Global Media News

Censorship in Pakistan

In a Daily News article titled "Is The Media Really Free In Pakistan", the article states that the media in Pakistan is free but the freedom is indeed limited. The government still controls the media and any media outlet in which the government dislikes; the government will just starve the media of advertisements. Media outlets that bashes the Pakistani government is like a slap to the governments face and they will not tolerate it. The article also states that the government tries to manipulate journalist by using intimidating tactics to scare them off.

Famous television show "South Park" had to alter 1 of their episodes after receiving threats of violence for depicting the Prophet Muhammad. They altered their 201st episode in order to avoid muslim backlash. The alterations included the creators of South Park to bleep out anytime a character mentions the Prophet name and also censored images indicating the Prophet according to a New York Times article titled: 'South Park' Episode Is Altered After Muslim Group's Warning.

 

North Koreans Use Cellphones to Leak Information

    According to a New York Times article, North Korea is facing a new threat by networks of their own citizens who are feeding information about life there to South Korea and Western allies. The networks are created by a handful of North Korean defectors and South Korean human rights activists' who use cellphones to "pierce North Korea’s near-total news blackout." In order to build the networks, they slip into China to "woo" the few North Koreans that are actually allowed to travel there, provide cellphones to smuggle across the border, and then post phoned and texted reports on websites.

    The result of this mayhem has been a news free-for-all, often filled with contradictory reports. However, the websites were the first to report the outrage among North Koreans over a serious currency revaluation , which occurred late last year. Nicholas Eberstadt, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, stated "In an information vacuum like North Korea, any additional tidbits — even in the swamp of rumors — is helpful.”

    “I take pride in my work, I help the outside world see North Korea as it is,” said Mun Seong-hwi, who works with informers and uses an alias to protect relatives that he left behind.

    The first of these websites opened five years ago and there are now five. The news that the informants are leaking out are not likely to provide information to answer the questions on about the North’s nuclear program or leadership succession that the United States cares about most.

Haiti media misrepresentation

A lot of domestic information being flowed around Haiti is often misconstrued. Some of that problem is because of lack of resources. Out of the 9 million people living within the nation, about 400,000 of them have cell phones, 415,000 have radios, and there are only about 38,000 televisions. There's only have 2 television broadcasting stations, and 67 radio broadcasting stations. There is a 2% commercial export of communications, and a 37% of commercial imports. Also, the world is not hearing about Haitian news from Haiti. Instead, countries like the United States report on Haiti and that is what Haitian news is to most people. The problem with this is the misrepresentation of Haiti in the eyes of the global onlookers. News becomes skewed and single minded, while the deeper issues in Haiti are being ignored.

With the Jan 12th 7.0 Earthquake hit the island of Haiti, the media was at its worst. With lines of communication being down everywhere. There was hardly any traffic of news and information and this was really a time when foreign journalists were the only source of information to the world about Haiti. With all the journalists flocking the devastated island, it seemed the only thing they were interested in was getting the best photo, the most shocking news story of families broken by the disaster.

Daniel Morel was probably the only journalist on the ground who was trying to make a difference with his camera.

Compared to other photojournalists on the ground Morel is trying to show the world what has happened to Haiti and it’s people, and will continue to do so even after it’s restored to what it was. Social networking sites like Twitter are literally giving Haitian’s an opportunity to speak their minds to the world without any skewed views. Social networking was the only medium for them to do so. Some of their posts show the discontent with the foreign journalists. One read  “Do the ‘foreign’ journalists who are eating and drinking in Haiti feel weird reporting about the Haitian people’s inability to do the same?”

Hopefully in the future there will be Haitian news actually coming out of Haiti.

Middle East - part 2

Despite the “virtual shackles” that the Middle East has over the internet, there are still signs of a rise in online penetration within the Arab nations. According to the Dubai Press Club, in their report Arab Media Outlook 2009-2013: Inspiring Local Content, they express that broadband penetration fluctuates across the region with places like Syria & Sudan having almost 0-1% penetration but in Qutar it is at a  massive 84%.

"The growth will be driven largely by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who together will make up 70% of total broadband subscriptions by 2013," the report mentions.

Egypt is already making its move by applying to have their very first domain name ".Masr" into the world wide web lexicon making them the first Arab nation to apply for a non-Latin character domain. It would be written in the Arabic alphabet which translates to “.Egypt”. Tarek Kamel, an Egyptian politician, had this to say about the historic plea:

The registering of the domain "will offer new avenues for innovation, investment and growth, and hence we can truly and gladly say ... the Internet now speaks Arabic. He said. "It is a great moment for us”.

With that expansion means obviously more internet usage and the websites to profit from this would be business sites such as Maktoob. Formed in 1998 in Amman, Jordan it is known as the first Arabic-English service provider. It closed a deal with Yahoo in 2009 to expand it and with that expansion has created a multitude of sites. Maktoob Blog, as you would have guessed is a blogging site. Other sites consist of the first Arabic networking service called As7ab Maktoob. Maktoob News is a news site, Maktoob Travel is a travel agency and Maktoob Games is a gaming site.

Social networking expands as well.

Facebook & Twitter are of course are popular but even more so are their Arabic counterparts. As of March 2009, Facebook introduced an Arabic version of its site which has grown to become one of the five most visited sites in the Arab region.

Twitter became the go-to medium to voice opposition of the Iran elections of last year.  With the outcry on everybody’s mind and Twitter being so mobile & fast, the people could get their opinions out to the world and share their distaste from where they were to all over the world if need be.

Another site that has potential growth in the future is the region based Jeeran. Meaning ‘neighbor’ in Arabic, it is more tailor-made to the content and needs of an Arabic internet user more then Facebook.

 

Pros and Cons to Censorship around the world

While most countries have given the freedom of speech and expression of thought to its citizens, some countries try to counter the abuse of this right by some people, by restricting the freedom in reception of this speech and expression.  While you're allowed to say anything you want and do whatever your heart desires, you may not be free enough to listen or appreciate another's freedom of speech or action.  By censoring the media, free opinions and speech is contained and not spreed to other regions and areas. 

While each country and each culture censors the media in one way or the other, the amount of censorship, differs. There are also different types of censorship. One of the most common criteria behind media censorship is the age limits for viewing different media. Sometimes the media censorship can simply be a wall blocking certain taboo topics which is defined by the governing authority in the country. So, while the levels of media censorship exist, people are still calling for absolute removal of all types of censorship. While other people are looking to bring in more restrictions on the media.

Some pros to censored media as argued by Philosopher Onora O'Neill in BBC News:

Pros:

• Violence should be limited in the media for the sake of children.  So kids don't think it's ok to walk down the street and kill somebody

• Sex should be restricted in the media because studies have showed porn can have a negative effect on children.

Cons:

• Governments have the advantage of limiting information or can sweep certain things under the carpet

• Keeps the ignorant, well ignorant

• Puts certain "taboo" topics that may need to be addressed in the closet, like STD's and sex education 

"In short, almost all governments lie and lie relentlessly. Yet governments can be made to lie less frequently by being exposed and held to account by the professional media "  -Jeffery Sachs, Earth Institute Director

Media is a very powerful tool and can be helpful or harmful to the population based on how it is used.  It's can be a poison if the wrong person has the opportunity to air their freedom of speech.  Is ignorance really bliss?? 

Media in Guyana

The government dominated television and radio network in Guyana. The radio station is also owned by the government, which also operates one television channel. Satellite services from the United States are relayed from two private television stations.There's a large number of private television channels that are available and are usually criticizing the government. As of 1997, the Guyanese owned 46,000 television sets.

By the year 2000, about 4,000 Guyanese used the Internet. They used the internet to find several of Guyana's publications. Stabroek News is perhaps the most dependable source of online news that is unbiased. Guyana's largest newspaper has an online version called the Guyana Chronicle. Its considered unreliable reporting because it follows the line of the ruling party of the day. Guyana Review is a monthly, online magazine that offers respected articles on current events along with photographs.

The PNC's New Nation has the second highest circulation. Smaller newspapers include the PPP's Mirror, the independent stabroek News, and the Catholic Standard, published by the Roman Catholic Church.The government has made it strides toward releaving its control of the country's media, but the move toward total freedom of expression has not been completed.

Print Media in Egypt

Egypt has the most rich amount of printed publications in the region. There are currently more than 500 newspapers published in Egypt, including regional publications and magazines. The state, however, has a monopoly on printing, advertising and distribution. Some established columnists, though, enjoy a higher level of freedom. Print media is divided into three categories- state-owned, party-owned, and privately-held publications.

State-owned publications- The Egyptian government owns three major daily Egyptian newspapers. They are: Al Ahram, Al Akhbar, and Al Gomhuria. The editors of these newspapers are appointed and compensated by the government.

Political party publications- Most of theparty-owned newspapers are weeklies, but the opposition party maintains a few dailies: Al-Wafd and Al-Ahrar. The Islamist Socialist Labour party publishes one daily: Al-Shaab. There are also publications owned by rights groups.

Privately-owned publications- In these publications, tone and content are free. Very rarely does the Supreme Press Council authorize independent publications that are printed in Egypt. But the vast majority are printed outside Egypt, Cyprus and Lebanon. They are subject to a censor, which can order the seizure of issues or order them not to be printed or distributed.

Egypt’s sole news agency, the Middle East News Agency is considered by authorities as a strategically important institution which operates like a government department. It is bureaucratically top-heavy and reflects only official viewpoints. It provides news and information in Arabic, French and English.

 

 

Social Networking in Haiti

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Haiti has become another less economically developed country that has emerged into the world of social networking. Back in January, when the earthquake struck, the ten percent of Haitians who have internet access posted pictures, comments, and videos of the catastrophe immediatelyafter it happened. The popular websites that content was posted on were Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.

The interesting part about social networking was that it allowed many family, friends, and relatives to learn of their whereabouts. Family in the United States found out that their loved ones ere safe by looking at their "statuses" on Facebook to find out where they were. Although many take these websites to be for entertainment purposes only, they in fact are extremely beneficial, especially when situations like this occur.

Another way the networking sites have helped during the days and weeks that followed after the earthquake was by raising awareness as well as money for the victims and their families. Celebrities such as Wycleff Jeanand Kanye West started organizations to raise money for the children in Haiti. Even well known organizations like the Red Cross have promoted their cause over Twitter and Facebook.

With you the growth of Social Networking Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, organizations, celebrities, and just average people have taken advantage of the websites and promoted many beneficial and informative information. The growth of these websites have ultimately started a new internet phenomenon.

Media in Fiji

There were many interesting things I found while web-surfing Fiji's online newspaper, Fiji Times. One thing i noticed was that quite a few stories they covered had to do with United States pop culture. There was one article that discussed how the band KISS believes Lady Gaga is modeled after their style. Another spoke of the success of American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. Another discussed an interview with American actor, Joshua Jackson. He speaks about his American show, Fringe.

One article posted on May 11, 2010 discusses a Media Seminar that occurred in Nadi. It was a Pacific Media Panning seminar. The first consultation  organized in the region was between decision makers in the media, policy makers, and government officials in agriculture. The seminar was organized by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and partners. Fundamental development issues were discussed that effect  those in the Pacific who depend on agriculture. The regional media seminar had the theme, "Communicating Agricultural Rural Development and the Environment effectively."

Italian Operatic Music

 

The Trevi Fountain- Rome, Italy

Present day Italy is known for its storied history as its capital city of Rome was once the capital of the Great Roman Empire, the fall of the Roman Empire and so on; but one area I want to cover on this final blog post of the semester, is one Italian operatic tenor, Andrea Bocelli. Some of the best and well known singers were from Italy such as Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli and Mario Lanza. Pavarotti was one of the best known operatic tenors of all time. Furthermore, he was also part of the famed opera group "The Three Tenors." The Three Tenors consisted of two spanish singers Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras and the lone Italian Pavarotti. Now, truth be told that Bocelli got his start when Italian rock star Zucchero held auditions for tenors to make a demo tape to send to the well known Pavarotti. Needless to say, Pavarotti was impressed by Bocelli and urged Zucchero to use Bocceli's music. That instance began a storied career for Andrea Bocelli.

 

Andrea Bocelli was born in Tuscany, Italy in 1958. During the early years of his life, he had sight issues and was diagnosed with congenital glaucoma. By the age of 12, he lost his sight completely after an accident at a soccer game. By September of 1994, he made his opera debut as Macduff in Verdi's Macbeth at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa. According to theage.com.au Celine Dion  has said that "if God had a singing voice he would sound like Andrea Bocelli." Today, he has the voice of an operatic tenor but the status of a rock star. Bocelli is definitely one of the most famed musicans in Italy today. 

One of Bocelli's albums I find of his best work is the album called Romanza. This was his first greatest hits album that featured, in my opinion his best song: Con te partirò, in English translated as Time to Say Goodbye and you may check out the song here:

Bocelli is a major star in Italy and around the world and his music has inspired and touched millions of people. I find his music to be relaxing and very harmonic. If you want to find out more on Andrea Bocelli you may go to his website: Andreabocelli.com or visit the following sites Operation Bocelli, Wikipedia.com/Andrea_Bocelli and New York Times Review.

Lastly, I just want to add that I had a great time in this course, it was informative and fun. On that note enjoy this last song a duet by Andrea Bocelli and Celine dion called The Prayer.