media," Coulter told TheBlaze. "On the other hand, it wasn't that long ago that there wasn't talk radio, there wasn't Fox News, there wasn't a Drudge Report. So, I think we ought to be doing a little bit better."
Polls consistently show that despite a spate of negative press aimed at President Obama over the decidedly disastrous rollout of his signature healthcare law and Democrats' handling of the 16-day government shutdown, Congressional Republicans rate as low or lower in favorability. The Blaze.
Two student editors were suspended at Grambling State University's student newspaper, the Gramblinite, in an incident that raises student free-press issues and highlights the consequences of states turning down federal stimulus money. One student said he plans to resign.
Tracie Powell reported Sunday for allDigitocracy.com, "David Lankster Sr. said he's been fired after tweeting statements from anonymous sources and photos of dilapidated facilities (here and here) using the newspaper's Twitter account, and he accused the school's Director of Public Relations and Communications, former journalist Will Sutton, of attempting to censor student journalists. Maynard Institute.
WASHINGTON — The Graham family said goodbye to The Washington Post after eight decades of ownership with an emotional send-off reception on Monday night for roughly 650 current and former employees at its downtown headquarters.
The gathering wrapped up a major transition for one of the nation's most prominent family-run newspapers, after Donald E. Graham, the company's chairman and chief executive, announced in August that he would sell the paper to Jeffrey P. Bezos, the founder of Amazon, for $250 million. The deal closed this month and the paper is eventually expected to move out of its headquarters. New York Times.
BuzzFeed, the media Web site focused on viral content, announced on Monday that it was again expanding its reporting staff, this time to introduce an investigative unit. A new team of about half a dozen reporters will be led by Mark Schoofs, who was hired away from the nonprofit investigative service ProPublica.
Before joining ProPublica in 2011, Mr. Schoofs worked as an investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal and earlier at The Village Voice, where he won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for a series on AIDS in Africa. New York Times.
There are some concerns being expressed about media baron Pierre Karl Peladeau's role in Quebec politics, notably his close ties to the pro-independence Parti Québécois government.
The province's Opposition Leader says he wants to know more about the political involvement of the chairman of Quebecor, which dominates the private multimedia landscape in the province and which owns the Sun TV and newspaper chain in English Canada.
Peladeau has been sitting in on cabinet meetings on green-transport projects in his other role – as chairman of Hydro-Québec, to which he was appointed by Premier Pauline Marois.
His tabloid newspaper, Le Journal de Montréal, provided positive coverage in exclusive reports about the project two weeks ago. Toronto Globe and Mail.
A three day Forum on the participation of African NGOS at the 54th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR) and also the 28th African Human Rights Book Fair concluded on Sunday, 20th October, 2013 at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi. The forum brought together stakeholders dealing with various human rights issues from different parts of Africa. Various reports were presented that touched on media freedom and freedom of expression as well as on laws and principles governing media practice such as defamation, sedition and other draconian laws that prevail in many African countries. Speaking at the session on day 2, 19th October, Mr. Henry Maina, the Regional Director of Article 19 from Kenya, expressed his dissatisfaction over certain unfortunate laws that prevail in some African countries and which are hindrance to media and its practitioners. He said all defamation laws and restrictions on Freedom of Expression (FoE) must be proportionate to the harm done and not go beyond what is necessary. All Africa.
Journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, who became famous household names in the 1970s for exposing President Richard Nixon in the biggest political scandal in America, are speaking at Trinity University's Distinguished Lecture Series in observance of the 40th anniversary of Watergate.
The lecture, "Inside the White House: From Nixon to Obama," is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 29 in Laurie Auditorium.
The free lecture will require a ticket for admission. Tickets will be available 10 a.m.-4p.m. Monday-Friday beginning today, at the Laurie Auditorium box office. Tickets are limited to two per person.
Sharon Jones Schweitzer, vice president for external relations at Trinity, said Woodward and Bernstein will share their views on the White House and Obama presidency. "They're not going to talk just about Watergate," she said. "Of course, they can't get away with an appearance like this without reflecting back on that time in their career."
NEW YORK -– The Associated Press has fired a reporter and editor over an erroneous Oct. 9 report that Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe lied to an investigator in a federal fraud case, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The AP retracted the article in question roughly an hour and a half after publication, and last week, suspended its author, veteran political reporter Bob Lewis.
According to sources, Lewis has since been fired. He could not be reached for comment. Huffington Post.
Media in India are highlighting a brutal incident of an 18-year-old woman forced to drink acid by her stalker in Mumbai.
The suspect, 21, attacked the teenager at a jetty late in the evening on Saturday after she called off their marriage, reports say.
The accused "was prone to substance abuse, which the victim did not approve of. When he refused to change his ways, she called off their marriage last month", The Indian Express reports.
The paper adds that the sound of the scuffle and the victim's screams attracted the attention of people at the jetty, including constables patrolling the area.
The suspect has been arrested while the woman, who has suffered burns on her face, remains in the intensive care unit of a hospital. BBC.
A mandatory training program for all Chinese journalists began Saturday. The program will last until the end of the year, but participating journalists were already told not to write anything that would favour Japan with regard to the issues on history and territory.
The training program, required by the Chinese Communist Party, gathered about 250,000 journalists working for media organizations across the country. They were reminded what kind of government China has as they were taught the basics of a Marxist view on journalism and how news-making – from gathering to editing – is done in a communist country. They were also instructed on the laws and regulations, norms included, in a government-controlled media. Japan Daily Press.
People used to say the sun never sets on the British empire. These days, says NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, it would be more accurate to say the sun never sets on Rupert Murdoch's empire.
In a new book, Murdoch's World, Folkenflik writes about the Australian newspaper owner whose company now stretches to India, Great Britain and the United States. He describes a powerful media insider who wants to be seen as an outsider. NPR
(Reuters) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch was re-elected chairman of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc despite protests from shareholder groups who sought to separate the chairman and chief executive positions of the family-dominated company.
Shareholders elected the 82-year-old CEO, his two sons, Lachlan and James, and the rest of the company's 12-person board during the meeting on Friday at the Fox studio lot in Los Angeles.
Shareholders Christian Brothers Investment Services and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation in Canada unsuccessfully proposed the appointment of an independent chair of the company, citing "the level of family control, and the influence this may bring to the impending reorganization." Reuters.
A sculpture in Gdansk, Poland describing a Red Army soldier raping a pregnant woman intended by the artist to dramatize rape victims' suffering, has put him at risk of imprisonment with the charge of promoting national hatred.
Note: the work stood in place without permission for one night next to a memorial to Red Army soldiers who freed the city from the Nazis in 1945. Outraged Russian ambassador in Warsaw, called for an "appropriate reaction" from Polish authorities, saying the artist "defiled" the memory of Soviet servicemen who gave their lives for the freedom and the independence of Poland. Examiner.com
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to restrain media reporting in the cases against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, who is currently facing rape charges.
However, the court has also given the liberty to Asaram to approach court again if it feels there is a violation of media guidelines.
Asaram's police remand was extended till October 22 after the Surat-based woman who has accused controversial godman Asaram of repeated sexual assaults when she was living at his Ashram, has allegedly told the police that some other women, similarly exploited, used to be taken to hospital for abortion. Deccan Chronicle.
The father of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that the "liberal media" in the U.S. has an "evil agenda" that reminds him of the "ministry of misinformation" in communist countries like Cuba.
In an interview with radio host Glenn Beck, Cruz said that the media was interested in "destroying what this country is all about."
"In your previous segment you were talking about imagining America," Cruz said, according to a video clip obtained by BuzzFeed. "I'll tell you what, it almost seemed like I was listening to what was happening in Cuba during Castro. The very same thing, the ministry of misinformation that you have in all the communist countries." The Hill.
A pioneer of trade unionism in the newspaper industry of Pakistan and a veteran journalist, Asrar Ahmad died, quietly on October 06, 2012 after leading years of secluded post-retirement life in a small dwelling at Rawalpindi. This unsung hero of Pakistani journalism struggled for journalists' rights besides setting unimpeachable professional standards.
Apart from his achievements in journalism he distinguished himself with his hard work in achieving better privileges for working journalists, not merely in Pakistan but also abroad, as a leader of the Afro-Asian Journalists Association. He remained a bachelor all his life and devoted time to the profession, colleagues and fraternity. The younger generation of journalists, working in the profession today, is scarcely familiar with his name and contribution. Business Recorder.
EBay Inc founder Pierre Omidyar on Wednesday said he is building an independent media organization covering news from sports to politics for mainstream readers, spearheaded by big names including ex-Guardian correspondent Glenn Greenwald.
Omidyar, the 46-year-old French-born Iranian-American who remains chairman of the e-commerce giant he founded, wrote in a blog post that he considered buying the Washington Post – which Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos eventually snapped up – but decided he wanted to build a news organization from the ground up.
"Right now, I'm in the very early stages of creating a new mass media organization. I don't yet know how or when it will be rolled out, or what it will look like," he wrote. Business Tech.
Before he was promoted to his current role as chief executive officer of News Corp., Robert Thomson used his position at The Wall Street Journal to hobble the paper's reporting of the parent company's phone hacking scandal, according to a new book.
According to a report in Capital New York, Murdoch's World, the forthcoming book on Rubert Murdoch's empire by NPR media reporter David Folkenflik, alleges that as the phone-hacking story broke in the summer of 2011, Thomson, then the Journal managing editor, "tried to prevent the publication" of a "damaging" article on the scandal.
Thomson was later promoted to CEO of News Corp.
The article in question detailed discrepancies between News of the World's claim that a single reporter from the publication accessed the voicemails of 13-year-old murder victim Millie Dowler, versus evidence that a team of nine journalists from the publication had been ordered to write stories based on the illicitly obtained voicemails. Media Matters.
AMMONNEWS - A Jordanian journalist announced that he is seeking political asylum in Sweden, citing that he has been facing severe security pressures and threats in the past three years as a result of his work in the media.
Alaa Fazaa', who runs the "Khabar Jo" Jordanian news website, arrived in Stockholm this past week and issued a press release where he announced that he is seeking political asylum in Sweden.
Fazza' said that he intends to disclose information that will "surprise everyone" regarding the security and political pressures he had faced in the past three years as a result of his journalism practice. Ammon.
A conservative media watchdog group is complaining of the heavily skewed coverage of the shutdown debacle that painted the GOP as its culprits, reports The Washington Examiner.
The Media Research Center claims that in the two week long shutdown, the "124 full stories and brief items about the shutdown" the MRC reviewed blamed Republicans in 41 cases, both sides in 17, and Democrats in none. While not providing any headlines to illustrate how media rhetoric was biased in the above finding, the MRC does quote mainstream network pundits who called out the GOP for shutdown blame and cites media references to the plight of furloughed workers. Politix.
The British government has increased its attacks on the Guardian over the paper's national security and intelligence reporting.
During his weekly question-and-answer session in Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister David Cameron was asked if he thought there should be an investigation into the Guardian's publication of secret documents leaked by Edward Snowden. He replied that he thought parliamentary committees should decide "if they want to examine this issue and make further recommendations."
The Home Affairs committee promptly announced that it would be launching an inquiry. Huffington Post.
LONDON (AP) -- A journalist from The Sun newspaper has been charged in relation to the theft of a British lawmaker's mobile phone.
Nick Parker, chief foreign correspondent for the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid, is already facing charges over alleged corrupt payments to public officials - charges that stem from Britain's wide-ranging phone-hacking scandal.
British prosecutors said Friday that Parker has been charged with unauthorized access to computer material and receiving stolen goods - namely, a mobile phone belonging to Labour Party lawmaker Siobhain McDonagh. Associated Press.
Fox News incorrectly reported that Rep. Bill Young (R-Fla.) had passed away Thursday afternoon. A spokesperson for the congressman said Thursday that the congressman is "gravely ill" but still alive.
"Bill Young's condition turned for the worse over night and he is gravely ill. His doctors say his prognosis is guarded," the Young family said in a statement.
Gretchen Carlson reported Young's death as a Fox News Alert on air during her afternoon show and later issued a correction on air.
"Alright, I'm really sorry to report that earlier we did report that Congressman Bill Young had passed away. We are now told that is not the case and we of course sincerely apologize for that error," Carlson said. "Hopefully that won't happen again." Politico.
The Media Foundation for West Africa is holding a series of special forums on the performance of Ghana's media in the coverage of the Supreme Court's adjudication and ruling on the 2012 Election Petition.
The forums, themed "The Media's Coverage of the 2012 Election Petition Adjudication: Successes, Challenges and the way forward", are targeted at court reporters, news editors and other journalists.
They are aimed at highlighting the high points in media's reportage; challenges (in terms of quality of reportage, ethical/professional/legal issues, resource allocation, etc.); and recommendations for reporting high-profile issues in the future.
The forums form part of activities being undertaken by the MFWA under the last phase of its language monitoring project which is funded by STAR-Ghana. All Africa.
Sara Fritz, a Washington-based journalist who worked on early computer-assisted investigations, won awards for her coverage of the White House and Congress, and wrote searchingly about the suicide of her 12-year-old son, died Oct. 16 at George Washington University Hospital. She was 68.
The cause was complications from a lung infection after hip surgery last month, said her husband, James A. Kidney. She was a District resident.
American Journalism Review described Ms. Fritz as one of the "unsung heroes" of political reporting — rarely a schmoozer or schmoozee, never landing on trendy lists of star journalists, and seldom on the receiving end of calculated leaks by powerful people.
But if she was largely unfeted by the Georgetown salon crowd and general public, Ms. Fritz earned a reputation for dogged investigative work that brought her some of the profession's highest honors. The journalism review likened her to Lt. Columbo, the rumpled but wily homicide detective played on television by Peter Falk. Washington Post.
The Texas Tribune, an Austin-based nonprofit news agency that brings in much of its revenue through grants, donations and live public policy events, has turned to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to pay for its latest initiative.
Seeking to stream political debates and other events — known as livestreaming — during the 2014 Texas gubernatorial election, the Tribune has set out to raise $60,000 to pay for the broadcasting and editing equipment it will need for the nearly year-long effort. Austin (Texas) Business Journal.
Three journalists working on Pacific issues are expressing hopes for better media coverage of the Pacific region.
Former Radio New Zealand International senior reporter Sara Vui-talitu has been at the radio station for close to a decade.
She said although New Zealand's influence in the region had declined, the country's media were still very important in the Pacific context.
Vui-talitu, who currently works at AUT University, also said "there is definitely a place for indigenous reporting".
She said that often the mainstream media did not cover indigenous issues, and that was where indigenous reporting could have a place. Pacific Scoop.
Ronan Farrow is joining MSNBC where he will host a new Monday-Friday program for the network. Farrow is a writer and lawyer, and son of actress/humanitarian Mia Farrow and, most likely,film director/actor Woody Allen.
"Ronan has established himself as a provocative, independent journalist capable of challenging people's assumptions and empowering audiences," said MSNBC president Phil Griffin in his announcement. "His show will be a game changer for MSNBC, representing a fresh approach to how we deliver news." TVNewser.
RICHMOND, Va. – As Election Day nears, be ready for Republican Ken Cuccinelli, Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Libertarian Robert Sarvis to pop up when you check your Facebook page and Twitter feed. Their gubernatorial campaigns are all engaged on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Experts say these are indispensable tools in political campaigning today.
David Saunders, president and chief idea officer of the advertising agency Madison+Main, stresses the importance of a strong online presence. "Social media is about the like and the share," said Saunders. "It is the culture of personality."
Saunders believes social media platforms are too popular to ignore during elections. Typically in October, campaign efforts are increased with more advertisements, Facebook posts and tweets promoting the candidates' messages. Each candidate's campaign on average makes several Facebook posts a day, with some gaining hundreds of likes and comments. WTVR.com.
KUALA LUMPUR: AS the contest for the Umno vicepresidential spots heats up, the candidates vying for the three posts are racing against time to meet as many delegates as possible.
Candidates scramble to and from events, lucky to sleep five hours at night. But that's not the only game in town any more. Social media has become part and parcel of campaign communications and it is expected to play an influential role in the run-up to the polls this Saturday.
The three incumbents — Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein — and the three challengers — Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir and Datuk Seri Mohd Ali
Rustam — are active on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites. New Straits Times.
Ayub Khattak, a journalist for Pakistan's Karak Times, was gunned down in the northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on October 11, according to the Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RWB).
Colleagues and family members believe that Khattak was murdered in retaliation for his reporting. Fellow reporter Haleem Bukhari told RWB, "The deceased had filed a story on the sale of drugs and drug-sellers and that appears to have been the reason for his targeted killing."
Khattak was accosted near his home by two men on a motorcycle who questioned him about his reporting before shooting him several times with a Kalashnikov. Radio Free Europe.
In an exclusive with BuzzFeed on Tuesday afternoon, journalist Glenn Greenwald revealed that he will soon depart the London-basedGuardian for a "once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity" with a "well-funded" new media outlet.
Greenwald rose to international prominence recently when he published information from former National Security Agency contractorEdward Snowden that revealed the extent to which American officials were engaged in the snooping on its own civilians and the obtaining of private information.
"My partnership with the Guardian has been extremely fruitful and fulfilling: I have high regard for the editors and journalists with whom I worked and am incredibly proud of what we achieved," Greenwaldtold BuzzFeed by email. "The decision to leave was not an easy one, but I was presented with a once-in-a-career dream journalistic opportunity that no journalist could possibly decline." Mediaite.
NBC News reporter Luke Russert, the son of the late journalist Tim Russert, told CBN News' David Brody that he believes media outlets are biased against people of faith.
Russert's comments will likely be seen as vindication by religious individuals who have long argued that mainstream reporters often mistreat and stereotype the faithful.
Russert told Brody he agreed with the claim that those who wear their faith on their sleeve are often covered unfairly, regardless of which religion or faith sect it is.
"I think that's absolutely accurate and I think the current world in which we live in, specifically with the American media, 'snark' is valued," Russert said. "And it's very easy to come after people of faith no matter what they're religion is — if they're Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Hindu." The Blaze.
Politico, the politics-obsessed website that quickly became a major force in Washington coverage, has named one of the two journalists who conceived it and launched it as its president and CEO.
Jim VandeHei, a former Washington Post political reporter who has been Politico's executive editor, will also be in charge of Capital New York, the New York City-centric website that Politico owner Robert Allbritton is acquiring.
Allbritton is selling his television holdings to Sinclair Broadcast Group and plans to invest some of the proceeds in Politico, Capital New York and other new-media- ventures. VandeHei, 42, whose appointment takes effect immediately, succeeds Politico co-founder Fred Ryan. USA Today.
HARARE - Local media houses have been urged to refocus their news in a marketable fashion and to concentrate on generating content which has the potential to earn them money as opposed to concentrating on political issues.
The Minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services, Jonathan Moyo made the remarks while on tour at the Financial Gazette offices.
He said local media institutions should to shift their focus from concentrating on political issues real or imagined, at the expense of issues which affect their readership and audiences.
"For quite some time in Zimbabwe, people thought that the best news that sells is political news but there is no money in that. Some international organisations such as Reuters for example generate significant figures of revenue from reporting on financial issues, even African financial markets," said Moyo. The Zimbabwe Mail.
Ghanaian civil society organizations have banded together in a push for greater Internet access in the country. Earlier this month 30 organizations called on the government to make Internet penetration a priority. The call took place turning a workshop on Internet freedom in Ghana organized by the Media Foundation for West Africa with support from a UK-based organization, Global Partners and Associates. Ghana's Communications Minister, Dr. Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, has voiced his support for the organizations' plea.
"This is not an easy proposition in this era of technology and the necessity to build an inclusive and sustainable information and knowledge society," Boamah said as he opened the Regional Preparatory Meeting for Africa for the World Telecommunications Development Conference 2014. Tech President.
Another Philippine journalist was killed in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, bringing to at least six the total slain in the country this year. In none of the cases have police determined whether they were killed because of their work as journalists or for other reasons. The investigations into the cases appear to have gone nowhere and get only brief media attention.
In the most recent case, Vergel Bico, 41, an editor for the weekly newspaper Kalahi, who had written about illegal gambling, was shot twice in the head while riding his motorcycle in Calapan City in Mindoro Oriental province, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) south of Manila, according to The Associated Press.
Police Chief D'Artagnan Katalbas told AP the gunman fled on a motorcycle driven by another man. No motive has been established, but Katalbas said investigators were "not discounting" that the killing was related to Bico's work as a journalist. Committee to Protect Journalists.
Media coverage of the National Security Agency has exploded, according to a new report by Dow Jones.
The wire service crunched the numbersfrom its Factiva service, which archives news stories from thousands of outlets around the world, and found that there has been a huge leap in the number of pieces mentioning the NSA.
The agency has been in the news almost continuously since Edward Snowden leaked documents about its top-secret activities to the media in June. Dow Jones counted 15,450 mentions of the NSA per month in the summer of 2013. That's over 10,000 more NSA-related stories since the last period the agency was most in the news, which came during the warrantless wiretapping scandal of the Bush administration. Huffington Post.
Doha-based Al Jazeera Media Network said it will take legal action after finding out there was a deliberate effort to jam its satellite signal in Egypt.
The network received a technical report compiled by Integral Systems, a US-based global satellite company, revealing the source of the deliberate jamming that Al Jazeera was continuously subject to since July 7, said a statement.
The report showed that the interference came from three locations east of the Egyptian capital of Cairo, and that the fourth site is west of the capital. The report also confirmed that three of the four sites are in areas of military installations, it said.
The network condemned the jamming of its operations in the statement and stressed that any attempt to disturb the broadcast will not affect its quest to report facts and bring truth to viewers. Trade Arabia.
Al Jazeera America's ratings were unimpressive in its first full week after launch.
Though it takes months to establish a new cable network, it's clear that AJAM has serious viewership, advertising and distribution hurdles to resolve.
The network averaged 23,000 total viewers in primetime for the week ended Sept. 1, according to Nielsen, and 18,000 in total day.
That was up from 18,000 in prime and 14,000 in total day during the previous week, when it launched on a Tuesday and did not get a full week's worth of numbers in. Media Life Magazine.
It's probably safe to say that Egyptian media won't be portraying Barack Obama as "god of all things" anytime soon. An Egyptian media source has actually taken the opposite position, portraying the president as the devil himself, PJ Media reported Wednesday.
Raymond Ibrahim, author of "Crucified Again: Exposing Islam's New War on Christians," said the Egyptian paper Al Wafd published a grotesque picture portraying Obama as Satan, and said it represents the growing hatred many people in the region have for the president, thanks, he said, to Obama's staunch and unwavering support for Islamists and jihadis, "whether in Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, or Syria — even as they terrorize, murder, rape, and burn down Christian churches, that is, even as they engage in diabolical activities."
A blog post at the Gateway Pundit wondered if the media -- including Fox News' Bill O'Reilly -- would denounce the image as racist, reminding readers of the controversy sparked by a series on the History Channel where a character portraying the devil had an uncanny resemblance to Obama. Examiner.com.
New Zealanders could be forgiven for not realising that Australians go to the polls tomorrow following a marathon, and sometimes farcical, election campaign.
This is because there's been very little coverage or awareness of the campaign in New Zealand, as was pointed out by one Australian newspaper report yesterday which said "The campaign noise that's been blaring at Australians for weeks doesn't ring quite as loud across the ditch - which could be a blessing for those voting in New Zealand" - see Elise Scott's Aussies cast their votes in New Zealand.
Another Australian-based New Zealand blogger has also complained that "You wouldn't know an election was being held if you relied on the NZ media" - see:Australian election ignored by NZ media. New Zealand Herald.
NEW YORK -- Veteran journalist Douglas Frantz is joining the State Department as assistant secretary of state for public affairs, according to a source familiar with the move. An official announcement is expected Tuesday.
This will be Frantz's second time working under Secretary of State John Kerry. In 2009, Frantz was hired as an investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by then-Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.)
Frantz, who had previously spent more than three decades at publications such as The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, returned to journalism in May 2012as The Washington Post's national security editor. Huffington Post.
An Egyptian court has ordered the closure of four television stations, including Al Jazeera's Egyptian affiliate, for "insulting the armed forces ... and inciting foreign countries against Egypt".
The court order, issued on 3 September, is part of a crackdown on television stations considered supportive of the ousted president Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood.
The Cairo-based channel Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr has been accused of rumour-mongering and dividing the country over its extensive coverage of opposition protests. Last week, the Government said the channel was operating without a licence and warned that legal action would follow, "given the threat it poses to national security".
Al Jazeera has always denied taking sides and maintains its coverage is fair and balanced.Rapid TV News.
Some might think this election's been a bore but social media users disagree, lighting up Facebook and Twitter with Rudd and Abbott banter.
New social media insights into the current Australian Election were derived using SAP's 'Social Media Analytics by NetBase', a cloud-based solution that quantifies various aspects of online sentiment with a natural language processing engine – and correlates changes in public opinion with campaigns, promotions, news, and other events.
For the period from 25 August – 1 September, the solution was used to analyse social media mentions of Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd, as well as key words associated with their election campaigns. The analysis included multiple platforms, including Twitter, Facebook, comments from news sites and online forums.
This analysis into the Australian Election showed that while Tony Abbott triggers more comments online overall, Kevin Rudd generates more negative and more positive comments, as well as slightly lower net sentiment. IT Wire.
CNN Digital has named Peter Hamby national political reporter, making him the second digital-first correspondent for the company. Kelly Wallace was the first digital correspondent, reporting on family and career issues. She joined CNN from iVillage in June.
Hamby will cover politics, policy and campaigns across the country, from national elections to state and local affairs. His reporting will appear across CNN Digital and on CNN TV.
"Peter is a scrappy and well-sourced reporter and a swift writer with a big social fan base," said Meredith Artley, managing editor of CNN Digital in a statement. "That combined with his on-air experience and knack for breaking big news stories make him the perfect person to give this classic CNN beat a new spin." Media Bistro.
Political reporting in Northern California recently took a hit after ABC closed its Sacramento bureau and laid off bureau chief Nannette Miranda along with KGO political reporter Mark Matthews.
Miranda provided the ABC owned stations in Los Angeles (KABC), Fresno (KFSN) and San Francisco Bay Area (KGO) political and regional coverage from the state's Capitol while Matthews was the lone political reporter left in the San Francisco Bay Area market.
Randy Shandobil, former political reporter for FOX affiliate KTVU, wrote in SFGate.com yesterday that after veteran political reporter Hank Plante retired from CBS owned KPIX in 2010 and Kevin Riggs left Sacramento NBC affiliate KCRA, the craft of reporting about politics in Northern California has gone the way of the dinosaur. Shandobil said when he told Plante about the latest layoffs, Plante said, "think of all the stories not being told." Media Bistro.
NEW DELHI -- Political parties are shifting their campaign trails onto the unfamiliar turf of social media in search of votes in upcoming elections.
From the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to the small, resource-strained Aam Aadmi Party, everyone is working on bolstering their digital presence ahead of five state polls this year and national elections next summer.
As Delhi, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh hold elections, the Congress is adding a separate social-media wing to the communications teams in each of state.
Last week in Delhi, the Congress also held a social-media workshop, for five party officials from each state in the country. Two Congress ministers, Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor, held seminars at the workshop on Twitter and micro-blogging. The National.
AFP, Cairo -- A Cairo court on Monday ordered that an Islamist television channel be closed permanently, accusing it of attempting to disrupt the unity of Egypt.
The broadcaster, Al-Hafez, was ordered shut after accusations that it was "inciting hatred" against Coptic Christians and "undermining national unity".
Al-Hafez and some of its presenters have often been accused by Copts and liberals of using harsh language about them in its reports.
The channel was among several other Islamist networks to be taken temporarily off the air soon after the July 3 ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi by the military. Al Arabiya.
A panel discussion on the media coverage of the June meeting between President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping of China took place Tuesday at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
The event's panel featured School of Journalism Director Michael Parks, Interim Director of Annenberg's Center on Communication Leadership and Policy Geoffrey Cowan and Director of the USC U.S.–China Institute Clayton Dube.
The meeting between the American and Chinese presidents, which took place at Sunnylands, Walter H. Annenberg's Rancho Mirage, Calif. estate, included issues ranging from cybersecurity to climate change, according to Forbes. Daily Trojan.
In the past two weeks, Guinean media have suffered a series of attacks for covering and reporting on rallies held by the ruling party, the People's Rally of Guinea (RPG).
Supporters of the RPG and soldiers attached to President Alpha Condé's security detail have reportedly attacked a number of journalists and ransacked a radio station, Bate FM, for covering the president's rallies.
David Tchopn Bangoura, a reporter for privately-owned radio station, Lynx FM, is the latest journalist to suffer harassment at the hands of angry RPG supporters.
According to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)'s monitor, on August 24, 2013, the angry supporters accosted Bangoura and threatened to lynch him for covering the day's rally without authorization from the RPG. All Africa.
JOURNALISM standards in the country have sharply dropped since 2000 due to a number of factors, chief among them state interference, low salaries as well as poor working conditions and the polarised nature of the operating environment.
According to a Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe (VMCZ) report entitled The State of Journalism Ethics in Zimbabwe, journalism has deteriorated to pathetic levels compared to pre-2000 standards when journalists carried out their duties with less state interference.
The VMCZ report says the journalism profession took a nosedive after former Information minister Jonathan Moyo introduced repressive measures to stifle the media following his appointment in 2000, soon after Zanu PF secured a narrow win over the MDC in parliamentary elections. Zimbabwe Independent.
The Economist has hesitantly thrown its support behind Kevin Rudd as the nation gears up to head to the polls next week, declaring that the Labor Party's "decent record" in recent years makes it the best party to face the challenges of the future.
While acknowledging that the Liberal-National coalition is the natural home of The Economist's vote, the magazine says in an editorial due to be published on Saturday that it has broken with tradition and endorsed Mr Rudd, although "the choice for voters, frankly, is not great".
"The choice between a man with a defective manifesto and one with a defective personality is not appealing—but Mr Rudd gets our vote, largely because of Labor's decent record," The Economist writes, describing the parties' respective leaders as "Daggy Abbott and rude Rudd". The Sydney Morning Herald.
Prominent Australian television personality Adam Hills has criticised the British press' coverage of federal elections in Australian while casting his early vote in London's Australia House.
According to Mr Hills, the British media wanted to reinforce the view that Australians are "hopeless hicks who don't know what we're doing." Referring to funny moments and gaffes in Australian politics, he said the British press was quick to report them as news in the UK.
Mr Hills mentioned Australian Opposition leader Tony Abbott's accidental reference in his speech about the "suppository of wisdom," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's fondness for taking "selfies" and former One Nation candidate Stephanie Banister dubbed as Australia's Sarah Palin for mistaking Islam for a country. International Business Times.
Steve Kroft, a veteran correspondent for CBS News, will open Fairfield University's Open Visions lecture series on Monday, Sept. 16, in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. Kroft's talk, "My Years in Journalism," will include stories from his extensive career in war correspondence and with CBS News and "60 Minutes," including his experiences surviving a plane crash, covering wars in five continents, and meeting some of the world's most influential people.
Early in his career, Kroft served with the U.S. Armyin Vietnam as a correspondent and photographer forPacific Stars and Stripes. He became a foreign correspondent for CBS News in London covering terrorism in Europe and the Middle East, including the TWA hijacking in Beirut, the massacres at the Rome and Vienna airports by terrorists, and theAchille Lauro hijacking. Fairfield Citizen.
SPJ is considering changing its name from Society of Professional Journalists to Society for Professional Journalism. [My error: My original post had OF, not FOR.]
Some at SPJ, according to a Romenesko tipster, favor "changing the focus of the organization to upholding and advocating the principles of professional journalism rather than the people performing the craft." The SPJ member added: "It's also a reaction to U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and others trying to define who is and isn't a journalist. It's a proposal that the national board will be debating for quite a while, I suspect." Jim Romenesko.
NEW DELHI: The war of words over Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's attack on the opposition spread to the social media with Sushma Swaraj saying he had lost grace while I & B Minister Manish Tewari hitting back claiming that it was the BJP leader who had lost space in her party.
Earlier, Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on Twitter "the Rupee has lost its value. The Prime Minister has lost his grace."
The I & B Minister was quick to post a lyrical retort in a post on Twitter. The Economic Times.
Ruben Navarrette says a Republican strategist got booted from a panel at the National Association for Hispanic Journalists' annual convention because California Assembly Speaker John Perez, a Democrat, objected.
Navarrette's article "like the ones before it and after are accurate in actions taken, but incorrectly suggest the reasons why," NAHJ President Hugo Balta tells Poynter in an email. "In the end — I am in agreement … poor decision making was made. I assume full responsibility for that."
Navarrette says Perez complained to NAHJ about a planned panel appearance by Hector Barajas, a Republican strategist. Perez's spokesperson Steve Maviglio told Navarrette the speaker objected because the program "said this panel was for Latino elected officials." The actress Eva Longoria and Maria Teresa Kumar of the group Voto Latino were both on the panel. Poynter.
Bill O'Reilly apologized Thursday night for his erroneous comments about the 50th anniversary celebrations of the March on Washington the previous day.
O'Reilly had complained that no Republicans had been invited to the event. In fact, many, including both living Republican presidents, John McCain, Jeb Bush and John Boehner had been asked to attend. All declined for various reasons.
O'Reilly admitted that he had been wrong.
"The mistake? Entirely on me," he said. "I simply assumed ... Republicans were excluded." Huffington Post.
CAIRO — Egypt's interim government called an Al-Jazeera local affiliate that broadcasts in Arabic a national threat Thursday, moving closer to banning its broadcasts beamed from Qatar after the affiliate aired recordings of declarations by fugitive leaders of theMuslim Brotherhood. The Qatar-based television network said four journalists working for its English service were arrested in Cairo.
Three government ministers issued a statement saying that Al-Jazeera Mubashir Misr is operating "illegally, in violation to the profession's standards and without a permit to work in Egypt," the state-run news agency MENA reported.
The ministers also said the channel used satellite transmission without a license and spread "rumors and claims which are harmful to Egyptian national security and threaten the country's unity," without referring specifically to the broadcasts of the fugitives' declarations. Daily Reporter.
Marcy McGinnis, former Associate Dean of the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University, was appointed senior vice-president of news gathering at Al Jazeera America, is a cable news channel that launched on Aug. 20.
In her new role, McGinnis is in charge of Al Jazeera America's domestic and international news coverage. AJAM recently opened 12 bureaus throughout the United States and has plans to open four additional bureaus. Al Jazeera America also has access to news coverage from over 70 of Al Jazeera's international bureaus.
"I am looking forward to being part of an organization that is going to cover the news in a more in-depth way," McGinnis said. "I am eager to be part of this new venture that will hopefully give Americans another outlet to go to for really strong journalism."
In her previous role as Associate Dean of Stony Brook University's School of Journalism, McGinnis assisted in developing the school since its foundation in 2006. She supervised the design, construction and development of the newsroom and TV studio. The Statesman.
Cabinet Minister Gerry Brownlee has questioned why political reporters' phone, email and swipe card records should be protected when they frequently publish classified information or the private records of others.
Mr Brownlee's questions came as Parliament's privileges committee continued its investigation into the release of reporter Andrea Vance's records to the Henry inquiry into the leak of a report on the GCSB.
United Future Leader Peter Dunne resigned his ministerial portfolios after refusing to release details of his email correspondence with Ms Vance just before she published an article detailing the report's findings of potentially illegal spying on New Zealanders by the GCSB. The New Zealand Herald.
The censure of a senior BBC correspondent over his use of Twitter in covering the Middle East could have a chilling effect on the use of the medium by the organisation's global network of journalists.
The BBC Trust has upheld an accuracy complaint against the respected foreign correspondent Wyre Davies after he tweeted about rocket attacks in Gaza and Israel last November.
Although the Trust praised Davies for "the overall quality and integrity of his reporting across various media" during Israel's Operation Pillar of Defence, it found he had breached accuracy guidelines in a 7.25am tweet, which stated that "In this 'limited operation' at least 13 Palestinians and 3 Israelis have been killed - nearly all civilians. #Gaza". Four of the 13 Palestinians were later identified as civilians, with the others being militants. The Independent.
The future of broadcast television and other news media in Argentina now rests with its Supreme Court, which began hearing arguments Wednesday over a law the government says will foster competition by breaking up privately held monopolies in the information business.
The 2009 law's stiff limits on cable TV ownership would force Grupo Clarin to break itself apart, demolishing a leading opposition voice against government power. Clarin is Argentina's biggest media company, with holdings that include one of Latin America's biggest newspapers, magazines, a major cable TV system and broadcast TV and radio stations.
Each side offered five "friends of the court" who took sides arguing for freedom of expression in the hearings, which were broadcast live on Argentine television. Bloomberg Businessweek.
Fox host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that "no Republicans and no conservatives were invited" to participate in attend the anniversary of the March on Washington. Several prominent Republicans were invited, but chose not to attend.
On the August 28 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly hosted Democratic strategist James Carville to discuss the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. During the discussion, O'Reilly complained that President George W. Bush was not invited to speak. O'Reilly later claimed that "[n]o Republicans and no conservatives were invited." O'Reilly went on to respond to Rep. John Lewis' statement that "we're all in the same boat" by asking "Where's the conservative side to that boat?" Media Matters.
With first-time voters set to play an important role in the upcoming elections for the Legislative Assembly, candidates have turned to social media to get their messages through, a political scientist says.
Compared to the last polls in 2009, next month's election will have more young voters, says University of Saint Joseph political scientist Eric Sautedé.
There are 26,909 first-time registered voters and about half are aged 30 or under, official data show. Together they account for almost 10 percent of eligible voters who number more than 277,000 people.
"If you take the usual voting participation rate of 60 percent… this is about 8,000 votes," Mr Sautedé said at a breakfast meeting held by the France Macau Business Association. "This means the new, young voters below 29 can elect one seat."
The September 15 poll will select 14 directly elected legislators, two more seats than in the previous assembly, thanks to the political reforms approved last year. Macau Business Daily.
(CNSNews.com) – Starting on Sunday, the more than 30 million Vietnamese who use the Internet risk punishment if they use their Facebook or Twitter accounts to share news articles.
The posting online of any material that "opposes" the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or "harms national security" will also be outlawed under vague new Internet regulations that are causing dismay at home and abroad.
The introduction of the law known as "Decree 72" comes a month after President Obama hosted Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang at the White House, and less than two months before Vietnam will almost certainly be elected onto the U.N. Human Rights Council. CNS News.
In the spring, aspiring Yale journalists will have the opportunity to learn from one of the most famous names in the field, Bob Woodward '65.
Woodward will teach the spring section of "Journalism," an intensive seminar that the English Department offers each spring and fall. Woodward, who is well-known for uncovering the Watergate Scandal with his colleague Carl Bernstein at the Washington Post in the 1970s, said he hopes to teach his students about the intensive and immersive reporting method he developed throughout his prolific journalistic career.
"I think that even in the era of impatience and speed, which defines the news media now, that there is a place for [total immersive journalism]," Woodward said. "I'm going to try to share 40 years of experience." Yale Daily News.
YENAGOA, Nigeria, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Nigerian authorities have arrested a citizen who posed as a CNN correspondent to try to get money from politicians in exchange for interviews in oil-producing Bayelsa state.
Paul Yempe was rumbled by a member of the local branch of the national journalists union (NUJ) when he approached the office of the state's energy commissioner to solicit an interview for an alleged CNN documentary.
Tare Akono, state NUJ chairman, said by telephone that he had handed the man over to the police for further questioning. Police spokesman Alex Akhigbe confirmed this, but said the case was still being investigated. Huffington Post.
Future Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos will visit The Washington Post next week, sources at the paper tell Poynter.
(Updated Aug. 28: The visit will take place Tuesday, Sept. 3, an email to staffers says. Bezos "will have a Q&A with the newsroom on Tuesday, Sept. 3, in the Community Room," the email says. "It will start at 1:30 p.m. and last until shortly before 3:30 p.m.")
Bezos sent an advance team to the Post last week, other sources told Poynter. Bezos has not yet revealed any of his plans for the paper, which announced on Aug. 5 that he'd buy it. Bezos' only interview so far has been with Post reporter Paul Farhi. "I don't want to imply that I have a worked-out plan," he told Farhi. "This will be uncharted terrain, and it will require experimentation." Poynter.
On August 22, a U.K. court granted David Miranda a limited injunction to stop authorities from "inspecting, copying, or sharing" the data that police had seized while detaining and interrogating him for nine hours at Heathrow Airport on August 18. Miranda had been assisting his partner, Glenn Greenwald, a Guardian reporter, in his coverage of state surveillance.
CPJ issued a letter on August 20 to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, calling for a thorough and transparent investigation into the detention and harassment of Miranda. CPJ said, "The use of anti-terror laws to seize journalistic material from Miranda, partner and assistant to Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, is deeply troubling and not in keeping with the U.K's historic commitment to press freedom.
Guardian Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger, who is a recipient of CPJ's 2012 Burton Benjamin Memorial Award, sent a note thanking CPJ for its support. CPJ's letter was reprinted by The Guardian and, at the request of the newspaper's lawyer, CPJ forwarded the letter to the court where legal proceedings against Miranda's detention were under way. Committee to Protect Journalists.
A Brazilian court on August 6 sentenced João Francisco dos Santos to 27 years in prison for his role as the gunman in the October 19, 2010, murder of radio reporter Francisco Gomes de Medeiros. Authorities have yet to prosecute any masterminds in the killing.
Carlos Lauría, CPJ's senior program coordinator for the Americas, said, "Authorities must now ensure that all those involved in the crime--including the masterminds--are brought to justice in order to send a clear signal to those who wish to violently silence journalists that they will not go unpunished."
CPJ has spent years reporting on the case and advocating for justice in Gomes' murder. Brazil had dropped off CPJ's Impunity Index in 2010, but was reintroduced to the list in 2011 because of Gomes' murder and the subsequent lack of justice.
In 2012, CPJ collaborated with global and local partner organizations and launched a digital campaign, Speak Justice: Voices against Impunity, which fights impunity in press murders. Committee to Protect Journalists.
The famous garage where Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward learned about the Watergate scandal from the informant 'Deep Throat' may be razed to make way for a real estate project.
US developer Monday Properties plans to demolish two 1965 buildings, one of which includes the garage, in the Rosslyn neighbourhood of the Washington suburb of Arlington, Virginia.
The garage was a critical setting in the scandal that forced US president Richard Nixon to step down in 1974, and was immortalised in the 1976 film All the President's Men.
"These two buildings are at the end of their useful life. They will be replaced by a big office building with a mix of uses -- residential, retail, and office," Tim Helmig, chief development officer at Monday Properties, said. Oman Tribune.
News Corp CEO Julian Clarke has defendedThe Telegraph's election coverage saying it's "vital" people are talking about your newspaper, while his Fairfax counterpart Greg Hywood warned digital subscriptions are "no silver bullet".
The two newspaper heavyweights were speaking at a packed PANPA Future Forum in Sydney this morning, alongside APN boss Michael Miller and Chris Wharton, CEO West Australian Newspapers.
Hywood said that given scale in Australia, digital subscriptions will be a "supplementary earner" to his business, but that it's no "silver bullet". B&T.
BHOPAL: State Women's Commission directed the media to use restraint and not to publish news describing a woman characterless. Members of the commission who met here on Monday said this in reference to a news published in a Betul-based newspaper that cast aspersions on a woman without naming her but disclosing the name of her locality.
After publication of the news, people started defaming the woman and she had lodged a complaint to the commission. The joint bench heard seven cases related to harassment at workplace, family disputes and news published in newspaper on Monday. The Times of India.
QUEBEC - The media of English Canada are to blame for pathetic, unfair coverage of the Parti Quebecois' controversial minorities plan, according to prominent Pequistes.
A former premier called the coverage pitiful. And a current cabinet minister took to Twitter to condemn it Tuesday.
The complaints about the Anglo fourth estate came amid a furor over an impending plan by the PQ government to restrict public employees' right to wear religious clothing.
In an interview with The Canadian Press, ex-premier Bernard Landry said he can't accept some of the complaints directed at the Quebecois. Calgary Herald.
Fox News' media show is coming soon.
Howard Kurtz will begin hosting a live weekend program, called "MediaBuzz," on Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. ET.
The new hour-long weekend program will focus on the state of the media and the media's impact on current events and politics. Leading journalists and commentators will be featured on the show.
Kurtz plans to use the new series to examine media bias while looking at the major news stories of the week. The show will also feature real-time reactions to the different topics discussed, using Bing Pulse. Fox News.
THE Headline Worm has revealed News Corp headlines trend close to neutral while Fairfax and Guardian headlines skew as high as 30 per cent bias towards Labor.
News Corp is the publisher of this website.
More than 2100 people have ranked about 7500 stories since August 12, 2013, in the media "perceptions" experiment.
The Headline Worm's creator is Nic Hodges, who is the head of innovation for mediacom.com.au
Technology website mumbrella.com.au revealed the findings earlier today. Read mumbrella's interview with Mr Hodges here.
The Worm shows News Corp headlines maintain a strong zero bias towards either of the major political parties. Above 0% is bias towards Labor. Below 0% is biased towards Liberal. The Telegraph.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the Philippine capital on Monday to voice outrage at corrupt politicians, in a modern-day "People Power" rally fuelled by social media.
The protesters ranged from members of the clergy and students to businessmen, middle-class families, lawyers and other professionals, in a sign of the breadth of anger over graft in the impoverished nation.
Calls for protest began circulating on Facebook and Twitter about two weeks ago after a series of newspaper articles, many in the popular Philippine Daily Inquirer, about a mammoth scam involving legislators' Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Global Post.
MUMBAI— A female photojournalist on assignment in Mumbai was gang raped while her male colleague was tied up and beaten, the police said. Five men were being sought as suspects in the assault Thursday evening.
''She was taken to Jaslok Hospital with multiple injuries,'' said Rane, a head constable at the N.M. Joshi Marg police station in the Lower Parel neighborhood of Mumbai, where the case was registered. Mr. Rane refused to reveal his full name.
The attack occurred around sunset, as the woman and her colleague were visiting Shakti Mills, an abandoned textile mill complex near the Mahalaxmi train station in Lower Parel. The woman was taking photographs of the area for a magazine story about Mumbai's chawls, tenements for workers employed in the mills. New York Times.
AFP_NEW DELHI: India's embattled prime minister appealed Saturday to the media, increasingly critical of his scandal-hit government, not to launch a "witch hunt" while investigating corruption.
Manmohan Singh's call came as his Congress-led government struggles to restore order in parliament where opposition parties have stalled business in a row over allegedly illegal allocation of mining rights.
"The spirit of enquiry must not morph into a campaign of calumny," Singh, 81, said while launching a state-built media centre in the Indian capital.
"A witch hunt is no substitute for investigative journalism," the prime minister said and urged media groups to rise above "personal prejudices." The Frontier Post.
New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS): A state-of-the art National Media Centre comparable to those in capitals across the world was inaugurated Saturday, with an impressive conference hall, workplace for the media, a library, cafeteria and high-speed internet.
The four-storied Rs.60 crore facility, built over three years, is located at the heart of the capital, on Raisina Road - with many important government buildings a stone's throw away and in the vicinity of the Parliament House and Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Press Club of India and the Indian Women's Press Corps are right next door.
The cream sandstone and blue glass facade-building has glass-covered corridors on each floor, overlooking a garden at the center. Daijiworld.com.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin urged the media to portray the violations of ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) holistically, and said that the strained relations between the two countries is not an international issue anymore, but instead one between India and Pakistan.
Akbaruddin was speaking to the media after making a presentation at Administrative Staff College of India here yesterday.
Akbaruddin said that ceasefire violations were common from both sides but the media is yet to report such events in the proper perspective. Business Standard.
Keith Olbermann is returning to ESPN2 with a nightly show - cleverly titled "Olbermann" - on Aug. 26. And he won't be talking politics, he promised.
Not because he can't, but because he doesn't want to.
"There's nothing preventing me from doing it other than common sense," Olbermann said.
He flat out denied a report in The New York Times that he was forbidden contractually from talking about politics on his new show. Middletown Press.
MUCH media coverage has been afforded Tony Abbott's proposed paid parental leave scheme. It has been the most mentioned media issue in the country during the past week, with 9349 radio mentions, 6375 on television, 5642 online and 572 print articles, garnering an enormous 21,938 mentions overall.
Not surprisingly, the second biggest issue of the past week, the People's Forum leaders' debate for which television was the biggest medium, centred on the Opposition Leader's "shut up" outburst, a gotcha moment that was prompted by the parental leave issue. The debate gathered 16,569 total media mentions. The Australian.
West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee Sunday accused a section of media of "sensationalising" trivial matters being heard by courts which was influencing the judiciary.
"The (section of) media has been regularly sensationalising trivial matters which are sub-judice. They should not do this for I feel this has been influencing our judicial system," said Banerjee at an event.
"Influencing the judicial system like this is unwarranted," added the ruling Trinamool Congress leader.
Banerjee's comments came in for sharp criticism from legal experts. Business Standard.
Koch Industries will not be buying the Tribune Company's eight newspapers, which include the Chicago Tribune and the LA Times, The Daily Caller has learned.
Sources with knowledge of the business proceedings told The Daily Caller that Koch Industries, after conducting its due diligence, has not been interested in buying the newspapers for "a couple months."
The company determined that purchasing the newspapers was "not economically viable" and that both parties walked away from the negotiations, they said. The Daily Caller.
Hundreds of Egyptian protesters massed in front of The Washington Post's office in Washington D.C. on Thursday saying that the outlet's coverage of Egypt's military takeover was biased in favor of ousted President Mohammed Mursi, the targeted news outlet reported on Friday.
Police closed down the block as crowds gathered around the office's front entrance at about 2.15 pm, reported the newspaper.
Washington Post security locked its public entrance and closed its metal security gate. The group moved on after about half-an-hour, they reported.
According to the newspaper, many of the demonstrators were Coptic Christians complaining that the Washington Post has not sufficiently covered the burning and looting of churches in the country, reportedly perpetrated by Islamists affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Al Arabiya.
Nearly four dozen media organizations wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday asking him to withdraw the Justice Department's subpoena of New York Times reporter James Risen in a leak case.
The letter, sent by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and 45 other news organizations, argued that the Justice Department should follow new guidelines on leak investigations that it released in July, and thus drop its efforts to compel Risen to testify in the trial of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling.
Sterling was indicted in connection with alleged leaks to Risen for his 2006 book on CIA efforts in Iran. Politico.
London (CNN) -- David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, won a partial victory in his legal action against the Metropolitan Police Thursday, but the judge left a loophole that allows the police to continue investigating the materials they seized from him on Sunday.
Miranda, a Brazilian citizen, spent nearly nine hours in detention Sunday being questioned under a provision of Britain's terrorism laws, after he was stopped as he changed planes on his way home from Berlin to Brazil.
Authorities confiscated Miranda's electronic equipment, including his mobile phone, laptop, memory sticks, smart watch, DVDs and games consoles.
The High Court order says that the inspection, copying, disclosure, transfer and distribution of the materials seized must cease, save for the purpose of protecting national security and for the purpose of investigating whether the claimant is a person who is, or has been, connected with terrorism. CNN.
The Huffington Post which has logged more than 260 million comments in its history will end anonymity in those comments, founder Arianna Huffington said Wednesday morning.
"Trolls are just getting more and more aggressive and uglier and I just came from London where there are rape and death threats," Huffington said in comments to reporters after a speech atHubspot's Inbound 2013 conference in Boston. The changeover will come in mid-September, she said.
"I feel that freedom of expression is given to people who stand up for what they say and not hiding behind anonymity," she said. "we need to evolve a platform to meet the needs of the grown-up Internet," she said. The current Huff Po system uses advanced algorithms to moderate comments plus 40 moderators, but that is not enough now, she said. Gigaom.
Fox News Executive Vice President Brian Lewis, the communications chief and a top strategist for the cable channel, was terminated after an internal investigation raised questions about his conduct.
"After an extensive internal investigation of Brian Lewis' conduct by Fox News, it was determined that he should be terminated for cause, specifically for issues relating to financial irregularities, as well as for multiple, material and significant breaches of his employment contract," a spokesman for Fox News parent company 21st Century Fox said.
Fox News and 21st Century Fox declined to elaborate on Lewis' transgressions. He was let go on July 25, but the firing only came to light on Tuesday after a story about it appeared in the Hollywood Reporter. Lewis could not be reached for comment. Los Angeles Times.
The New York Times coverage of the 2008 presidential race was "decidedly stereotypical," according to a new study, whose author fears a similar "gendered agenda" may occur in the 2016 race.
"At the aggregate level, what I found was that Clinton's gender was mentioned much more so than her male competitors and that she also received less issue coverage than her male competitors," said Lindsey Meeks, whose study appears in the September 2013 issue of theJournalism and Mass Communications Quarterly.
Meeks is a researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington's Department of Communications whose area of specialty includes how the news media covers the gender of political candidates. Media Matters.
Beijing: Apart from "China" and "India", "border" is the most common word used by Indian media in their reports on China as they stepped up coverage on the country, while the official media here registered a steady decline in its reportage on India, according to a survey.
The report by the Global Times Global Poll Centre showed the number of reports on China increased in six out of 10 surveyed Indian media outlets from 2010 to 2012 increasing Beijing's profile in the country.
The reports on India are decreasing yearly in seven Chinese media outlets, the results of the survey carried by the state run Global Times, which is officially hosting a get-together with Indian media professionals and strategic analysts, said. Zee News.
Six senior journalists quit Venezuela's main television news channel Globovision yesterday in protest at alleged interference by the government of President Nicolas Maduro.
The anchors and reporters resigned over the "abrupt, violent and aggressive" exit of creative director Leopoldo Castillo, who left Aug. 16 after 12 years at the channel, said Roberto Giusti, former host of talk show 33 Degrees. Castillo hasn't commented on his departure.
The "conditions for conducting free journalism are absent from Globovision," Giusti said by telephone from Caracas today.
Globovision, Venezuela's only private channel specializing in news, was bought by three owners of Caracas-based insurance company Seguros La Vitalicia in May. The station has since stopped airing live speeches by opposition leader Henrique Capriles Radonski, according to former employees. It has also ended six news and current affairs programs and parted ways with 14 journalists to date. Bloomberg.
New Delhi: At a time when major political parties are vying for a space in social media, Union minister Shashi Tharoor today said the platform alone cannot help win elections but gives new options of reaching out to public.
Speaking at the launch of a social networking website here, Tharoor said, "One cannot win elections by using only the social media, but it certainly is an asset as it gives new options of reaching to the public. We cannot escape from it."
He added that only 10-12 per cent of people have Internet access in India and 70 per cent of the people have mobile access. Social media will play an active role once there is a convergence of mobile and Internet, Tharoor said. Deccan Chronicle.
(CNN) – Rep. James Clyburn, the House assistant Democratic leader, claimed Wednesday that some sectors of the news media were complicit in spreading misinformation, and used an historical example from Nazi Germany to illustrate his point.
According to The Hill newspaper, the South Carolina Democrat said "manufactured controversies" were becoming more common with the rise of internet journalism.
"You have people's words and phrases being misrepresented and looped through the news media and thrown out there on the Internet, and people run with it because these things start getting reported in the mainstream media, and before you know it, people believe that stuff," Clyburn said on a Sirius XM radio program, according to The Hill.
Later, he noted that during the Third Reich, media propaganda was used to broadcast the ideas of the Nazi regime. CNN.
In a unusually well-publicised police operation, Chinese state media reported on Wednesday that Beijing police have detained and launched criminal investigations into four people in an attempt to "eradicate the breeding ground for internet rumours".
Police said Erma, a Beijing-based internet marketing company, spread rumours about poor governance and official corruption in China to increase their influence on social media and gain financial benefits. Lengthy stories about the misdeeds of the alleged rumour-mongers splashed across the front pages of many official newspapers on Tuesday, and featured prominently on major news websites. State-run mobile phone companies also sent messages of the news to hundreds of thousands of customers.
The arrests coincide with a concerted government campaign to discredit outspoken liberals and crack down on dissent since Xi Jinping became president. In April, a secret Communist Party Central Committee circular called on cadres to crack down on subversive forces within Chinese society. South China Morning Post.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and members of his staff plan to sue members of the Liberal Party and media outlets for defamation over comments about the government's handling of a school sexual abuse case.
"I've always been relaxed about criticism - including very robust criticism from you and any media outlet,'' Mr Weatherill told ABC radio presenters Matt Abraham and David Bevan on ABC 891 today.
"But I draw the line at people casting doubt on my honesty and personal integrity.
"If you cross that line, I will defend myself and I'll defend myself strongly."
He accused some members of the State Opposition and media outlets of spreading "mistruths'' about himself and his staff over the case.Herald Sun.
Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East – an NGO in New Zealand – feels it hasn't been able to properly get Israel's message across in the country's mainstream newspapers.
The group was formed in 2006 after the Second Lebanon War, due to common sentiments that media coverage of the conflict was very one-sided and in many cases untruthful.
In the face of an unprecedented wave of violence directed against Coptic Christians amid the turmoil in Egypt that has left hundred's dead, the church's leadership issued a statement condemning the Western media's biased coverage of the events in Egypt.
"We strongly denounce the fallacies broadcasted by the Western media and invite them to review the facts objectively regarding these bloody radical organizations and their affiliates instead of legitimizing them with global support and political protection while they attempt to spread devastation and destruction in our dear land," reads the statement, according to a Google translation. The Jewish Press.
The Ontario Press Council will hold hearings next month about articles written by two major Canadian newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, about Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and his brother, Toronto Councillor Doug Ford.
The council said in its hearing notice that it will consider whether The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star have "engaged in irresponsibly, unethical investigative reporting" in coverage of the Ford family.
One complaint was filed with the council over The Globe's May 25 article titled "The Ford family's history with drug dealing." The article – citing interviews with 10 people, including dealers and users of hash – reported that Doug Ford sold the drug as a young man. The article reported that Rob Ford was not "involved in a significant way" in the Toronto drug trade at the time, but that two of the Ford brothers' siblings have had ties to drug traffickers. The Globe and Mail of Toronto.
New York, August 19, 2013--New York, August 19, 2013--Several journalists working for international media said they were assaulted or briefly detained over the weekend. The attacks and harassment came as Egyptian authorities publicly accused international journalists of distorting coverage of recent events.
The State Information Service, a government-run agency tasked with overseeing editorial content in the news, issued a statement on Saturday that claimed that international media were "conveying a distorted image that is very much far from the facts." On Sunday, Gen. Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi criticized the foreign media for failing to report objectively on the week's events that have left nearly a thousand dead and thousands others injured, news reports said. Committee to Protect Journalists.
It replaces one of the "Hardball" hours. Chris Matthews has been reducing his TV workload, (see second question in the link) and Ed Schultz fans had been very unhappy about his being shifted to weekends. It was a shift that Schultz said he wanted, but I haven't heard him kick about this new change. The official word:
"The Ed Show" hosted by Ed Schultz is moving back to MSNBC's weekday lineup starting Monday, August 26. "The Ed Show" will air Monday – Friday at 5 p.m. ET. "Hardball with Chris Matthews" will continue at 7 p.m. ET. The announcement was made today by Phil Griffin, President of MSNBC.
"Chris Matthews and the 'Hardball' team have been pulling double duty for years. This move will concentrate the 'Hardball' audience to one key time period and enhance the flow of our evening programming," said Griffin. "Ed Schultz is a force of nature and an important voice to the MSNBC audience. I can't wait to have him back on weeknights." Ohio.com.
Mareeg.com-The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemns in the strongest terms possible following the murder of a media worker in Mogadishu on Saturday morning, on August 17, 2013, bringing the number of journalists and media workers killed this year to six.
Unknown assailants disguised as students shot Eng. Ahmed Sharif, who worked at the state run radio Mogadishu as a technician and helped troubleshoot other radio stations in Mogadishu, outside his home in Shibis neighborhood on Saturday morning, according to witnesses and officials. The assailants reportedly shot four times at the chest, stomach and heart.
He was immediately rushed to Keysaney Hospital, where he was proclaimed died. Mareeg.com.
Conservative activist Grover Norquist falsely claimed that "nobody is keeping anybody out" of the Affordable Care Act and that "the idea that Republicans have not been trying to help is wrong." Norquist's rhetoric ignores Republican efforts to delay implementation of the program, attempts to repeal the law, and activist campaigns discouraging enrollment.
In fact, Republicans and conservatives have made multiple attempts to discourage adoption of the program by citizens.
House Republicans have voted to repeal the law 40 times, while some Republican members of Congress and activists are currently promoting the idea of defunding the law.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) wrote a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Gooddell in order to dissuade the league from taking part in a public service campaign to educate consumers about the law. Media Matters.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange told a group of college students Friday morning that the "only hope" for U.S. electoral politics is Republican Sen. Rand Paul (KY) and his brand of Libertarian politics.According to the right-wing college news site CampusReform.com, the international fugitive and accused acquaintance rapist also heaped praise on right-wing blog mogul Matt Drudge, calling him a "media innovator."
The remarks came as part of a live Q&A session with Assange and Campus Reform editor in chief Josiah Ryan.
"First of all, I wanted to ask your opinion of American journalist Matt Drudge," said Ryan. "Do you consider him a friend or foe of your open government movement?"
"Next I wanted to ask you about Sen. Rand Paul," he continued. "He's, uh, a vocal critic of big government. Um, I'm wondering about your opinion on him."
Finally, he asked Assange's opinion of the hacking collective Anonymous.
"Well, um, three bites of the apple here," Assange responded. "Matt Drudge is a news media innovator. And he took off about eight years ago in response to the Monica Lewinsky scandal." The Moderate Voice.
Fourteen hours of straight news every day. Hard-hitting documentaries. Correspondents in oft-overlooked corners of the country. And fewer commercials than any other news channel.
It sounds like something a journalism professor would imagine. In actuality, it is Al Jazeera America, the culmination of a long-held dream among the leaders of Qatar, the Middle Eastern emirate that already reaches most of the rest of the world with its Arabic- and English-language news channels. The new channel, created specifically for consumers in the United States, will join cable and satellite lineups on Tuesday afternoon.
Al Jazeera America is the most ambitious American television news venture since Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes started the Fox News Channel in 1996.
In light of the recent turmoil in Egypt, the board of directors of the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), during a 16 August online meeting, expressed sorrow at the grievous loss of life, tearing apart of communities, and the destruction to churches and mosques.
They also highlighted the attacks on media workers and the role of the media in reporting the conflict and enabling the scale of destruction to be understood in context.
Condemning the violence on all sides, WACC called on mass and community media in the country and the Middle East Region to provide responsible and balanced media coverage in an effort to avoid further violence. Ekklesia.
New Delhi: Congress will set up new communication teams with a separate wing dedicated to social media in all the five poll-bound states of Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.
"We are trying to set up our communication teams in all states within two-three months and to start with, we will do it in the five states where assembly elections are due this year," AICC Communication Department Chairman Ajay Maken said here today. FistPost.com.
BRUSSELS, Aug 16 (KUNA) -- The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Friday mourned the death of four journalists during clashes between security forces and pro ousted President Mohamed Morsi supporters on Wednesday in Cairo.
"We are shocked and saddened to learn the loss of our colleagues who died because they believed in the purpose and mission of journalism," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha in a statement.
"We should continue to honour them by keeping faith with their best aspirations. In their names we can and should do more to find ways of making journalism safer. We express our deepest condolences to their families and colleagues," he said.
Ahmad Abduljawad, reporter for Al Akhbar newspaper and for Canal Misr 25, was killed while covering the crackdown at Rabaah Al-Adawiya mosque area.
Sky News cameraman Mick Deane was shot while covering the violence and died soon after he was treated for his injuries.
Photographer Mosab Al-Shami for Rassd news website (RNN) was also shot dead near the mosque.
Habiba Ahmad Abdulaziz, who worked for the UAE-based Xpress newspaper, died from gunshot wounds but her newspaper confirmed she was not on any official assignment but had gone home on annual leave. Kuwait News Agency.
Cairo - As the bodies of hundreds of people killed by security forces lay at a Cairo mosque, ignored by Egyptian media, four of the policemen who died in the violence were feted as heroes in a funeral broadcast live on state television.
"They died guarding this nation," said the TV commentator, as the four coffins draped with Egyptian flags were placed on separate fire trucks for a procession accompanied by a brass band.
In sombre tones, the commentator said: "The coming period is one of security and safety."
The army-backed government is lionising the police force that crushed Cairo protests by supporters of deposed President Mohamed Morsi this week, killing at least 578 people in a day of bloodshed that outstripped anything seen in the 30-year rule of veteran autocrat Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in 2011.
Accompanied by the army's move back to the heart of government, it is worrying those Egyptians who fear a newly assertive security apparatus will try to knock a badly shaken democratic transition even further off course. IOL News.
Britain's media regulator has imposed a hefty fine of 30,000 pounds on a Sikh television channel for "seriously" breaching its code by broadcasting a programme inciting violence within the community against members of the Indian Army.
Sangat TV, a Birmingham-based satellite channel which broadcasts in Punjabi and English, will have to pay the fine for breaching Ofcom's code by broadcasting the programme that incited Sikhs to take violent action against Lt Gen KS Brar and other members of the Indian armed forces. The discussion programme aired in October at London last year followed an attack on Lt Gen Brar, who led the Indian Army's Operation Blue Star against Sikh separatists at Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984. IBN Live.
The most recent congressional threat to the free press in the United States comes from California Democrat U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
In a proposed amendment to a media shield law being considered by Congress, Feinstein writes that only paid journalists should be given protections from prosecution for what they say or write. The language in her proposal is raising concerns from First Amendment advocates because it seems to leave out bloggers and other nontraditional forms of journalism that have proliferated in recent years thanks to the Internet.
"It rubs me the wrong way that the government thinks it should be in the business of determining who should be considered a journalist," said Ken Bunting, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the Missouri School of Journalism. The Western Center for Journalism.
Journalists from Burkina Faso state media Tuesday held a sit-in in front of the ministry of Communications in the capital Ouagadougou to protest what they deem to be excessive government censorship of news coverage.
Journalists from the national public broadcaster Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB) and the Sidwaya stable of publications, including Burkina Information Agency (AIB), waved placards reading: "No to Censorships of Articles and Reportages In Newsrooms," "Facts are Sacred, Comments Are Free," "We've Had Enough," along with other signs calling for better working conditions.
The protest was initiated by two independent press unions, the Autonomous Syndicate of Information and Culture Workers (SYNATIC) and the Association of Journalists of Burkina, according to news reports. Africa Review.
Radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh began his Thursday afternoon program by addressing the possibility that he and such other well-known conservatives as Sean Hannity and Mark Levin might moderate debates of Republican primary candidates during the 2016 election cycle as a departure from the previously biased questioning at such events by obviously liberal journalists.
"I don't see how I can do it," he stated. "I'm too famous," and he added that his presence would "overshadow" the event, though Limbaugh admitted that deciding whether to take part in a radio debate "would be a real, real, real tough call" since "it could get ratings."
The conservative icon then noted that "some people misunderstood and thought that it was moderating debates on mainstream TV networks. That would never happen. These would be debates that are strictly for a conservative Republican media and audience." Newsbusters.
Earlier this week, Maurice Bonamigo had strong words for the White House on its Egypt policy. "The Obama administration failed to assess the situation in Egypt," Bonamigo told Egypt's flagship English-language media organ, the Egypt Independent. "It did not appreciate the power of the Egyptian people calling for freedom. I am surprised by Obama's stance."
Readers will be surprised to hear that the Independent is describing Bonamigo as a U.S. senator. Of course, many Egyptians are still mad that Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham called the coup that deposed President Mohamed Morsi a coup. But to get revenge against the entire upper house of Congress by inventing a U.S. lawmaker is taking it to rather absurd lengths.
"Maybe they really thought he was a senator, and they were fooled by someone going under the name Maurice Bonamigo," says Samuel Tadros, an Egypt expert and author of the recently publishedMotherland Lost: The Egyptian and Coptic Quest for Modernity. "Or the journalists are just fabricating the whole thing. That's the Egyptian media for you. It's best not to believe anything in the Egyptian press." The Weekly Standard.
The protests that left more than 500 dead yesterday in Egypt have understandably put Hamas on its toes, with the terrorist organization and political ruler of Gaza fearing that yesterday's spiral of violence could spread into the coastal territory it controls.
To crackdown on would-be revolutionaries and stem the flow of discontent, Hamas has tightened its reign on free speech by closely monitoring social media accounts in Gaza, Al Monitor reported on Thursday.
According to a report on Arab social media published by the Dubai School of Government in July 2012, 21.2% of Palestinians have Facebook accounts, while other media reports claim the number is actually as high as 40%, Al Monitor said.The Algemeiner.
The longtime columnist died just as he'd finished writing a political novel titled A Small Story for Page Three, reportsUSA Today.
"He went peacefully and quickly after just completing this novel, a tale he had pondered while writing columns, campaign books, a memoir and covering our politics and politicians," his wife, Alice, said in a note to his colleagues, according to The Associated Press.
Germond had been a reporter since 1953, when he began at a local Missouri paper. He later rose to become political editor at the Washington Star, collaborated on a regular column with the journalist Jules Witcover for the Baltimore Sun, wrote books — including the autobiographical reminiscences Fat Man in a Middle Seat and Fat Man Fed Up — and gained a following with TV political commentary. NPR.
Last night Paul Murray made two interesting comments on Sky News. First he said the media were bored with the election. Then he said that Kevin Rudd was losing the election. These two observations are not unrelated.
As evidence he pointed to the media coverage of the day – misspoken words, kids having a cigar, photo shopped beards, and so on. This morning the outrage is whether women can have sex-appeal. Apparently not.
The point being that trivia is dominating the media coverage because the election outcome is fairly certain.
Paul Kelly, in The Australian, makes a similar point. He argues that, "Rudd's campaign is manifestly flawed and underdone. Not even Kevin's remarkable abilities can conceal the obvious."
That is a polite way of saying that Kevin Rudd has nothing to say. The Conversation.
MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) – Over one thousand Belarusian and foreign reporters have been accredited to cover the Belarus president election, Head of the National Press Center Ivan Sokolovsky told media at the presentation of the Information Center of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Belarus on 17 December.
670 foreign reporters have been accredited, with 420 ones getting temporary accreditation and 250 getting permanent accreditation. Reporters from 50 countries, including all ex-USSR republics, Europe, the USA, China, Japan, Venezuela, have flocked to Belarus for the presidential election. Belarusian mass media are represented by 355 reporters.
The CEC Information Center will be opened at 9:00 on 19 December. The CEC Information Center is supposed to feed up-to-date information to mass media and international observers and provide them with comfortable conditions for their work. Belarusian Telegraph Agency.
Dalit journalists believe caste-based discrimination and antagonism against them is pervasive in the mainstream media, both print and electronic. They say this phenomenon is more rampant in Hindi and other language media than in the English media.
This was one of the important findings of the research project that The Hoot, a website on the media, commissioned me to do. Over three months, I interviewed students who were admitted to media institutes in the reserved category and are or were journalists. I also spoke to Dalits who entered the media directly. Of the 21 journalists who agreed to speak to me – there was also a substantial number who turned down my requests for an interaction – 19 spoke on the record, suggesting a growing sense of confidence among them about their Dalit identity. First Post.
A major study of newspapers by Oxford researchers has found coverage of immigration to be overwhelmingly negative
The study found the word 'illegal' was often linked to 'immigrant', while 'asylum seeker' was usually paired with 'failed'.
The researchers, from the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, looked at 58,000 articles in every national newspaper in Britain.
They looked at the words most commonly used in the discussion of immigration, with 'illegal' the buzz word in both broadsheets and the tabloid press.
Many campaigners have voiced concern over the prejudicial language used across the press. Cherwell.org.
The White House press briefing room will look a tad different now that some additional news organizations were granted seats.
The New York Times' Peter Baker tweeted that Real Clear Politics and Yahoo News were given seats in the briefing room. Publications including MediaNews, Daily Beast, SiriusXM, Sky News, Financial Times and The Guardian would share seats.
Seats within the White House press briefing room have a storied past as placement often determines the importance of the news publication. As such, the country's largest news bureaus often sit front and center. Typically, press secretaries call on journalists' questions in seat order, starting from the front and moving towards the back. Huffington Post.
By BREITBART NEWS
Beginning next month, Breitbart News Editor-At-Large Ben Shapiro will be leading the launch of a new project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center: TruthRevolt.org, an activism program designed to "unmask leftists in the media for who they are, destroy their credibility with the American public, and devastate their funding bases."
The program is being described as a conservative counterpunch to Media Matters, the Obama-linked organization that focuses on silencing conservatives in the media. "For too long, we've played by the Marquess of Queensberry rules, allowing the left to stifle the truth and silence truth tellers in the name of their politically correct narrative. Now we're taking the battle to their home turf -- and we will do so aggressively and unwaveringly, every single day. This is just another avenue for applying Breitbart's fighting spirit to the battle against those who would destroy what America stands for," Shapiro said. Shapiro will maintain his position and all of his duties at Breitbart News as well.
One of the founders of the New Left in the 1960s, David Horowitz has become an icon in the conservative movement, famed for his deep understanding of the ideology and strategy of the modern left in America. He has led the Freedom Center since its inception as the Center for the Study of Popular Culture in 1988.
"We could not be more excited to be working with Ben on this project," Horowitz told Breitbart News. "Andrew Breitbart was a fantastic friend to the Freedom Center and an indispensable warrior in the battle against the anti-America, socialist left and its allies in the universities, the unions and the Democratic Party, and Breitbart News carries on his legacy. We look forward to working with our friends at Breitbart in continuing the fight for America's future." Breitbart.
AMES, Iowa — Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said Saturday that he thinks the mainstream media are "in love" with former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, but declined to say whether he backs the Republican National's Committee's threat to exclude NBC and CNN from the 2016 GOP primary debates if they don't pull the plug on plans to produce films about her.
"I don't think anybody is surprised to discover that the mainstream media are in love with Hillary Clinton. And indeed I would expect both of those movies to be released on Valentine's Day," Cruz told reporters.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus is pressing for CNN and NBC to abandon plans to produce films about Clinton, given her status as a potential 2016 presidential candidate. CNN plans to produce a documentary, while NBC is producing a miniseries. If they don't comply, Priebus says, then he will move ahead with plans to exclude them from the slate of RNC-approved debates.
Cruz was asked whether he backed the RNC's position, but declined to say whether or not he does.
"The RNC will make its own decisions," he said. The Washington Post.
CNN's Candy Crowley is the latest critic of planned special programming on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, expressing concern that a CNN Films' Clinton documentary would threaten CNN News' reputation for objective reporting.
In July, NBC Entertainment announced plans to produce a Clinton-based miniseries timed to precede the 2016 presidential race, and soon thereafter, CNN Films announced its own intention to produce a feature-length documentary film on Clinton to premiere in 2014.
Though both outlets claim their network's news division will not be involved in the effort, the proposed specials have raised concern about the obvious conflicts of interest involved for NBC and CNN parent companies and the news divisions' ability to report objectively in the event of a 2016 Clinton presidential campaign. Media Matters founder David Brock and RNC chairman Reince Priebus have each called on the outlets to cancel their plans due to these ethical issues. Media Matters.
If we have a "liberal media," as conservatives absurdly claim, why isn't it flooded with stories about US prisons, wealth inequality, outsourcing?
Prince Riebus (and apparently many others) still thinks there's a liberal media.
While I share Prince's frustration with the media, as a liberal, I'd like to go on record and state that the media isn't focusing on issues I care about. They seem to be far more focused on entertainment and making money.
Don't believe me?
If you know anyone who still believes in a "liberal media," here's 15 things everyone would know if there really were a "liberal media" (inspired by Jeff Bezos' purchase of The Washington Post). See the rest at Global Possibilities.
A poll released last week shows Americans' faith in traditional mainstream media as an unbiased source for incisive government monitoring continues to decline, as Internet-based news outlets continue to gain the trust of readers fed up with what they believe is a liberal bias among traditional news sources.
The expansive Pew Research poll, released last Thursday, shows public perception of the mainstream news media "mired near all-time lows," even as respondents continue to believe that it's the job of news organizations to watch the government and prevent elected leaders and policy makers from aggrandizing unConstitutional power.
When it comes to bias, which way do viewers think the mainstream media leans? Not surprisingly, more respondents believe the news veers to the left. Of those surveyed, 46 percent said the media reflects liberal ideology, while only 26 percent believe the news is biased toward a conservative point of view. Another 19 percent felt the media's reporting is largely unbiased, and 9 percent said they didn't know. Personal Liberty Digest.
Former diplomat M.K. Rasgotra presenting The Prem Bhatia Memorial award to Shalini Singh of The Hindu for Best Political Reporting of the Year, in New Delhi on Sunday. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma. The Hindu.
The Minister for Social Development, Ms Bathabile Dlamini, rejects suggestions made in the media that her visit to Tlokwe on 2 August 2013 was motivated by political campaigning because of the by-elections being held in that area.
Minister Dlamini further disputes that her visit to Tlokwe yesterday, 6 August 2013, was an abuse of public funds for purposes of political campaigning. The Minister visited Tlokwe on 6 August in her capacity as an ANC NEC member and the Department of Social Development was not involved in any way in that visit.
The Minister is required through the Performance Agreement she signed with the President of the Republic to undertake public participation programmes throughout the country. AllAfrica.com
An international charity working with Fiji's Citizens' Constitutional Forum says it is concerned legal action against the NGO will curtail freedom of expression and public debate in Fiji.
The Fiji group's CEO, the Reverend Akuila Yabaki, received a three month jail sentence, suspended for a year following CCF's reprinting of an article raising concern about the impartiality of Fiji's judiciary.
Yabaki and his organisation have together been fined ten and a half thousand US dollars and ordered to pay court costs of about two and a half thousand dollars. Radio New Zealand International.
The Associated Press
WACO, Texas — Curators of a vast collection documenting Texas history and culture have turned to social media to expand their archive's reach.
Staff at Baylor University's Texas Collection post on Facebook, the photo-sharing site Flickr and make YouTube videos highlighting some of the facility's holdings.
Texas Collection Director John Wilson told the Waco Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/16JehEZ ) that social media allow them to go beyond the scholarly researchers who are accustomed to working there. Star Telegram.
New Delhi: Congress is organising a workshop dedicated to the social media on August 23, which is expected to be addressed by Rahul Gandhi.
The workshop follows a two-day media session organized by the party on July 22-23 to tone up the party's communication strategy and to institutionalise a framework for it in all states ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
There is a realization in Congress that the principle opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and its poll mascot Narendra Modi in particular, are way ahead in their presence on social media and there have been attempts by the ruling party at the Centre to take on the Gujarat Chief Minister on Twitter. NDTV.
Song Yangbiao, a Chinese journalist who has called for people to protest the prosecution of Bo Xilai, a fallen senior Communist Party official, has been detained, according to Lu Qi, a friend of Mr. Song.
Mr. Lu said on his microblog on Wednesday that Mr. Song had told a younger sister in a police station on Aug. 5 that he was being detained because of his remarks on his microblog account. Mr. Song had posted messages in support of Mr. Bo, who is expected to go on trial in the coming weeks or days on charges of bribetaking, embezzlement and abuse of power.
Mr. Song's microblog account has been deleted, butfreeweibo.com has saved some messages. One message read: "All members of the Chinese Communist Party should rise up together to oppose the illegal trial in Jinan," according to Reuters. Mr. Lu, who writes for Time Weekly, said Mr. Song has been detained since Sunday.
A Brazilian official has taken the unusual step of publicly announcing that the Brazilian government will offer Guardian writer Glenn Greenwald protection from the U.S. government after determining he risks facing legal action if he returns to the U.S.
To receive protection from Brazil, Greenwald would have to officially request it. But though he takes the risk of prosecution seriously, Greenwald tells me he has no intention of taking the Brazilian government up on the offer — and that he plans to return to the U.S. sooner than later, come what may.
"I haven't requested any protection from the Brazilian government or any other government because, rather obviously, I've committed no crime — unless investigative journalism is now a felony in the U.S.," Greenwald said via email. "But the fact that Brazilian authorities believe there is a real possibility that the U.S. would unjustly prosecute journalists for the 'crime' of reporting what the U.S. government is doing is a powerful indictment of the U.S.'s current image in the world — just as was the requirement that the U.S. promise it will not torture or kill Snowden if he's returned. It's an equally potent reflection of the massive gap in opinion between the U.S. Government and the rest of the world when it comes to how the NSA disclosures, my reporting, and Snowden are perceived." Salon.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Rajnath Singh yesterday termed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi's rescue act in the devastated Uttarakhand as media exaggeration.
Media reports had earlier reported that Modi, who visited Uttarakhand late last week, had rescued 15,000 Gujaratis trapped in the hills after flash floods devastated the state in a single day.
"Modi went to Uttarakhand to express his sympathies and it is being said that he evacuated 15,000 Gujaratis from there. I talked to him and he said that he never gave any such statement," Singh said.
The BJP chief, however, did not clarify how many Gujaratis were evacuated in Modi's rescue act.
Besides media, Singh also blamed BJP workers for bragging and directed them not to politicise the tragedy. Gulf News.
Fort Hood officials said 99 reporters from 41 local, national and international media agencies passed through the East Gate Tuesday to cover the trial of accused Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan.
The journalists transformed the sizzling parking lot between Club Hood and the Lawrence J. Williams Judicial Center into a sea of satellite trucks and television cable as the long-delayed trial began its first day.
Heidi Zhou Castro, correspondent for Al Jazeera America, said nearly all of the satellite trucks in the area were rented out for the trial.
"This story is a leading story right now all over the world," Castro said. KDH News.
Chinese media has described the Kremlin as the "winner" and the White House as the "loser" in the Snowden case, following Barack Obama's cancellation of a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow this autumn.
An unsigned editorial piece in China's English-language newspaper Global Times said that "Moscow displayed its national characteristics of decisiveness and boldness" and has kept Washington "at bay." The article suggested that Moscow's traits are of vital importance in an international climate of US dominance.
"Washington ate the dirt this time," the article stated.
It goes on to compliment Russia, adding that the US seems to have accepted the fact that Moscow granted asylum to ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden. "Russia has impressed the world, which views the Kremlin as the 'winner' and the White House as the 'loser,'" it said. RT.com.
DES MOINES, IA (AP) - The Iowa Board of Ethics is expected to discuss how political candidates should handle social media accounts.
The board is scheduled to meet Thursday. On the agenda is a proposed advisory opinion about whether social media accounts created for political purposes should include a disclosure known as a "paid for by" attribution.
Currently, political candidates or campaigns must include such a disclosure on advertisements, brochures and other items. The proposed opinion from the board says that Facebook and Twitter accounts created for political purposes should also include a "paid for by" attribution somewhere on the profile page.
If the account was free, the proposed opinion says the person who opens and manages the account is "paying" for the message.
The board is scheduled to discuss whether to adopt this opinion. News 8000.
And now we know: Ron Paul will launch the feisty Ron Paul Channel on Monday with all original programming either live or on demand, available by subscription for $9.95 a month from the one-time Libertarian presidential hopeful. He says 200,000 potential subscribers expressed interest within hours of the project going public.
"Americans are tired of the games and the lies of today's media. They want the truth," Mr. Paul says. "Imagine this. No censors, no barricades, no statists. We will be able to engage viewers directly on subjects that matter most to them, from finances to civil liberties to foreign policy."
The broadcast will be streamed live online, available via computer, tablet, smartphone and any Internet-connected TV. The technology "will allow me to engage directly with viewers. With the help of social media we can cut through the noise and get straight to the truth about subjects that matter most," Mr. Paul notes. Such thinking served him well during the 2012 campaign, when his legions of young followers promoted a "Who is Ron Paul?" campaign faithfully online and in organized meet-ups. Washington Times.
BAREILLY: Accusing the media of glorifying suspended IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpalas "Durgaji", senior Uttar Pradesh ministerMohd Azam Khan said her case was highlighted while other such suspensions went unnoticed.
"The media has projected Durga as Durgaji. Otherwise in such cases, officers from the level of managing director (MD) to chief engineer get suspended and not even a single line is published," Azam, who was here on a private visit, told reporters last night.
The minister said the issue of Nagpal's suspension has been blown out of proportion by the television news media and added that there would have been no dispute if the district magistrate had also been suspended.The Economic Times.
After a week in which both The Boston Globe and The Washington Post were purchased by new owners, the publisher of The New York Times emphatically declared Wednesday night that the publication was not for sale.
In a statement, the publisher, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who is also chairman of The New York Times Company, said that he and Michael Golden, the vice chairman, had spoken to Donald E. Graham, chairman and chief executive of The Washington Post Company, about his decision to sell The Post and some smaller newspapers and stressed that The Times did not plan to follow a similar path. New York Times.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and rival Tony Abbott started the race off their campaign to two big voting populations, the Muslim and the Chinese Community.
Mr Rudd started off with a half-hour interview in Mandarin with Chinese newspapers as confirmed by his staff with TheAustralian.
His campaign effort to woo the Chinese community will be beneficial for the Australian Labor Party to unseat Liberal John Alexander in Bennelong.
Bennelong consists 17 per cent of the north western's Sydney electorate.
Mr Rudd's wooing campaign was held with different tactics to ensure that all targeted voters keep their interest and would answer yes to him and the Labor Party. For the younger voters, Labor launches social media campaigns. For the older voters, Labor held community-based campaign summoning all opinion leaders in key regions to promote meaningful messages to the people. International Business Times.
Journalists and bloggers are among several groups that have been harassed and threatened by authorities in the Russian city of Sochi in the build-up to next year's Winter Olympics, reports Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Two journalists and a newspaper director are said to be facing criminal charges after reporting stories viewed by local authorities as negative.
Some journalists told HRW that the authorities are seeking to control information about the preparations for the Sochi games by pressuring editors to present them in a positive light.
In addition, several independent online news sources and blogs that have posted critical stories or comments about the Olympics have had their sites disabled by hackers. The Raw Story.
Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that Pakistan wants peace and security in the region but the blame game being undertaken by Indian media is spoiling the atmosphere for normalization of relations.
In a statement here on Wednesday' the minister said that Indian media's hue and cry over Line of Control (LoC) incident is not understandable.
The Interior Minister said how was it possible for the Pakistan Army to go up to 5 kilometer on the other side of the Line of Control to kill Indian troops despite barbed wire and heavy concentration of Indian troops.
He regretted that India was resorting to propaganda gimmicks by blaming the Pakistan Army. The Nation.
Within the framework of the efforts exerted by State Information Service (SIS) to clarify realities and developments of the current scene in Egypt and related interactions, SIS Chairman Ambassador Mohamed Badreddin Zayed received Monday August 5, 2013 in his office Mr. Emmanuel Giraud director of AFP Cairo office, and Mr. Reza Sayah, director of CNN Cairo office in two separate meetings.
Ambassador Zayed said that he stressed, during the two meetings, the important role the media is playing particularly at this critical stage Egypt is going through. Ambassador Zayed called on media outlets to follow a precise and objective approach in covering the events taking place in Egypt and to be keen on conveying the message accurately and from all sides.
During the two meetings, Ambassador Zayed mentioned the steps taken by SIS to elucidate realities about the events taking place in Egypt , pointing out to the press conference SIS held recently in coordination with the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood and the National Council for Women to show political exploitation of the children by one side in the current crisis. All Africa.
The government has not liberalized the FDI regime in print and electronic media in view of concerns expressed by the Home Ministry, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs did not agree to liberalizing the FDI caps and/or entry routes in print and electronic media on account of it being a sensitive sector," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. He said the government has not amended the FDI caps in the sector.
To a separate question, Sharma said the government has taken the concerns of the Home Ministry into consideration while approving liberalization of FDI policy in other sectors.
"The ministry has also raised issues pertaining to 'investments of concerns' and in respect of different categories of investors and investments; source of investments and instruments of investment," he said.
While the government has raised FDI cap to 100% in telecom, it has allowed foreign airlines to buy 49% stake in Indian carriers. India West.
Customers have been calling on Time Warner Cable and CBS Corp. to resolve their ongoing carriage dispute that has resulted in channels going dark in several markets including Los Angeles and New York.
Now politicians are demanding an end to the blackout.
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who recently won John F. Kerry's Senate seat, on Tuesday asked the Federal Communications Commission to step in and restart negotiations.
"I believe the public interest would be best served if carriage is restored by the parties at the earliest possible time so that consumers are not long caught in the middle," Markey said in a letter to the commission. Los Angeles Times.
Few would question what seems to be a divide along political party lines as it pertains to belief in man-made climate change. A study by researchers at several U.S. universities has sought out why such a difference in opinion exists and is pointing the finger at the conservative media.
How are more conservative leaning outlets leading to a distrust in climate science? According to the study, by creating a distrust in scientists themselves.
"Results demonstrate that conservative media use decreases trust in scientists which, in turn, decreases certainty that global warming is happening," the study's abstract states. "By contrast, use of non-conservative media increases trust in scientists, which, in turn, increases certainty that global warming is happening."
The study – An attack on science? Media use, trust in scientists, and perceptions of global warming — was published by Public Understanding of Science. It calls Americans' questioning man-made global warming, in part, "the product of a coordinated denial movement." This movement "uses conservative media" to introduce doubt on the topic among its "ideologically receptive audiences" through a strategy that includes "undermining scientists and their research." The Blaze.
Vietnam is set to ban the discussion of politics, news and anything else that doesn't fall under the narrow definition of "personal information" on social media.
The new law, known as Decree 72, will make it a crime to use social media for anything other than to "provide or exchange personal information" and is expected to come into force in September.
"Individuals should not quote or share information from press agencies or websites of government agencies," the head of Vietnam's Broadcast and Electronic Information Department was reported to have said by AFP.
Additionally, Decree 72 targets Internet Service Providers, banning them from serving "information that is against Vietnam." Wired.
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos has become the target of conservative ire as the marriage equality supporter bought The Washington Post this week for $250 million.
Bezos and his wife MacKenzie donated $2.5 million last year in support of winning the marriage equality campaign in his home state of Washington. The initiative to approve Referendum 74 won with 53.7% of the vote.
According to Media Matters, the National Organization for Marriage quickly cautioned readers that the Post would "get a whole lot more one-sided about" the debate over marriage equality. Fox News columnist Dan Gainor said Bezos's support for marriage equality was "bad news." Meanwhile, David Harsanyi of Human Events and Noel Sheppard of News Busers, both conservative news sites, warned readers that those whose politics lean toward the right would not be pleased that the family-owned publication would likely not take a conservative turn under a highly anticipated new owner.
Bezos, is seen as somewhat of a libertarian, with a lean toward donating to Democrats like Sen. Patty Murray. However Amazon's political action committee has donated almost evenly between members of both parties, including moderate Republicans like Meg Whitman during her bid for governor of California. Advocate.
The media coverage of the arbitrary suspension of young IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, for allegedly taking on the might of the sand mining mafia, came in for severe criticism from the state's SP Government on Tuesday, with Health Minister Ahmed Hassan urging journalists not to go overboard on the issue. "(The)media should not project her. What is more painful (is the fact) that the media is playing into the hands of the communal forces and running a campaign against us. There are certain people in the media, who have vested interests, indulging in money-making and putting pressure on the government. I will not name (them), but there are black sheep in the media, campaigning against the Akhilesh Yadav Government."
"We are facing this crisis, but will soon overcome the situation .The state government will not give into the blackmailing tactics .The media has deliberately failed to highlight how the mosque was demolished by that lady and no picture of the demolished mosque has appeared in newspapers and channels. I am ashamed to say this. Please do some introspection and support the government," he said at a function here, which was also attended by the CM. The New Indian Express.
BOISE, IDAHO (AP) — A federal judge has sided with a coalition of 17 Idaho news organizations in denying a request by a private prison operator to seal whatever it wants in a lawsuit filed by inmates.
U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge issued an order Tuesday scaling back the expansive protection order sought by the Corrections Corporation of America — Idaho's private prison contractor.
Earlier this year, CCA attorneys sought permission to seal a wide range of court records on grounds it needed to hide certain information from public view for security and privacy reasons.
The media coalition includes The Associated Press, Idaho Statesman, The Spokesman-Review, The Times-News, KBOI-TV, Idaho Press-Tribune, Post Register, Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Coeur d'Alene Press, Bonner County Daily Bee, Idaho Press Club and the Newspaper Association of Idaho. Anchorage Daily News.
Media experts and netizens on Tuesday spoke out against the government's warning not to 'like' or share political postings on social media websites, insisting that neither action should be considered a crime.
The outrage was prompted by a statement made by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Anudith Nakornthap on Monday.
The minister said internet users need to be wary that clicking 'like' and sharing hearsay about possible coups and violence could be deemed as damaging national security, hence breaching the Internal Security Act and the Computer Crime Act.
According to the Computer Crime Act, perpetrators who import data to a computer system that is likely to damage the country's security or cause public panic face imprisonment and a fine.
The former Minister and BJP political heavyweight in north Bangalore, S. Suresh Kumar, in May won the Assembly elections from Rajajinagar by a margin of 13,000 votes. The constituency has around 2.2 lakh registered voters and while there is no data on the percentage of the population digitally active, the sizeable number of educated and middle-class people here indicates that a good number of them are online, and by extension, on social media.
A much-talked-about study on the impact of social media on elections, conducted by the Iris Knowledge Foundation last year, extrapolated similar data and claimed social media had a definitive impact on Indian politics. Going by the methodology adopted in this study, one can safely assume that in a constituency such as Rajajinagar, a margin of 13,000 votes can easily be bridged using social media.
Though the debate on whether social media impacts electoral choices is just beginning, Karnataka's politicians — who had enthusiastically taken to new media to reach out to newer, younger and more tech-savvy audiences during the recent elections— appear to have fallen off the social media bandwagon. The Hindu.
The Weekly Standard attacked Texas state senator Wendy Davis for not responding to the right-wing magazine's attempt to link legal abortion to convicted murderer Kermit Gosnell, continuing the right-wing media's attempt to use the case to smear women's health and choice advocates.
In an August 5 post, the Weekly Standard wrote about a recent appearance at the National Press Club in which Davis spoke about her successful filibuster of a Texas anti-choice bill. The Standard asked Davis at the event whether there was a distinction between the actions of convicted Philadelphia murderer Kermit Gosnell and "legal late-term abortions" at 23 weeks." Davis responded "I don't know what happened in the Gosnell case" and went on to describe the effects that the Texas bill would have on reproductive access. The Standard attacked Davis, writing that she "has become a champion for pro-choice activists, but during her recent whirlwind national media tour, she never commented on late-term abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of murder in May for killing infants moments after they were born."
The restrictive bill that Davis has been fighting limits access to legal abortions and has nothing to do with Gosnell, whose acts were already illegal. The bill would limit reproductive access in the state by closing an estimated 90% of legal abortion facilities in Texas by imposing requirements that could only be met by five existing centers, according to the AP:
The first requirement of the bill is for all abortions to take place in surgical centers, facilities designed to cope with major surgeries that could lead to life-threatening complications. The majority of abortions are not surgical procedures, and 37 of the state's 42 abortion clinics don't meet that new standard, so many would need to relocate and spend millions of dollars to reach it.
Those five remaining clinics are in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and two in Houston. A woman living along the Mexico border or in West Texas would have to drive hundreds of miles to obtain an abortion if the law passes. Media Matters.
The founder of Media Matters, a left-leaning media watchdog group, is joining the Republican National Committee's call for CNN and NBC to halt their plans to produce programming about former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the organization announced Tuesday.
"Given that this project could coincide with a potential Clinton presidential campaign, the timing raises too many questions about fairness and conflicts of interest ahead of of the 2016 election," writes Media Matters founder David Brock in letters sent Tuesday to the heads of CNN and NBC.
NBC is planning to develop a miniseries about Clinton, a possible 2016 presidential candidate, while CNN plans to produce a documentary about her. Washington Post.
Liberal radio host Thom Hartmann said the Media Matters sponsored boycott of Rush Limbaugh's advertisers damaged progressive talk radio Sunday on CNN's "Reliable Sources."
Hartmann said he was not aware of Limbaugh's numbers, but based on his knowledge of advertising revenue from progressive talk radio the Media Matters boycott caused many companies to simply abandon political talk radio advertising all together:
THOM HARTMANN: David Brock and Media Matters were leading the boycott Limbaugh crusade, which did presumably some damage to Limbaugh's show. I can tell you it did a lot of damage to progressive talk radio, because a lot of advertisers, right across the board, said just pull me out of all talk radio. I don't know Limbaugh's numbers, but I do know that, on our side, progressive talk radio took a hit as a consequence. The Washington Free Beacon.
On social media
Race heats up fast
Mayor Mick Cornett's announcement that he will seek re-election sets up a race against Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid, who said earlier this summer that he was running. Filing for office is in late January, so the field could change, but the campaign is well underway on social media, where both candidates first announced their campaigns. The Oklahoman.
Egypt's interim head of state Adly Mansour has introduced a raft of changes to the law governing state media in Egypt, state news agency MENA reported.
According to the presidential decree issued on Monday, interim President Adly Mansour is to form a 15-member interim Supreme Council of Press to oversee Egypt's press affairs, after an Islamist-dominant board was dissolved on the heels of the overthrow of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July amid nationwide protests against his rule.
The Supreme Council of Press (SCP) was established in 1980 to preside over state-owned press organisations.
The new SCP 15-member board will comprise of the head and members of the Journalists' Syndicate, press professors, and lawmakers along with prominent public figures and writers. The panel of the Cairo-based council serves for a four-year term. Albawaba News.
DAR ES SALAAM (AFP) – Journalists in Tanzania face increasing threats and lack government protection, with at least ten attacks against the media in the past year, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.
"Despite Tanzania's reputation for transparency and democracy, its citizens are being denied vital information," the New York-based CPJ warned in a report criticising "a rise in anti-press attacks set against a backdrop of repressive laws."
The CPJ documented 10 "serious anti-press attacks and threats" since September 2012. Fox News.
Media coverage of shale gas seems to be moving on. Suddenly, Britain's shale gas naysayers aren't just " Swampy-style eco-warriors" or " green zealots" denying the UK a shale gas " bonanza" promised in some sections of the media. East Sussex's anti-fracking protesters are just as likely to be the local vicar as they are to be from Greenpeace, and MPs are issuing " doomsday alerts" about fracking, warning that the technology poses a threat to the countryside.
A few weeks ago shale gas was an active, but fairly niche part of the energy wonk debate - revolving mainly around how much shale gas the UK has got, and what a new supply of how-grown energy would mean for energy bills.
Large parts of the media appeared overwhelmingly in favour of the new industry - building on two years of optimism about shale gas might mean for the UK. But as test drilling moves into a village in leafy East Sussex, shale gas isn't an exciting possibility any longer - it's an altogether more divisive reality.
So how did the media story get here - and what's going to happen as the industry develops on the ground? We chart the course of the shale gas debate over the past two years - and where it might be going next. The Carbon Brief.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party is tapping into new communication platforms in a big way as it prepares for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, aiming to enrol 10 million members and associates over the next few months.
BJP leaders said they will use new media for "crowd sourcing [obtaining ideas from the online community]" and will also open a window on the party's website for suggestions from people.
A campaign, launched by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) last month, portrays Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as a "youth icon" and makes use of platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to reach out to youth.
"Since the time Narendra Modi was appointed head of the party's campaign committee for the Lok Sabha polls, youth want to associate with the BJP with great vigour," BJYM president Anurag Thakur said.
The BJYM has launched a two-pronged "Young member, Young friend" campaign. The first seeks to enrol the youth using internet platforms, including social media. The other is a door-to-door membership drive that aims to enrol young people in the 18-35 age-group across the country. Gulf News.
KATHMANDU -- The ongoing political transition has led to the domination of political coverage in the country's daily newspapers, according to the editors of two leading newspapers.
Speaking at the third iteration of 'Voices', a monthly interaction programme organised jointly by the Embassy of India and the BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation in the Capital on Friday, Akhilesh Upadhyay and Sudheer Sharma, editors-in-chief of The Kathmandu Post and the Kantipur dailies, respectively, opined that political domination will continue unless there is political stability in the country.
They claimed that despite their wish to prioritise social issues, they cannot because politics is driving all the sectors. "We can't expect the media sector to perform perfectly when the political situation of the country is not intact," Upadhyay lamented. EKantipur.com
Reporters were texting, tweeting and typing on laptops Friday in a Marion County courtroom where the use of electronic devices is prohibited.
But the wireless digital messages emanating from Marion Superior Judge Sheila A. Carlisle's courtroom were not the product of disregard for decorum and court rules. They were part of a test conducted in advance of the murder trial of Bei Bei Shuai, which begins next month and is expected to attract widespread media and public attention.
The goal of the test, Carlisle explained during a pre-trial meeting with reporters covering the trial, is to determine if smart phones, laptops or digital tablets can be used in the courtroom without interfering with the court's audio recording equipment. Indianapolis Star.
A Majority Of Fox News' July Coverage Of The Minimum Wage Claimed Wage Hikes Increased Unemployment. A Media Matters count of Fox News segments covering the minimum wage during the month of July determined that 24 out of 37 segments -- 65 percent -- included the myth that increasing the minimum wage would cause job losses.
Only One Fox News Segment Acknowledged That Minimum Wage Raises Do Not Cause Unemployment. Only one segment, or just under three percent of Fox News' coverage, acknowledged the fact that minimum wage hikes are not correlated with unemployment.
68 Percent Of Fox News' Segments Focused On D.C.'s Effort To Enact A Living Wage. Twenty-five of the 37 segments concerning the minimum wage focused on the D.C. Large Retailer Accountability Act, a pending D.C. City Council bill to enact a living wage of $12.50 per hour for employees at big box retailers with annual incomes of at least $1 billion.
Of Those Segments, 72 Percent Claimed D.C.'s Living Wage Bill Would Lead To Job Losses. Eighteen of Fox's 25 segments discussing the D.C. Large Retailer Accountability Act claimed that the bill would increase unemployment. Media Matters.
The government in Cairo called on media representatives, Thursday evening, to cover the clearing-out of squares where supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi gathered to demonstrate. No starting time was announced.
Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Bahaa El-Din tweeted on Twitter that photographers would be invited to document the clearing-out process from close by at Rabia Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo and Nahda Square near Cairo University in Giza. Arutz Sheva 7.
Cracking social media has been one of the tough nuts for the 125 year old political party – Indian National Congress. The party which is one of the oldest political party of the country realises the fact and from the beginning of this year has been pushing social media initiatives. The latest being the With Congress campaign that is looking for volunteers to strengthen its base on social media.
The campaign is a volunteer driven initiative to promote Indian National Congress' initiatives and views to the people of India. If you are interested in this voluntary service then you can fill up the form provided on the site. Once selected you would receive authentic and validated content that you would require to share and garner a bigger reach.
Interestingly the form collects your social media details too such as if you have a Twitter/ Facebook/ Blog, etc. It is quite obvious that the party is looking for supporters who are also quite active on social media and have an influence too. The motive is to gather bigger reach making the netizens as the brand advocates. Business 2 Community.
(AP) The Senate is pressing ahead on legislation to protect reporters and the news media, toughening rules on subpoenaing phone records and requiring advanced notice of requests for information.
The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet Thursday to begin considering legislation sponsored by Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a key proponent of a federal media shield law who was unsuccessful four years ago. The panel is expected to begin work on the measure _ it has yet to draw sponsors or opponents _ but final action on the 21-page bill is likely after Congress' August recess. Post Bulletin.
"Will sharing a link also be punished?" Facebook user Hanh Phuc posted on his profile, adding "we need freedom for development."
Another user, Huong Nguyen, wrote that the decree was "evidence that the government doesn't understand the trend of society to become more open."
Decree 72 on "Management, Provision, Use of Internet Services and Information Content Online" states that blogs and social media sites must only contain personal information.
"Personal electronic sites are only allowed to put news owned by that person, and are not allowed to 'quote', 'gather' or summarise information from press organisations or government websites," local media quoted Hoang Vinh Bao, director of the Broadcasting and Electronic Information Department at the Ministry of Information and Communications, as saying.
The ban was approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 15, communicated to Vietnamese press late Wednesday, and was due to come into force on September 1. Times Live.
Anthony Howard, who died in 2010, was among the most acute political commentators of his generation, a familiar face and voice on television and radio, and a distinguished editor. He also had an exceptional ability to encourage young writers.
Now, in his memory, Haymarket Media Group has agreed to fund an annual bursary of £25,000 a year for aspiring journalists under the age of 25 who want to write about politics and government.
Applicants must propose a subject for a 5,000 word essay for publication in 2014. The successful candidate will serve three successive internships of 14 weeks each, starting in October this year, at the publications with which Howard was most closely associated - The Times, The Observerand the New Statesman. The scheme will run for five years. The Guardian.
Vietnam isn't a country known for enabling freedom of expression, but things look like they could get all the more concerning. Media reports claim that the country, which routinely jails bloggers and has state-run media, has turned its attention to social media with a new clampdown.
The government this week announced a new decree stipulating that blogs and social media profiles belonging to individuals and businesses should contain personal information only, according to the Bangkok Post.
Vietnamese site Tuoitrenews.vn provides further details of the new regulations, which were signed off by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on July 15 and communicated to media yesterday. The Next Web.
Fox News figures took part in a press conference today announcing a "citizen's commission" to investigate the 2012 attack on the US consulate in Benghazi. In the process they promoted outlandish conspiracies about the incident while re-hashing false stories that have been investigated and debunked.
The event was organized by Accuracy in Media (AIM), a fringe conservative group responsible for promoting many conspiracy theories over the years. Roger Aronoff, AIM's editor, led the event.
In attendance were Admiral James Lyons (Ret.), General Thomas McInerney (Ret.) and former CIA officer Wayne Simmons. McInerney is a Fox News military analyst, while Simmons is a frequent guest on Fox. Lyons regularly writes opinion columns for the Washington Times. Media Matters.
Former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba has described the Nigerian Tribune newspaper as a pillar of journalism in Oyo State and Nigeria in general.
Chief Osoba, made this declaration on Tuesday at the Dapo Aderogba Hall of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State, Ibadan, during the launching of the books titiled, "Talking at Random and Yoruba Traditional Religion"
He said "I am happy that journalism is still strong in Ibadan because of the presence of Tribune newspapers. It has weathered storms and remain the only surviving private newspapers in Nigeria, I pray that Tribune continue to grow from strength to strength, especially because of its founder Chief Obafemi Awolowo who is still a role model." Nigerian Tribune.
The Poynter Institute, an international strategy center and a leader in journalism education, has announced the publication of a pivotal new book on media ethics in the digital age. "The New Ethics of Journalism: Principles for the 21st Century" (SAGE/CQ Press, 2013) provides an evolved set of guidelines and principles for journalists, students, and mass communicators, with chapters contributed by 14 of media's top thought leaders and practitioners.
The book examines the unique problems of searching for trust and building trust in the 21 st century: Vetting and verifying information in the vast arena of social media; the effects of interactive social media on storytelling and news gathering; the contextual meaning of stories and the value of images; and the evolving role of a community of citizen journalists and individual documentarians in the production of news.
The book is co-edited by Poynter Senior Faculty Kelly McBride and Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute. Books.broadwayworld.com
Nearly 200 conservative and Tea Party leaders are demanding that major news media outlets end their virtual blackout on the IRS targeting scandal.
Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, is spear-heading the move, along with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and other prominent conservatives.
"The liberal media's refusal to cover the IRS scandal -- more than the NSA scandal, more than DOJ's surveillance of journalists, more even than the tragic loss of life in Benghazi -- cuts to the very heart of their corruption," they said in a joint statement released July 25.
"No fair, objective journalist can look at the facts of this flagrant abuse of power and not conclude that it is a massive political scandal deserving of constant, merciless scrutiny," they said. CBN News.
TEL AVIV, Israel — State-of-the-art TV studios above an ancient Mideast port signal Israel's arrival in a modern media landscape in which countries increasingly seek to broadcast their own perspective to the world.
Israel advocates have long alleged that their country is portrayed in an unfair and one-dimensional way by the international media, largely as an occupier of the Palestinians.
Now the answer has arrived in the form of i24news — the first international channel dedicated to reporting the news from an Israeli point of view. Its goal is to tell the rest of the Israel story in English, Arabic and French.
The new station's founders insist they aren't an Israeli version of the Qatar-funded Al-Jazeera pan-Arab channel. They receive no government funding, hold no political affiliation and pledge to cover the news dispassionately and objectively.Washington Post.
Rush Limbaugh says the Republican Party is pushing itself away from the conservative base and "capitulating" to President Obama on key policy issues like health care reform and immigration.
In a rare, wideranging interview with Fox News host Greta Van Susteren on Tuesday, the conservative talk-radio host said that "the Republican leadership isn't conservative" and that it spent more time fighting the tea party than it did Obama's policies.
"I always thought that as Republicans we opposed Democrats. We wanted to beat them. I don't see that. I don't see any pushback against anything Obama wants to do," Limbaugh told Van Susteren. "The pushback's against the Tea Party. The pushback is against conservatives. It's a stunning thing. The Republican Party's decided that capitulation with the Democrats seems to be the ongoing strategy." Politico.
As senior Israeli and Palestinian envoys resumed long-stalled peace talks in Washington, Israeli media questioned the motives of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in taking to the negotiating table.
Israeli and Palestinian officials were meeting Tuesday in Washington for a second day of direct talks -- their first in three years. The State Department said they would continue for at least nine months.
Israel's chief negotiator, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, stressed the talks were resuming "not just in response to U.S. pressure but because it's in the interest of both parties."
But commentators questioned Netanyahu's motives and what concessions he would be willing to make after his government approved the contentious release of long-serving Palestinian prisoners.
"The question is whether Netanyahu is happy with simply holding negotiations or if he really wants to reach a peace accord," public radio presenter Chico Menache said. Egypt Independent.
The furor over Janet Reitman's Rolling Stone cover story on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, which reached a fever pitch last week when stores including Walgreens and CVS announced they wouldn't sell the issue of the magazine, has mostly subsided. But that doesn't mean everybody has moved on.
On Monday, a very small group gathered outside of Rolling Stone's Avenue of the Americas offices, bullhorn in hand, ready to protest the story.
The protesters were led by A.J. Weberman, a Hawaiian-shirt-clad former Yippie who became famous for going through Bob Dylan's trash and is a current activist with the Jewish Defense Organization, a militant Zionist group. New York Observer.
The editor of a Saudi Arabian social website has been sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes for founding an internet forum that violates Islamic values and propagates liberal thought, Saudi media reported on Tuesday.
Raif Badawi, who started the "Free Saudi Liberals" website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, has been held since June 2012 on charges of cyber crime and disobeying his father – a crime in the conservative kingdom and top U.S. ally.
Al-Watan newspaper said the judge had also ordered the closure of the website.
France was concerned by the sentence and remained committed to "freedom of opinion and of expression", the foreign ministry said in a statement. Officials from the Saudi National Society for Human Rights could not be reached for comment.
Badawi's website included articles that were critical of senior religious figures such as the Grand Mufti, according to Human Rights Watch. Gulf Business.
On Friday 26 July 2013, the Ugandan government deported an American journalist, Taylor Krauss, over coverage of opposition related news in the capital of Kampala. He was detained for three days in a police cell without any charges preferred against him. He was accused of violating the country's immigration rules and working within the country illegally.
Details of the deportation could not be verified as the airport spokesperson couldn't confirm it because he was 'in a meeting'. But it was confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, "If he is not at Jinja Road Police Station, then he has been taken to the airport. He has not been brought here (Internal Affairs Ministry headquarters). If you need to see him, go to the airport at Entebbe now," the Internal Affairs spokesperson, Jacob Simunyu, told HRNJ-Uganda Friday evening, adding that, "He was not charged because he was removed administratively".
Krauss was arrested on 23 July along Kampala Road as he filmed a police operation where they tear-gassed crowds and towed a car carrying the former Forum for Democratic Change leader, Dr Kizza Besigye. He was detained at Jinja Road Police Station, in a suburb of Kampala, as the government processed an air ticket to fly him out of the country. All Africa.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 30 – The Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court on Tuesday kicked out journalists from two cases filed by President Uhuru Kenyatta's lawyer Stephen Kay against mobile phone operators Safaricom and Airtel.
The media was asked to leave the courtroom following filing of the request by Kay, to ensure that the proceedings were kept secret.
Kay, who is represented by Ogetto, Otachi and Company Advocates, wants access to certain information from the two mobile providers but it is still unclear what he is after.
Chief Minister and BJP's Election Campaign Committee chairman Narendra Modi urged the party to utilise the news media to convey the message of "development and good governance" to the people on a large scale. Modi was addressing a state-level media training workshop organised by the party in Gandhinagar on Tuesday, an official party release said.
He said the country was fed up with "directionless and corrupt" leadership of the Congress which was trying to "mislead" people by spreading "falsehoods" about corruption and price-rise. He said the BJP's media teams should be armed with accurate information and make "positive use" of news media in exposing "bad" deeds of rulers in Delhi and ensure a "Congress-free India". The Indian Express.
It's not everyday that Media Matters cites Fox News other than to rebut any and everything that comes out of the place. But it's one of those days.
The liberal nonprofit — dedicated to monitoring conservative media — is calling into question NBC's Friday announcement that it will produce a four-hour miniseries about former state secretaryHillary Clinton heading into the 2016 presidential campaign season.
From Media Matters: " As Fox News suggested, will airing a Clinton miniseries pressure NBC to provide equal time to other presidential candidates?" The Blaze.
Fox Business provided a platform for a corporate lobbyist with clients in the fast food industry to dismiss striking workers' demands for higher wages without disclosing his industry ties.
Labor organizers in seven cities across the U.S. planned the largest employee walk out of the year for July 29. Thousands of employees in Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Flint, Detroit, and New York City will take part in what is potentially the largest fast food worker mobilization in history demanding better wages and stronger benefits from some of the country's largest and most profitable corporations.
On the July 29 edition of Fox Business' Varney & Co., host Stuart Varney interviewed Richard Berman of the Employment Policies Institute to provide a critical analysis of the walk outs. Berman dismissed the idea of raising fast food employee wages, claiming that the hike in pay would result in lower employment.
Berman, a corporate lobbyist, was allowed to provide this input without disclosing his organization's ties to the fast food industry. According to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, the Employment Policies Institute is one of many front groups associated with Berman which provide political cover for clients in the restaurant, hospitality, alcohol, and tobacco industries. Berman specializes in a so-called "aggressive media outreach" approach intended to "change the debate" in favor of major clients. Media Matters.
ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – A few words of advice from a St. Louis political expert that New York City mayoral hopeful Anthony Weiner, and many others, probably wishes they'd heeded.
"For Heaven's sake, don't put stuff onsocial media that you don't want to live forever!," says University of Missouri-St. Louis political science professor Dave Robertson. "If you want to say something wait at least 12 hours before you say it."
Robertson points out that Weiner's self-inflicted woes certainly aren't the only textbook case of the pitfalls of social media for public figures — just the latest one.
Anyone can make mistakes, he allows, especially if you consider we're still in the infancy of using social media that can transmit even the most mundane idea or opinion around the globe in a heartbeat with thesimple push of a button. KMOX-St. Louis.
Open Letter from Members of the European Parliament
to President Barack Obama and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel
As Members of the European Parliament, who were elected to represent our constituents throughout Europe, we are writing to express our concerns about the ongoing persecution of Bradley Manning, the young U.S. soldier who released classified information revealing evidence of human rights abuses and apparent war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The U.S. Army has charged Private First Class Manning with 21 different crimes, including 'Aiding the Enemy'; a capital charge. To convict a person who leaked information to the media of "Aiding the Enemy" would set a terrible precedent. Although we understand the US government is not seeking the death penalty for Bradley Manning, there would be nothing to stop this from happening in future cases. As it is, PFC Manning faces the possibility of life in prison without parole, recently rejected as "inhuman and degrading treatment" by the European Court of Human Rights.
We agree with Amnesty International that the U.S. government should immediately drop the most serious charges against PFC Bradley Manning, and that to charge Bradley Manning with 'aiding the enemy' is 'ludicrous' – a 'travesty of justice' which 'makes a mockery of the US military court system'. Bradley Manning Support Network.
NBC News has an agreement with GlobalPost to integrate its international coverage into its digital platforms, including NBCNews.com and msnbc.com. That includes GlobalPost's digital video.
The arrangement also includes using GlobalPost correspondents and reach for on-air coverage outside the U.S. That likely dovetails with news organizations decreasing budgets for international bureaus.
GlobalPost has 13 correspondents around the world and a network of freelancers. Stories on the site Monday included plans for the Moscow metro to use cell phone trackers to monitor suspicious activity and a famed Ukranian boxer's entry into politics in the country. Media Post News.
The fate of ex-Army private Bradley Manning will be decided tomorrow, and if he is found guilty of aiding the enemy by releasing a trove of documents to WikiLeaks, he could face prison for life. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange weighed in on the potential verdict on CNN today, telling Jake Tapper that the way the government has gone after Manning presents a very dangerous precedent to journalists seeking to expose government secrets, leading to what Assange said would be "the end… of national security journalism in the United States."
Assange told Tapper there's been "lots of spin" from the government about the consequences of Manning's actions, even the assertion that the information he released would put Americans at risk. Assange said that narrative was proved to be "entirely false" and claimed that Manning's information led in part to the events of the Arab Spring. Mediaite.
The Egyptian crisis is having negative political and economic effects on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. After initially maintaining silence, Hamas last week moved to close the Gaza offices of Maan News Agency and Al Arabiya.
Hamas accused some Palestinian media outlets of behaving like some Egyptian media outlets and "fabricating" stories about Hamas' relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and its interference in Egyptian affairs, both politically and on the ground.
On the evening of Thursday [July 25] the police came to the headquarters of Al Arabiya and Maan news agencies in Gaza City, informed them of the attorney general's order to close their offices, and ordered their workers to leave immediately. The directors of the two media offices told Al-Monitor that the police showed them the attorney general's order, but refused to hand over copies. Al-Monitor.
WASHINGTON -– In a newly renovated section of the The Washington Post's fourth-floor newsroom, seven words are scrawled atop a wall-sized chalkboard: "Would you watch it or share it?"
That's the question PostTV producers and hosts have been asking about each potential live or taped segment in preparation for this week's launch of the news outlet's two signature political web shows. On Monday, Post reporter Nia-Malika Henderson hosts "On Background,"a daily interactive interview show covering politics and policy that airs daily at 12:30 p.m. Reporters Chris Cillizza and Jackie Kucinich kick off their daily political series, "In Play," at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
Steven Ginsberg, The Washington Post senior politics editor, told The Huffington Post that the investment in video is the "biggest commitment" to any one project he's seen in nearly two decades at the paper. Huffington Post.
The Malaysian government has ordered the release of director Wong Kew Lit's historical dramaThe New Village indefinitely delayed, following complaints in the country's conservative press and on social media that it glorifies communism.
The film, a period feature told in Mandarin Chinese, tells a love story set in Malaysia's tumultuous "Malayan Emergency" period of the 1940s and 50s, when a communist uprising, lead largely by the country's ethnic Chinese population, fought for independence from British colonial rule.
According to the director and his team, the film was approved for commercial exhibition by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF) on Sept. 4 of 2012 and given a P13 classification (roughly equivalent to PG13 in the U.S.). Following the stamp of approval from the LPF, the country's National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) set its release date for Aug. 22.
But when a trailer for The New Village was posted to Youtube in June, a series of conservative editorials in local dailies attacked the film, suggesting – based solely on the trailer – that it portrays the communist uprising as heroic.
"Correct guidance of public opinion," the notion media must adhere to the discipline guidelines of the Chinese Communist Party in order to maintain social and political stability, remains the crux of press controls in China. But now, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, "correct guidance" is being retrofitted for the "Chinese dream," the ruling Party's latest leadership vision.
The first reaffirmation of the media's propaganda role in the context of the "Chinese dream" came back in April, as scores of state-run media were lined up behind a statement called, "Creating Positive Energy for the Chinese Dream with a Fierce Sense of Social Responsibility."
A piece posted today by the official Xinhua News Agency again emphasizes the need for media to adhere to "correct guidance" in order to create "positive energy" for the realization of the Chinese dream. Typical of Party writings about ideological discipline in the media, the tone of the piece is highly moralistic, suggesting media in China today have suffered a "downward slide" in values. They have erred from the "mainstream," meaning the Party line, to cynically pursue negative coverage and amplify "rumours" emerging on the internet. China Media Project.
Turkish Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has condemned the foreign media over its lack of coverage of the killings in Egypt, saying the media has not shown the same sensitivity that it has for "whales at the pole" or "seabirds in the gulf."
"They call it a double standard. Calling it a double standard about what the foreign media did even falls short. Hundreds are dying in Syria. Do you ever hear about it? Or in Egypt?" Yılmaz told Anadolu Agency.
"Did you see any live broadcast on CNN or BBC?" Yılmaz asked, referring to Egyptian people's rallies across the country. "I guess they show [those incidents] like an ordinary events. The foreign media doesn't show the sensitivity that they have shown to whales at the pole or seabirds in the gulf to the Egyptian people." The Hurriyet Daily News (Turkey).
Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who broke the story on top-secret NSA surveillance programs earlier this summer, will testify before a congressional committee.
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), who is leading the Wednesday congressional hearing that has invited critics of the NSA programs to testify, told The Guardian, "I think that most people simply don't understand that, despite the news coverage, which my view has been extremely unfocused. There has been far too much discussion of the leaker, and not enough discussion of the leak."
Greenwald tweeted on Friday that he would join the hearing remotely. Huffington Post.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to sue the Times of London for publishing an open letter by a group of celebrities, academics and others criticising his handling of anti-government protests.
Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Ben Kingsley were among those who signed the letter that accused Erdogan's government of "dictatorial rule" and of causing the deaths of five protesters who died after clashes with police.
"The press wants to throw mud to see if it sticks. The Times is renting out its own pages for money," Erdogan told reporters on Friday in comments broadcast live by NTV channel.
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's chief prosecutor said she has asked a court to freeze the assets of the editor of one of the country's two major opposition newspapers. El Nacional editor Miguel Henrique Otero called the move an attack on freedom of expression in statements published Sunday.
Chief Prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz said the case stems from an illegal-enrichment investigation against former Caracas Mayor Alfredo Pena. The mayor had sued Otero, alleging he owes him $3.5 million. Ortega said she doesn't know where the ex-mayor got the money or what the loan was for, but she said her office will investigate possible criminal activity, according to a statement posted on her agency's website.
If granted, the action would freeze Otero's bank accounts and block him from selling or disposing of his property. ABC News.
In a major shakeup for the radio industry, Cumulus Media, the second-biggest broadcaster in the country, is planning to drop both Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity from its stations at the end of the year, an industry source told POLITICO on Sunday.
Cumulus has decided that it will not renew its contracts with either host, the source said, a move that would remove the two most highly rated conservative talk personalities from more than 40 Cumulus channels in major markets.
The decision comes after negotiations between Cumulus and Premiere Networks, the division of Clear Channel that distributes Limbaugh and Hannity's shows, broke down due to disagreements over the cost of the distribution rights, the source said. Cumulus is known to drive a hard bargain on costs, and Clear Channel is known to seek top dollar for big names.
As industry insiders caution, Cumulus and Clear Channel have come to the brink before during contract negotiations only to resume talks. But the source told POLITICO that Clear Channel was unlikely to reduce the cost for distribution rights to a level that would satisfy Cumulus. Politico.
Former ABC "Good Morning America" news anchor and senior correspondent Antonio Mora is joining Al Jazeera America to host a nightly current affairs talk show called "Consider This."
"Consider This" will air weeknights on AJAM, and will feature newsmaker interviews, panel discussions and interactive segments where viewers can take part via social media.
"Antonio has enormous experience as a reporter, anchor and interviewer," said Paul Eedle, Al Jazeera America's deputy launch manager in charge of programs in a statement. "His enquiring mind and warmth on screen will make 'Consider This' a home for smart conversation with a wide variety of people across the country." TV Newser.
The Washington Post has hired Reid Wilson, editor-in-chief of National Journal's 'Hotline' tipsheet, to oversee a new project covering state and local government news, executive editor Marty Baron announced today.
The project, called GovBeat, "will cover legislative and political trends and highlight innovative policy prescriptions, with a mix of news, analysis, charts and data," Baron wrote in a memo to the newsroom. "GovBeat will also engage government workers, policy makers and those involved in the business of local and state governments in an ongoing conversation about the challenges they face and how those relate to Washington."
Wilson, who has covered Washington politics for National Journal, RealClearPolitics and The Hill, among others, has been editor-in-chief of Hotline since 2010. The position has previously been occupied by such marquee names as Chuck Todd, now NBC News political director, and Amy Walter, the former ABC News political director who now serves as national editor of the Cook Political Report. Politico.
Since the moment she and Prince William presented Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge to the world, her figure became a talking point.
Reactions to her appearance ranged from positive to negative to just plain curious.
"Why Does Kate Middleton Still Have Her Baby Bump?" screamed one headline.
"Kate Middleton's royal baby post-bump is a boost of confidence for mums everywhere," another said. "How can she look so pretty just after giving birth?"
One fashion blogger wrote "in all honesty, the dress was not pleasing to the eye, neither was the stomach. I hope she gets her post-maternity bod soon." The Hollywood Gossip.
What happens when the nation's most important political parties appoint experts to lead social media teams? Irrespective of whether it is the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party that heads in the elections due next year, it is clear that Twitter and Facebook are winners of sorts. Coming in the wake of the Arab Spring and the Anna Hazare movement in India, it is clear that social media is going to play a role in the next elections as seen in this column more than a year ago.
But how do common people perceive the social media war between political groups? "Trending" with Twitter hashtags on leading topics may set the tone for mainstream media taking note of hot topics, but the real deal is the impressions that parties create in the minds of ordinary people and voters. Hindustan Times.
Americans are sick and tired of royal baby coverage, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
The poll found that 63 percent of Americans think the media have dedicated too much time to the newborn offspring of Kate Middleton and Prince William. Twenty-three percent said the media have spent about the right amount of time, while only 2 percent were left wanting more. Twelve percent said they weren't sure.
In fact, few Americans admitted to mustering much interest in the duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy and the birth of her son, Prince George Alexander Louis. Nine percent said they were "very interested" in royal baby news, while another 26 percent said they were "somewhat interested." On the other hand, 27 percent said they were "not very interested," and 35 percent said they were "not at all interested." Huffington Post.
OTTAWA—The race to replace Bob Rae in Toronto Centre is expected to heat up as Chrystia Freeland, a high-profile international journalist, has her eyes on the Liberal nomination, party sources say.
As well, former health minister and Toronto mayoralty candidate George Smitherman says he intends to provide "clarity" about his intentions in Toronto in the next few days.
Freeland, currently a managing director and editor with Thomson Reuters news, based in New York, is also author of the much-praised book, Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else. She's also written for The Economist, the Washington Post and served as a senior editor at the Financial Times. The Star.
ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey drew renewed international criticism Friday over its stance on media freedom after a prominent journalist who had criticized the government was fired this week.
The pro-government Sabah newspaper dismissed Yavuz Baydar from his position as ombudsman — or arbiter between the paper and its readers — on Tuesday after he wrote an opinion piece published in The New York Times that accused Turkish media owners of a "shameful" role in curtailing press freedom.
Baydar was the latest in a string of journalists to be fired or forced to resign for their coverage of the recent protests against the 10-year government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. What initially started as an environmental protest turned into a widespread display of anger against what critics say is Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian tenure in office.
AICC General Secretary Ajay Maken said that social media has not yet percolated to the common men and its power to change discourse during elections is limited.
Speaking at the Idea Exchange programme of the Indian Express, Maken however, said that social and electronic media will make mega election rallies obsolete. The Financial Express.
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - An American journalist who was arrested while filming an opposition rally faces deportation for working in Uganda without proper documentation, a government official said Friday, but the journalist himself insisted he was targeted by police who worried he would expose their brutality against protesters.
The arrest comes as the Ugandan police are cracking down on opposition protests in Kampala, the capital.
The journalist, an independent documentary filmmaker named Taylor Krauss, is due for "an organized departure" from the East African country, said Benjamin Kagiremire, a spokesman for Uganda's Ministry of Internal Affairs. ACADIANA's Multi-Media News.
Hamas closed news media offices and a television production company on Thursday for what it called the spreading of false reports and working for Israeli television.
The offices belonged to the Al Arabiya news channel, which is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and to Maan, a Palestinian news agency based in Bethlehem, West Bank.
Hamas also shut down a local production company called Lens because it had provided broadcast services to I24 News, a new channel based in the occupied Palestinian territories that broadcasts in Arabic, English and French. Al-Manar.
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2013 -- /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- IREX's latest Europe & Eurasia Media Sustainability Index (MSI) finds that new media sources are rapidly replacing traditional outlets as the preferred source of news. A decade after online media began sapping the advertising revenue of traditional outlets in the West, these same trends are now washing across the region to the east, undermining business models as they go. See www.irex.org/msi for the full report.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130628/DC39165LOGO)
No matter why the audience migrates online or to satellite television—whether in search of content that is cheaper, fresher, more targeted, sensational, or crowd-sourced—the traditional media are left behind with a smaller audience. Sacramento Bee.
Johannesburg - Cosatu condemned what it described as leaks from internal meetings published on Friday.
"The Congress of SA Trade Unions strongly condemns the article 'Vavi says critics are govt turncoats' in the Mail & Guardian on 26 July 2013, which is based entirely on leaks and hearsay," spokesman Patrick Craven said.
"For that reason, in line with our policy, Cosatu will not comment on its contents, but condemns those who selectively leak information arising from internal discussions within the federation."
The newspaper reported that general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi reiterated to his "enemies" in the trade union federation that he best represented the interests of the working class. IOL News.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Hamas rulers in this Palestinian territory have shuttered two Arab media bureaus over their coverage of Gaza's Islamist leaders.
Hamas Attorney General Ismail Jaber told The Associated Press Thursday that he closed the Gaza Strip bureaus of satellite channel Al Arabiya and West Bank-based outlet Maan because they "spread fabricated rumors" that "harm the Palestinian national interest and resistance movements."
A Maan correspondent said Hamas was upset about its reports that Hamas militants were contributing to chaos in the Sinai Peninsula following the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak publically about the matter.
Al Arabiya had no comment. The Associated Press.
The final print edition of The Onion in Madison hit newsstands Thursday.
The satirical paper was founded by UW-Madison students in 1988 but is now based in Chicago. Earlier this month Capital Newspapers announced poor ad sales prompted the change.
On the back page of the final issue, an appropriately exaggerated and sarcastic column calls for Madison residents to meet in Brittingham Park and in protest "overturn ever car, smash every window, tear out the roots of every tree, shoot out every streetlight... descend upon the Capitol and pull it apart with your bare hands."
"If print dies, then so shall the world," reads the article. WMTV-Madison, Wisconsin.
The Indian Congress Party, as was announced a couple days ago, has come out with a social media platform, Khidki, to discuss and establish their viewpoint on several contemporary issues as well as to exchange ideas on government policies and economic affairs.
There was also a two-day media conclave in Delhi, with around 200 Congress spokespersons from various parts of the country, which discussed the ever changing political communication scene in terms of the Congress Party.
G Suriya, a volunteer with the Congress Party, said, "Right now this is an internal platform. It has been in use for 2 years already (internally). The purpose of this at the moment is to internally sort out and churn out views on current topics. Many of our younger organisations like the Youth Congress have already been using it. Recently, we have modernised and improved certain portions of it." DNA.
Jul. 23 (GIN) - Under the theme, "Speaking Truth to Power? Media, Politics and Accountability", a major media conference will bring together journalists, civil society activists and academics to discuss African media's role in holding political authority accountable.
The conference takes place at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, where it is hosted by Rhodes' School of Journalism and Media Studies in partnership with South Africa's Dept. of Communications and other agencies and corporations. The two day confab kicks off Sept. 1 with a combination of plenary sessions, keynote addresses, debates, training workshops, networking dinners and book launches.
Key voices in the African media Industry will speak to the theme and give insights as to how the media can effectively use its role as a discourse shaper, to speak to power in addition to speaking of it. New York Amsterdam News.
Anthony Weiner was under intense pressure to abandon his improbable run for mayor of New York on Wednesday as his rivals, and the city's press, turned on him after the publication of a new, explicit self-taken picture.
Three of Weiner's fellow mayoral candidates called for him to quit after he admitted on Tuesday that he had continued to exchange sexually charged messages with young women after leaving Congress after similar allegations in 2011.
The latest revelations threatened to turn the race for senior positions in New York politics into little more than a lurid circus. A parallel bid for election to the post of city comptroller by Elliot Spitzer, brought low by his admission that he hired prostitutes when governor of New York state, has done nothing to elevate the debate. The Raw Story.
North Carolina Senate candidate Thom Tillis (R) rips the "liberal media" for giving him unfair treatment in an email to supporters, accusing the press of giving more favorable coverage to Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).
"Members of the liberal media have made it clear that they don't like our conservative agenda and they don't like the fact that I want to take that conservative philosophy to Washington, D.C. They prefer a liberal Senator like Kay Hagan rather than any conservative who wants to stop the Obama agenda," Tillis writes to supporters. "While Kay Hagan has been traveling the country raising money from the Obama political machine, the liberal media has been attacking me for trying to jump-start our campaign."
Tillis, the president pro tempore of the North Carolina state House, presided over a legislative session that pushed through some controversial laws on taxes and abortion that triggered vocal protests and drew national media attention. The Hill.
Conservative media figures are coming to the defense of Republican Congressman Steve King following widespread condemnation of his comments accusing undocumented immigrants of being drug smugglers.
During an interview with conservative outlet Newsmax, King attacked the undocumented youths known as DREAMers -- those who would have qualified under the DREAM Act proposal that repeatedly failed in Congress and who could meet the Senate immigration bill's DREAM Act provision -- saying that while he has sympathy for children who were brought into this country illegally by their parents, not all of them are valedictorians.
Republican Party leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) and Sen. Raul Labrador (R-ID), have condemned King's comments as"wrong," "hateful," and "inexcusable." Boehner stated: "What he said is wrong. There can be honest disagreements about policy without using hateful language. Everyone needs to remember that."
However, right-wing media figures have rallied to King's defense. On her radio show, Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham cited cases of undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes and brought up instances of gang activity in border states to argue in support of King's comments. Media Matters.
Ted Nugent lashed out Thursday against news media portrayals of him as racist for his recent remarks about the Trayvon Martincase.
The Detroit-born rocker turned the tables, decrying the "racist slant of the media" in reporting on his comments criticizing Martin and bashing Stevie Wonder's boycott of Florida.
"I don't think you'll find another person where the term 'racist' — that vicious, hateful term — is leveled at a guy that has probably done more to promote black artists, specifically, than pretty much anybody this side of (Atlantic Records founder) Ahmet Ertegun," Nugent told the Free Press. The Detroit Free-Press.
How will readers access this article? Through the printed page or via Facebook, Google+ and Twitter?
That was the topic of the First Thought discussion at the 35th annual Galway Arts Festival, which sought to explore the future direction of journalism in the face of a digital revolution.
The title for the talk, Life in the Old Dog Yet, came from editorial in The Irish Timesearlier this year in response to a claim from Morning Ireland that print media is a sunset industry, explained Dave O'Connell, panel chair and group editor of theConnacht Tribune. Irish Times.
A police chief has launched an astonishing attack on the media by suggesting it failed to properly publicise appeals about Muslim mosque bombings out of possible religious bias.
And Dave Thompson, Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, questioned whether coverage would have been greater if a different religion had been targeted.
Blogging about the recent Black Country mosque attacks, the force's second most senior officer wrote about the 'low level of media coverage the events received'.
He added: "Our circulation of the picture of alleged suspects in the Mosque attacks drew very little coverage; that was frustrating at a time we needed public help.
''I wonder if you picked another faith and said that there would be a series of bombings at places of worship during a major religious period and the police had a picture of the alleged attacker you might think it would get more coverage?'' Birmingham Mail.
Social media has pushed the boundaries for Indian political parties in terms of its capability to send messages and reach out to supporters. 'Communication' for political parties is therefore no longer about maintaining the party website or handing out press releases to journalists.
In this age of Facebook and Twitter, the social media strategy for parties is as important as their on ground communication strategy. However, based on the current developments such as the #pappu Vs #Feku battle earlier this year and a handful of national leaders with around a million followers each on Twitter, experts say there is a long way to go before Indian political parties and leaders tap the real potential of social media. First Post Politics.
An Egyptian official on Tuesday denied any intention to restrict access to social-networking websites.
"We have not received any government decision regarding the work of social-networking websites in Egypt," Hisham al-Alayeli, acting chairman of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority, told the Anadolu Agency.
Egypt has been in turmoil since the powerful army deposed Mohammed Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president, suspended the constitution and installed the head of the constitutional court as interim president.
Both supporters and opponents of the ousted president have turned to social-media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to make their case.
But Ahmed Meslimani, media adviser to interim President Adly Mansour, warned that wrangling on the internet posed a risk to Egypt's future. World Bulletin.
LONDON (AFP) – The British monarchy's formidable media machine has handled the birth of the royal baby smoothly but huge challenges lie ahead to protect young Prince George's privacy, commentators said Wednesday.
The frenzy that erupted when Prince William and his wife Kate gave international journalists their first glimpse of the boy on Tuesday is just a taste of the lifetime of media attention that awaits the future king.
Buckingham Palace now faces a dilemma as it balances the need for privacy with its use of a photogenic new generation of royals to secure the future of an ancient institution in the modern world. Fox News.
Al Jazeera network has accused the Egyptian authorities of enforcing strict measures on their employees in Egypt and denied siding with Islamists in its coverage of the Egyptian crisis.
Egyptian security forces broke into Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr offices in Cairo just hours after the elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was removed by the army. Egyptian military sources accused Al Jazeera of "incitement".
Many Egyptians have criticised Al Jazeera network, based in Qatar, for taking the side of the Islamists in its coverage of the Egyptian issues.
Al Jazeera asserted that the Egyptian authorities have been enforcing "strict measures in different ways on its staff in Cairo." Al Jazeera was unable to reach Egyptian officials on Tuesday to comment on the issue because it was an official holiday. Middle East Monitor.
Executive Director of Libertarian Party Carla Howell says US media keep politicians in power by manipulating voters into believing that they must vote for the "lesser of two evils."
"Dissatisfaction with big government politicians is nothing new. The only reason they're still in office today is because incumbents and the mainstream media have manipulated voters into believing that they must vote for the 'lesser of two evils' between a big government Democrat or a big government Republican," she said in a phone interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
"But 99 percent of the time their voting records are virtually the same. Voting for one or the other serves only to keep us stuck with big government, high taxes, stifling regulations, millions of lost jobs, failed and dangerous prohibitions, endless meddling overseas, and gargantuan government and personal debt," Howell added. Press TV.
Bulgarian media have come under renewed criticism from socialist politicians for their coverage of the anti-government protest that blocked cabinet ministers, MPs and Parliament staff for hours on July 23 and the early hours of July 24.
Even as the protesters prevented the bus ferrying some of the MPs and – according to the reports, at least one minister – socialist MP Anton Kutev, who said he was on the bus, told Bulgarian National Television (BNT) that it should "cover protests objectively".
This meant not reporting that the number of protesters was increasing, which he said was not true – even as live coverage showed people joining the crowd around the enclosures outside Parliament. The Sofia Globe.
Lila Rose of Live Action has had enough and her pro-life group has started a new campaign, March on the Media, to combat the epidemic of pro-abortion bias when it comes to reporting on abortion issues.
The campaign comes after a new report showed the big television networks gave Texas abortion advocate three times more coverage than they gave to the trial of abortion practitioner Kermit Gosnell, who killed babies born alive after abortions.
"Like it or not, the major news networks have huge influence in our country," said Lila Rose, president of Live Action, in a statement today.
"Millions of Americans get a sense of the world through national filters like ABC, CBS, and NBC. So it's inexcusable when these networks, in whom so much public trust is invested, refuse to report the facts on one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time," she said. Life News.
A protest that started off from social media buzz around the ongoing constitution review in Nigeria failed to draw the mammoth tweeting crowd unto the streets to demand amendments on Tuesday.
The protest, albeit miniature, was a fall out of popular clamour for the removal of what has become a controversial clause in the 1999 constitution.
Section 29 (4b), a clause devoted to renunciation of citizenship, recognizes women less than 18-years-old to be of full age. AllAfrica.
Felicitating the best in Indian journalism at the Sixth Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards ceremony on Tuesday, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam said media is the "ark of the covenant of democracy" and rejected any move to have an external regulator for it.
"The temptation to correct the media through an external regulatory authority may seem a dominant urge, but it is surely not the answer. The press is naturally and rightly touchy about it. External regulation could result in a perilous departure from the cherished principle of the freedom of the press as the sine qua non of our democracy," said Justice Sathasivam. The Indian Express.
A Media Matters study finds that Reuters' coverage of climate change declined by nearly 50 percent under the regime of the current managing editor, lending credence to a former reporter's claim that a "climate of fear" has gripped the agency.
David Fogarty, a former Reuters climate change correspondent, wrote that Managing Editor Paul Ingrassia, then serving as deputy editor-in-chief, identified himself as "a climate change sceptic" in 2012. As time went on, Fogarty alleged, "getting any climate change-themed story published got harder," as some desk editors "agonised" over decisions and allowed articles to become mired in bureaucracy. Eventually, amid a "climate of fear," Fogarty's role was "abolished."
An earlier report published by The Baron, an independent site that caters to current and former Reuters employees, similarly noted that in recent years the news service has been steered in a "new direction" in its climate change coverage, as evidenced by decreased attention, in-print "skepticism" and the reassignment of regional environment correspondents to other beats. Media Matters.
Reporters Without Borders condemns continuing abusive treatment and acts of violence against journalists during the past week.
Mohamed Bader, a photographer, has been held since 15 July, when he was arrested in Cairo's Ramses Square while covering clashes between police and former President Mohamed Morsi's supporters in which seven people were killed and at least 260 were injured.
He was one of more than 400 people arrested in connection with the 15 July clashes. After Bader was charged on 18 July with possessing a firearm, endangering national security and insulting the police, the prosecutor-general's office ordered him held for another two weeks.
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arbitrary nature of his detention and calls for his immediate and unconditional release and the withdrawal of all the charges against him. AllAfrica.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's media regulator on Tuesday barred television channels from airing a racy condom commercial featuring actress Mathira, saying such "immoral" content should not be beamed during the holy month of Ramzan.
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority banned the 50-second advertisement after receiving several complaints that it was "indecent", said its spokesman Fakhar Mughal.
"Airing of such immoral advertisements on Pakistani channels and that too in Ramzan warrants serious action," he told the media.
"TV channels have decided to take off air the condom advertisement as it is highly immoral," said Mughal. The Times of India.
John Oliver opened tonight's Daily Show covering the birth of the single greatest baby in the history of babies. Oliver took the media to task for its over-the-top, near-non-stop coverage of the royal baby, the lead-up to the royal baby's birth, all the filler before the baby was actually born, the speculation over the baby's name… basically, everything about that damn baby.
Oliver welcomed the news of the newborn by saying, "Finally we have a member of the royal family that actually has an excuse for being a toothless, petulant, useless human being." He declared all the media coverage to this one child as "a royal fuck you" to every single other baby born that day. Mediaite.
LAHORE: A training workshop was arranged by Individual land Pakistan in partnership with Freidrich Norman Foundation (FnF) on "Citizen Journalism" and "social media" in Lahore on Tuesday.
Citizen Journalism is a growing phenomenon globally and with time, has surfaced not only as a vital source of non-selective information for citizens but as an important tool to strengthen democracy as well. The aim of the workshop was to create awareness amongst masses about the concept of "Citizen Journalism" and social media, find solutions to improve it and to make the people realize the role of it in strengthening democracy in a society.
People related to media (print and electronic both), environmentalists, students of journalism and human rights activists were among the attendants. The workshop was held in a computer lab of Punjab University. Daily Times (Pakistan).
NEW DELHI: Congress wrapped up its two-day media workshop on Tuesday with training modules for all its spokespersons, teaching them how to make a clear point on all national issues in 30 seconds on television or in 140 characters on social networking site Twitter.
The second day of the workshop had training modules by I&B minister Manish Tewari,spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit and MPDeepender Hooda. Tewari taught the spokespersons dos and don'ts of holding a press meet and how to make a crisp point within 30 seconds. He made a pitch for taking forward the secular agenda, asking spokespersons to talk strongly on issues related to communalism. The Economic Times.
New Delhi: The social media is still evolving and it empowers many with information but there is also scope of its misuse because of the anonymity it provides, Union Minister for Communications and IT Kapil Sibal said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a discussion organised at the presentation ceremony of the Ramnath Goenka Awards for excellence in journalism, Sibal said the social media is evolving but it does not have any hierarchies and also identities.
It's a platform which is enormously empowering because it's a source of information for millions of people and that is why it has an important role to play, Sibal said. ZeeNews India.
The language of news media consumption is changing for Hispanics: a growing share of Latino adults are consuming news in English from television, print, radio and internet outlets, and a declining share are doing so in Spanish, according to survey findings from the Pew Research Center.
In 2012, 82% of Hispanic adults said they got at least some of their news in English,1 up from 78% who said the same in 2006. By contrast, the share who get at least some of their news in Spanish has declined, to 68% in 2012 from 78% in 2006.2
Half (50%) of Latino adults say they get their news in both languages, down from 57% in 2010. Pew Research.
A group of animal rights advocates and journalists have filed the first-ever lawsuit against so-called ag-gag laws aimed at suppressing revelations of animal abuse at farms and slaughterhouses. The plaintiffs are challenging Utah's 2012 law which imposes a penalty of up to one year in jail for recording images or sounds of agricultural operations without permission. While a number of states have passed ag-gag laws, Utah was the first to attempt a prosecution by charging a woman who filmed a slaughterhouse from a public street. The case was later dropped. One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, independent journalist Will Potter, wrote: "Utah's law, and others like it, directly place both me and my sources at risk. There's a long history of investigative journalism in this country based on exactly the type of research and whistleblowing that these laws criminalize."
At least 22 journalists have been fired and 37 forced to quit over their coverage of the Gezi Park protests, the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS) has claimed.
The Turkish newspaper Today's Zaman quoted Gökhan Durmu of the TGS saying that the job losses came as a result of media coverage of the protests. They started in late May with a small group of environmentalists staging a protest against a commercial development in Istanbul, and grew into nationwide demonstrations in which thousands expressed anti-government sentiments. The protests in Istanbul were met with tear gas and water cannons. The Independent.
A commentary issued by China's official Xinhua news agency on Tuesday hit out at the Indian media for "hyping" the situation along the disputed border, following reports in recent days of new incursions by Chinese troops.
The commentary said "sensational reports" were "harmful to the China-India relationship", and it accused media reports of "sour[ing] to some extent the atmosphere" of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang May 2013 visit to India.
Media reports, Xinhua added, "have only served to further sow misunderstandings between Indians and Chinese even at a time when their leaders are working hard to manage their differences and to build a constructive relationship that can benefit both sides".
The commentary did not, however, provide any information or details to counter any of the recent reports of incursions by Chinese troops.
On Monday, media reports said around 50 Chinese soldiers riding on horses had intruded into the Chumar area on July 16. In April, relations were strained following a three-week stand-off in Depsang, also in the western section of the disputed border, after Chinese troops put up a tent. The Hindu.
The amassing of over 160,000 Russian troops, bombers, and naval ships under an emergency 'combat readiness' drill order is now making the rounds throughout mainstream media and talk radio after being blasted into the headlines.
Amazingly, just a bit over on week ago I covered the Russian 'combat readiness' order while in amazement that no one was discussing it despite admissions that it really was going on. It was breaking news for sure, especially when we get into what happened before this abrupt call to 'combat readiness' for the Russian military system (which I will detail shortly). Ultimately, and this is really quite disturbing, it was up to independent alternative news sites like Storyleak (with the help of Infowars and others syndicating the news to millions worldwide) to blast it into the mainstream media.
A reality that is actually quite concerning. Alex Jones' InfoWars.com.
The Pacific Freedom Forum says police actions to stop distribution of a new magazine in West Papua break press laws of Indonesia and must be condemned.
The forum has joined the Indonesian Press Council in criticising police for their actions against the magazine, Papua Pelita.
The magazine dedicated its first issue to reporting on the Organisation of Papua Freedom, with a cover featuring the West Papua pro-independence flag - which is banned by authorities in West Papua.
Magazine publishers had already distributed 2,000 copies of the inaugural edition when police arrived and instructed them not to distribute any further copies. Radio New Zealand International.
Rarotonga, Cook Islands - Police actions to stop distribution of a new magazine in West Papua break press laws of Indonesia and must be condemned, says the Pacific Freedom Forum.
"Press freedom is not a vague constitutional promise in Indonesia," says Titi Gabi, Chair of the Pacific Freedom Forum.
"There are specific laws that back press freedom and expressly prohibit police from banning media organisations."
Pacific Freedom Forum joins the Indonesian Press Council in criticising police for their actions against the magazine, Papua Pelita. Solomon Times Online.
Tehran: Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hussaini has termed as "unacceptable" a raid by Egyptian security forces at the office of Iranian satellite TV channel Al Alam in Cairo, a media report said.
Egyptian security forces Saturday raided the office of the Arabic language TV channel, detained its director and confiscated the equipment in the office, according to Press TV.
The Egyptians said the Iranian TV channel did not have permission for activity. GulfNews.com.
Fox News continued its smear campaign against the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps, by hyping an evidence-free claim that recipients are using the program to send food overseas.
A July 21 New York Post story claimed that low-income New Yorkers were using SNAP funds to purchase food to send overseas. The Post based its claims on anecdotes from unnamed sources at two New York supermarkets that "confirmed the practice," but failed to include specifics. The anonymous woman that thePost provided as its sole example of the practice was not a SNAP beneficiary:
Last week, a woman stuffed dozens of boxes of macaroni and evaporated milk into a barrel headed for her family in Kingston, Jamaica. She said she didn't have welfare benefits and bought the food herself.
"This is all worth more than $2,000," she said. "I've been shopping since last December. You can help somebody else, someone who doesn't live in this country."
A man helping her pack the barrel said: "We're poor here, and they're poor. But what we can get here is like luxury to them."
Fox News and other right-wing media outlets ignored the Post's lack of evidence to hype the story as an example of failed government oversight. Media Matters.
The Nigerian Young Journalists Forum, NYJF, has approached the National Assembly under the Freedom of Information Act, FOI, to declare the salaries and allowances of federal lawmakers.
The journalists stated this in a request letter dated July 17 and addressed to the Senate President, David Mark, and Speaker Federal House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal. They also demanded the total amounts expended by both chambers from June 2011 to June 2013.
The letter, signed by the Forum's National President, Ayodele Samuel, and General Secretary, Zacheaus Somorin, also requested the statutory budgetary allocations and expenses of Nigeria's legislative arm of government.
Also requested by the Journalists Forum is the proof of compliance by members of National Assembly with statutory law on asset declaration by public officers.
The forum said the information is requested for proper media reportage on salaries and constituency votes of members of the National Assembly which have been subjects of public debates and misrepresentations in recent times. AllAfrica.com.
Srinagar, July 23 (KMS): In occupied Kashmir, the Chairman of All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq describing the assurances by the authorities of probe into the recent Gool killings as misleading has said that such statements are tantamount to rubbing salt on the wounds of Kashmiris.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was talking to a delegation of Akali Dal led by its President Simranjeet Singh Maan in Srinagar, today. He said that the role of Indian media regarding the bloodbath in Gool was highly unfortunate. He deplored that the way the Indian media brazenly ignored the incident clearly showed its biased approach towards the Kashmiris. Kashmir Media Service.
INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mike Pence has adopted a social media policy for his official Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts, following a June incident where his staff was caught scrubbing comments from Hoosiers that disagreed with the Republican governor's opposition to gay marriage.
The new policy discourages discussions of controversial state issues and warns that comments will be deleted if the governor's staff deems them inaccurate, profane or defamatory.
"The focus of the social networking opportunities is to share information about the governor of Indiana's programs and activities," according to the policy. "Larger discussions of political views and philosophies may be addressed elsewhere." NWI Politics.
Reporters Without Borders condemns continuing abusive treatment and acts of violence against journalists during the past week.
Mohamed Bader, a photographer, has been held since 15 July, when he was arrested in Cairo's Ramses Square while covering clashes between police and former President Mohamed Morsi's supporters in which seven people were killed and at least 260 were injured. He was one of more than 400 people arrested in connection with the 15 July clashes. After Bader was charged on 18 July with possessing a firearm, endangering national security and insulting the police, the prosecutor-general's office ordered him held for another two weeks.
Reporters Without Borders condemns the arbitrary nature of his detention and calls for his immediate and unconditional release and the withdrawal of all the charges against him.
Reporters Without Borders also condemns the violence against journalists by pro-Morsi demonstrators, who threw stones at Sky News and ONTV crews in Ramses Square and beat them with sticks.
There was more violence against journalists at pro-Morsi demonstrations during the past weekend. Tolerance.
Today, Nate Silver and ESPN made official that the baseball-stats analyst turned election data-cruncher, whose aggregation of polls predicted the last two presidential elections more accurately than politicians and pundits alike, will leave the New York Times and join the sports network and its sister outlet, ABC News. As part of the deal, Silver will have a TV role on ESPN (including, reportedly, on Keith Olbermann's new show) and on ABC, will get to return to his first love of sports while expanding into many fields beyond politics, and get to build a mini-empire in the form of an ESPN sub site modeled on Bill Simmons' Grantland.
Read more: http://entertainment.time.com/2013/07/22/there-is-a-99-45-chance-that-nate-silver-is-changing-journalism/#ixzz2ZsTVB7h9 Time.
The United Nations has raised concerns about a new media law in Somalia only days after UN experts sounded the alarm over corruption in the African country's new government.
The UN Human Rights Office has urged President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's government to review a new law that would require journalists to reveal sources and prevent them spreading information against Islam or Somali traditions, said a statement released on Sunday.
Rupert Colville, spokesman for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the legislation was "vague" and "could easily be used to curtail freedom of expression." AlJazeera.
Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Taiwan's chief military prosecutor on Monday deplored media reports which he said are far from the truth and asked the media to "give investigators room" to get to the bottom of all the facts about the death of an Army corporal.
Maj. Gen. Tsao Chin-sheng's appeal came amid continued media attention to the case of Corporal Hung Chung-chiu, who died on July 4 after being wrongfully thrown into the brig just days before his discharge.
Tsao denied the suggestion that Hung was the victim of a brutal act by a collaborating group, saying that only one person has been listed as a suspect of mistreatment. Focus Taiwan.
Most Americans think Rolling Stone's "The Bomber" cover featuring accused Boston marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is inappropriate, according to a new HuffPost/YouGov poll.
By a 65 percent to 15 percent margin, respondents to the poll, who were shown the cover image before answering questions about it, said that the cover was inappropriate. And 51 percent said that the cover glorifies Tsarnaev's actions, while another 26 percent said it did not, and 23 percent said they weren't sure.
Several retail chains have announced they won't sell Rolling Stone's issue on their newsstands, and both Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) have criticized the cover. One Boston resident has launched a campaign to publicly burn copies of the magazine. Huffington Post.
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate on Monday warned of an ongoing "crackdown" against Palestinians by some Egyptian media outlets.
The syndicate said some Egyptian journalists were inciting against the Palestinians as a people, and not just those who live in Egypt.
"This is a very dangerous and slanderous trend unfit for the Egyptian media which has always played epic roles in cooperation and brotherhood," the PJS said in a statement. Ma'an News Agency.
Government officials in Cameroon have issued a statement criticizing journalists over their coverage of the murder and brutal torture of prominent gay rights activist Eric Ohena Lembembe last week.
Government spokesman Issa Tchiroma said in a statement that journalists had engaged in "speculation and witch-hunting" in their coverage of the case, which has drawn expressions of concern from the U.S., France, Britain and the U.N.
"Backed by certain civil society activists and at times by some of our compatriots, the international media have launched attacks on our nation, dragging its image into the mud," Tchiroma said. He called for "a maximum of restraint" from civil society and the media while law enforcement authorities conduct an investigation. Towleroad.
James Risen's lawyer, Joel Kurtzberg, argues that the News Media Policies released by DOJ last week mean his client should not have to testify in the Jeffrey Sterling case. (As I understand it, Michael Isikoff made a similar argument while moderating a panel including Eastern District of VA US Attorney Neil MacBride today too, though MacBride reportedly dodged any answer.) In a letter to the Fourth Circuit (which has been sitting on this decision for well over a year), he cites two paragraphs from the Policies — one affirming DOJ's promise to access "member of the news media" materials only as a last resort, and another one calling for the "appropriate balance" between two competing interests of "protecting the American people" and "free press." Empty Wheel.
The buzz surrounding the BJP and Narendra Modi is getting louder and louder, with speculation rising that the Gujarat Chief Minister will be declared Prime Ministerial candidate sooner rather than later. However, it seems to be the media that is seeing the Prime Ministerial nomination at every corner.
There was no direct endorsement of Modi as PM candidate though, and these same comments have been construed by other media outlets to mean that the party is not yet ready to name him as its aspirant to the top post.
Which brings us to the question: is the media more keen than the BJP to see Modi named as PM candidate? FirstPost Politics.
The draft of a code of media ethics drawn by the Ministry of Mass Media and Information, Sri Lanka, early June 2013 has generated a lot of heat in the so-called international community, which in this case mainly refers to the West-centric NGOs like Freedom House, Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Sans Frontières, and International Press Institute.
These NGOs, in general, adhere to the philosophy that any kind of government intrusion into the individual's right to communicate (particularly the rights guaranteed in the U.S. First Amendment) is bad for democracy defined by Abraham Lincoln as government "of the people, by the people, for the people."
VARANASI: Press Council of India's chairman Justice MarkandeyKatju on Sunday advised the media to discourage persons and forces raking up issues like 'Hindu Rashtravad' and asked journalists to expose elements trying to divide the society by raising such issues. "Such an act is anti-national in a country with secular structure." However, Justice Katju made it clear that it was his personal view and he was not associated with any political outfit. The Times of India.
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