Global Media News

Brazilian Google Senior Executive Arrested Over a Video?

In late September 2012 one of Google's Senior Executive board members Fabio Jose Silva Coelho was arrested for failing to take down a YouTube video that puts a negative image on a local mayoral candidate. YouTube has agreements with the different countries they operate in because laws was broken justice had to be served. 

The Rio Times reports:

"Police in Brazil have released the country’s top Google executive following his detention for not taking down Youtube clips that violated Brazilian law. Brazil has strict electoral laws that prevent much public criticism of political candidates, a system that some commentators say are out-dated."

Freedom of information took a turn of the worst in Brazil when a Google's senior executive Mr. Coelho is arrested for refusing to take down the video of a political candidate. To make things worst Google owns YouTube so to see a Google employee arrested for  expressing himself and Google not supporting them is really a sad sight.

The New York Times reports:

"An elections court in Brazil has ordered the arrest of Google’s most senior executive in the country after the company failed to take downYouTube videos attacking a local mayoral candidate. Google is appealing the order, which comes after a similar decision by another Brazilian elections judge. In that case, a judge found a different senior executive responsible for violating local election law.An elections court in Brazil has ordered the arrest of Google’s most senior executive in the country after the company failed to take downYouTube videos attacking a local mayoral candidate. "

This is understandable because it puts a negative view on the candidate and could possible change undecided voters minds. Freedom of information has a bigger restriction. Social media is a big part of society and thanks to this people are able to share their feelings about the world around them including politics.

 

Can a reality show that is banned on Iranian TV influence people in a negative way

As X Factor is taking over the world by storm and even visiting the United States last year for the first time. Many are enjoying the singers and the stars that become of it. But in one country in particular the show is banned and not even aired by the government on its networks.

According to Guardian.Co.Uk the Iranian version of XFactor, Googoosh Music Academy, which is is aired by Manoto TV transmitted from London. Manoto TV is a Persian -language entertainment channel that is based in London. Manoto TV is only available in Iran by using illegal satellite dishes that are installed on rooftops.

In the Dailymail.co.uk nearly 700,000 likes have hit the shows facebook page. Forums has been setup talking about the show. What has people in uproar discussion and arguments is the latest winner of Googoosh Music Academy, Ermia, a 31-year-old mother and wife from Iran. The talks are not the fact that she is a woman, but because she is a mother, wife, and most importantly is the fact she wore a hijab during her duration on the show. Many are now saying that the show is fraud and might have been rigged because she won.

In Iran there are religious restrictions and one in particular does not not allow a married woman to sing in public. But with Ermia recieving blessings from her husband to join the show she did it and won. The secular and ultra conservatives are both throwing stones at the show and at Ermia. One group stating she didnt cover enough, while another is saying are we going backwards to a time where women covered up everything in everywhere.

Ermia just wanted to sing and now she might have started something even deeper in Iran.

Afghanistan Bans Pakistani Papers!

In late September Afghanistan's government put a ban on Pakistani newspaper.  There has always been friction between the two countries but this put it over the top. Afghanistan leaders' man reason for this ban  was because they felt that the Pakistani papers supported the Taliban militants.

The Dawn reports: 

"In a statement, the ministry said the newspapers were a conduit for Taliban propaganda.

 The news is not based in reality and it is creating concerns for our countrymen in the eastern provinces of Afghanistan,” the ministry said in a statement. ”Also, the newspapers are a propaganda resource of the Taliban spokesmen.” 

This seem to be yet another case of censorship within a country and another battle for freedom of information for that country's people. Although this is  strictly speculation but the government are not taking any chances with this. It is unfortunate because now the people of Afghanistan can no longer receive news from Pakistani. 

The BBC News reports:

"It authorized police to impound Pakistani newspapers in the three eastern provinces of Nangarhar, Kunar and Nuristan. The news paper is a propaganda resource of the Taliban spokesmen" and has ordered police forces in east Afghanistan to confiscate all copies."

With the police of Afghanistan seizing all the Pakistani papers that is currently in the country and stopping all papers from entering the boarders of the country, it is clear that the government is serious and will put down any kind of support the newspapers may bring the Taliban.

Rod Norland and Declan Walsh of The New York Times reports:

"Intermedia Pakistan, an aid group that specializes in news media development, recently conducted an analysis of how Afghanistan is portrayed in the Pakistani news media. Its executive director, Adnan Rehmat, said there was a strong pro-Taliban bias after the 2001"

Afghanistan and Pakistan have always had problems and in the past and Afghanistan has portrayed Pakistan in a negative light and by banning their newspapers makes the Pakistani image worst in the eyes of the people. This could be a possible first step to Afghanistan banning any outside information that would go against the government.

Global Media News Webcast #7: March 21, 2013

 Media News from India!

Global Media News for March 21, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media Made in India"

• Bollywood Jumps on Social Media
• Bollywood Bigger than Hollywood?
• Indian Government Watching Social Media
• 'Social Media Labs' for Indian Police?
• Social Media for Maternal Health
• Indian Politicians Tweeting and Facebooking their way into Office

 In two weeks on GMN:   Media News from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

Listen to our webcast streaming live in two weeks on Thursday, April 4 @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, April 4, 2013.

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YouTube Banned in Pakistan

The video-sharing site YouTube has been banned in Pakistan since September 2012. The ban came about because an anti-Islam video was posted on the site and YouTube's owners refused to remove it. According to the Express Tribune, "A statement from the Prime Minister’s office read: 'The direction has been given after YouTube refused to heed to the advice of the government of Pakistan to remove blasphemous film from its site.'"

An editorial posted last Sunday on the Express Tribune states that the problem lies in "the government’s inability to recognise that it cannot police the internet and any plans to do so will just plunge the nation into a recess of the dark ages from where there is no way forward."

The Pakistani government has had talks with the owners of YouTube, but they have been unsuccessful. According to The News International, "Ministries of Law and Information Technology said complete blocking of sacrilegious content on the video sharing website was not possible. They also said the YouTube was indifferent to extend cooperation to the government of Pakistan."

The entire site of YouTube has been banned for the past six months in Pakistan because of one  so-called "blasphemous" video. Pakistani musicians and their supporters have begun protesting on a Facebook page called Youtube Aloud. A representative for the page, Usman Riaz, was quoted in the Express Tribune as asking, “Does it make sense to burn down an entire library just because you don’t agree with the contents of one of its books?”

This question really hits the nail on the head of the problem. The government chose to ban an entire website because one piece of content was deemed offensive. An article in the Pakistan Observer brings the point home: "It is high time that the government adopts effective measures to facilitate the public while simultaneously dealing with the blasphemous content." The question still remains though, will the government of Pakistan finally listen?

Global Media News Webcast #6: March 7, 2013

Media News from China, Cambodia and South Korea!

Global Media News for March 7, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media Made in China, Cambodia and Vietnam"

• Why Are Chinese Hackers Cracking the Servers of the New York Times?
• How Did the BBC World Service Get Jammed Up in China?
• Chinese Bloggers Protesting Censorship
• Vietnam Puts Bloggers on Trial
• Social Media Showdown: Sina Weibo vs. Tencent's WeChat
• Cambodian Lawyers Gagged by New Censorship Law
• Chinese Censors:  Are the Cuts deeper for Film or Print?
• Blocking Luxury Marketing for Cultural Purity?

Next week on GMN:   Media News from India, Pakistan and South Asia.

Listen to our webcast streaming live in two weeks on Thursday, March 21 @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, March  21, 2013.

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Global Media News Webcast #5: February 28, 2013

Media News from Japan, North Korea and South Korea!

Global Media News for February 28, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media News from Russia, Hungary and Poland"

• Google Tourism?  Eric Schmidt's Visit to North Korea
• Internet Access & Censorship in North Korea
• K-Pop Takes Over the Planet
• Korean Soaps:  Who's Watching K-Drama?
• Japanese Media Coverage of the Fukushima Disaster
• Media War:  Japan and China's Naval Battle

Next week on GMN:   Media News from China and South East Asia.

Listen to our webcast streaming live next Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, March  7, 2013.

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China Blocks Radio Broadcasts from the BBC News?

On Monday February twenty fifth 2013 the China blocked the shortwave broadcast in english  that was coming from BBC News. This not the first time China has tried to limit the information that was coming into the country from the outside world.  

BBC News quoted their director of global news Peter Horrocks

"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audience's free access to news and information."

BBC News are on of the leaders in world information. China is doing an injustice to their people by with holding information form their people. 

According to ABC News:

"The jamming of broadcasts in China is being timed to cause maximum disruption." "In the past jamming frequencies was also a tactic used by communist nations to block BBC broadcasts during the Cold War."

For China to start using old tactics to keep outside information from reaching the citizens really shows the extant that they are will to go control the media within the country. The out sourced information is only to benefit the people of China not put down the Chinese government.  

Will Taiwanese Media Lose Its Freedom?

Although many would assume due to its location and size, that Taiwan media is small and tightly controlled, this is not the case. According to an article in BBC News, the government had control of the media up until the 1980's. Journalist Cindy Sui says that today, Taiwan has

"one of the freest and competitive media markets in the world." 

Regardless of the fact that Taiwan is a very small country, it runs has over 12 newspapers and 80% of Taiwanese have [uncensored] cable TV. Not only that, but Taiwan's internet is cheap and fast with over 13.8 million users in 2005 with a population of only 22.9 million. That is more 1/2 of the population!

Unfortunately, with the pending decision on whether the

"Hong-Kong based Next Media will sell it's newspaper, magazine, and television businesses to two local consortia, some of whose members have strong business interests in China, has stoked fears that the editorial independence enjoyed by the various media may be under threat."

Will Taiwanese Media lose its newfound freedom? An article in UNPO expresses that the fear of the Taiwanese stems from the fact that selling these media companies to China will facilitate censorship of media. 

Similar to the way Fox News in the U.S. has strong political leanings and biases, the media in Taiwan does as well. "

Despite the freedom it enjoys, much of the media is owned by groups or individuals with strong political leanings. Sui reports,

"Despite the freedom it enjoys, much of the media is owned by groups or individuals with strong political leanings. It is not uncommon to see rival papers or TV talk shows have a strong bias toward either the ruling or opposition party."

The UK edition of Reuters has reported that,

"In an about-turn on Friday, the ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) rejected the anti-monopoly media law proposed by Taiwan's major opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), a move that is expected to swell numbers at a rally planned for Sunday against China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou."

The anti-monopoly media bill has already been causing protests in Taiwan. 

(SOURCE: BBC News - Taipei, Next Media's Taiwan sale raises fears about Media Freedom, Cindy Sui, November 29th, 2012)

The fear for many Taiwanese citizens is that if/when these businesses are sold to China, these groups will lose their freedom of expression. Censorship of the media is not something that is unknown to the Taiwanese as they had experienced it up unitl the 1980's, so it is not surprising that any interference into their media today causes concern. 

Global Media News Webcast #4: February 21, 2013

Media News from Russia, Hungary and Poland!

Global Media News for February 21, 2013

Global Media News is a weekly webcast covering media news from around the world.  GMN is a production of  Media Studies students from the SUNY College @ Old Westbury. 

This week on Global Media News:   "Media News from Russia, Hungary and Poland"

• Russia vs. YouTube
• Russian Twitter Bots Blocking Tweets
• When is Lenin not Funny? Polish Ads Pulled
• Hungarian Censorship of the Internet
• Lurkmore?  Promoting Suicide and Drug Use?
• Can the RU Stamp out "Gay Propaganda" on the Internet?
• Dash Cam Follies:  The Russian Craze for Road Rage Porn

Next week on GMN:   Media News from Japan and both Koreas.

Listen to our webcast streaming live next Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live? Our next webcast of the season will be posted by 2:00pm, Thursday, February  28, 2013.

Subscribe Now!