Global Media News

Pro-Kremlin News Stories Supporting Catalan Split from Spain

    In another attempt to change the political landscape of Europe, Russia has engaged their state-supported media in publishing news stories about crises in Spain. With a main goal of dividing European countries due to Russia’s anti-globalization approach, Russia has been sparking conversation about Catalonia by publishing news stories on the crisis in Russian, English and German.

    An ongoing issue in Spain is the potential succession of Catalonia from Spain. This region has its own parliament, police force, health and education systems that have helped Spain grow a great deal economically. Succession of Catalonia could hurt Spain and therefore bring instability throughout Europe and the EU.

    Pictured to the right are the results of the October 1^st Catalan referendum. It shows that the majority of the region did not vote and the second largest majority voted in favor of independence. The media’s coverage of this dispute could be a leading factor in the results of this vote. Even if the potential split from Spain hasn’t divided the country, it definitely has divided the countries media between stories supporting or against Catalan independence.

    Examples of these Russian new stories can be seen on Kremlin-controlled TV networks such as RT and Sputnik. RT has published 42 articles regarding the Catalonian crisis since late August of this year. Some of the titles of these stories are The European Union will respect the independence of Catalonia and State of siege: Catalan officials, including vice-minister of economy, arrested over referendum papers. Some of these news stories are shown in the image below.

    On Twitter, Voices of Europe (V_of_Europe) has been posting tweets sharing the same ideas as these pro-Kremlin news outlets regarding Catalonia. An example of these tweets are “Spain BOILS: EU REFUSES to act for Catalonia despite Spain ‘violating basic human rights.” El Pais, a Spanish news outlet, has published many stories about the Russian coverage of Catalonia such as Russian Meddling Machine Sets Sights on Catalonia and How Russian news networks are using Catalonia to destabilize Europe.

    These Russian news outlets are advising that Catalonia should split from the Spain in hopes of other European nations following. It appears that mostly pro-Putin and Kremlin funded news outlets are publishing these stories about Catalonia that are promoting European independence. Many other news outlets see that the main reason Russian news outlets are covering this story because Russia is in favor of independence and have frequently been attempting to disrupt the economy and politics of other European nations.

YouTube Deletes North Korea’s Propaganda Channel

Under the power of a dictator, all forms of news (newspapers, television and internet content) are filtered by the government. North Korea has been broadcasting some disturbing videos on YouTube. The nation has been running a propaganda channel, “Uriminzokkiri.” The channel gave the United States an insight on North Korea's leadership, military, and economy. 

After viewing the videos, YouTube, which is owned by Google, decided to shut down the account. The media outlet released a statement on why the channel was shut down. (h/t Rachel Leah of Salon) 

“This account has been terminated for violating YouTube’s community guidelines. The channel that routinely posted videos bragging of the country’s nuclear and missile programs and lauding its leader Kim Jong-un, often with colorful, animated images of American cities burning in nuclear fire.”

According to the Washington Post, one of the videos was titled “What will the cost be for Americans, who are losing sleep at night?” The Post detailed the captions in the video: “Since the North gave notice of its Guam attack plan, there has been a commotion at the White House, the Pentagon, on Guam, and on the political scene.”

The larger issue raised by YouTube was North Korea not following the community guidelines, which includes threats or hateful content in videos. While the North Korean YouTube channel was taken down, Uriminzokkiri is still active on Facebook and Twitter, along with their independent website. 

YouTube has blocked countries like China and Iran, along with North Korea. Afghanistan, Russia, and Syria are three of twenty countries that have been censored by YouTube.

After the North Korean YouTube channel was taken down, Curtis Melvin, who works with US-Korea Institute, was infuriated with YouTube's decision to take down the North Korean channel and questioned YouTube's decision. 

INFURIATING! @Google and @Youtube have pulled the Uriminzokkiri Youtube Channel AGAIN! What is the legal issue here? pic.twitter.com/beR8H6w3bC

— Curtis Melvin 커티스 멜빈 (@CurtisMelvin) September 12, 2017

Joshua Pollack, editor of The Nonproliferation Review, stated on Twitter that it's the worst time for the channel to be shut down. 

There has been tons of tension between the United States and North Korea since Donald Trump became the 45th President of the United States. The Trump administration has been warned by North Korea and were told keep “its eyes and ears open from now on” in one of their recent videos. North Korea doubled down by stating the "US should be beaten to death like a rabid dog” and should be “beaten to death like a rabid dog.

Trump stated that "Kim Jong Un made a very wise and well reasoned decision" when he chose not to fire missiles at Guam. Guam is a territory owned by the United States. Along with the statement made by the 45th President, Trump even threatened North Korea with “fire and fury.” 

North Korea owns a large amount of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The nation has carried out multiple nuclear tests, so it's important to analyze what's going on.  

“North Korea is a country with thermonuclear weapons sitting on ICBMs [intercontinental ballistic missiles] that can reach the United States. It is really important to understand them even if we don’t like them,” Jeffrey Lewis, an Arms control expert, told the Guardian. “That starts by analyzing their propaganda. Even though it’s tendentious, you can learn a lot about a country from the lies they tell.”

Lewis said the YouTube channels will help "analyze videos of missile launches and tours of factories, to better understand the regime’s nuclear capabilities."

At the end of the day, it may not completely be negative. While Uriminzokkiri was taken down from YouTube, there are three other ways to monitor North Korea's plans. As Curtis Melvin and Joshua Pollack mentioned, these websites are significant to the United States. With the United States going back-and-forth with North Korea, it's important to monitor Kim Jong Un and his nation.

A Day Without A Woman: A Social Media Experiment

All over Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat and Facebook, women are sharing a powerful image. Women are once again taking their activism not only to the streets, but to their networking platforms. In honor of International Women's Day, women are sharing their resistance with the world through online activism.

Using the Twitter hash tag "DayWithoutAWoman," many are envisioning a world without working women. This activism is in effect to promote equal pay, reproductive rights, all forms of healthcare, and maternal leave.

Those who scroll through the hash tag will find a plethora of sources promoting International Women's Day. To no surprise at all, you will also find criticism towards these online protests.

An article published by Huffington Post explained the different ways women are supporting international women's day.  

"Wednesday marked International Women’s Day as well as the “Day Without A Woman” strike, in which women in the United States and around the world highlighted their contributions to society by expressing their frustrations on social media, wearing red and taking to the streets to demonstrate"

 

The article then goes into detail about one of Broadways biggest shows doing their part. Cast members from Broadways "Hamilton" have donated their Wednesday night proceeds to the "Dress for Success" charity. "Dress for Success" is an international charity that supports women entering the work force.

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took to SnapChat to promote activism in women's issues. Below is the short video:

 

 

In an article posted by The Verge titled "The Internet Without A Woman," the female author explains the impact striking can have on online publications. That impact, of course, is a day of only male writers. Many journalists have the privilege to take the day off of coming into the office, and still managing to get work done. Female journalists who participated in strikes on International Women's Day, did so without any fear of losing their job. It's a privilege that comes with a job that takes place mostly in a digital space.

Freelance journalist Lux Alptraum, in a phone call with The Verge, pointed out, “If all the women in the MTA strike, the MTA grinds to a halt. If all the women in media strike, it’s only men writing.” She also questioned whether removing women’s voices from the media, even just for a day, is useful: “Not to say that a general strike is a bad idea, but it’s more complicated in an industry where women’s voices are often ignored to begin with.”

This statement shows the negative effects on women striking, from a seemingly feminist point of view! Women in digital media going on strike is not useful, in that it allows for women to keep suppressing their voices.

Romanian Journalists under Pressure for Speaking out Against Government

 

Many nations around the world have been known to secure their image in a positive light so other countries won't speculate how they run their government. Places like Serbia, Russia and Turkey are some of the few that have been known to punish journalists who speak out against the government. This week Romania has made headlines as members of one of their notorious newspapers, Romania Libera has been under heat while many others have been involved with legal crimes for speaking out on régime affairs.

“There’s been a series of high- profile arrest and hasty prosecutions of the country’s largest media owners… there are very few independent media owners who have not been dragged before court” as mentioned in Forbes.  

As Romania Libera await hearing, rumors of bankruptcy are suspected to shut down the newspaper for good for the debt owed to insurance company Astra. However, they stand by what their principles as Forbes quoted editor-in-chief Sabin Orcan, “We are a thorn in the side of the Romanian state because we relentlessly expose graft, despotism and incompetence across the political spectrum.”  

In an article on Euraia Review written by Sabin Orcan he describes that “observers described the process initiated by the government to intervene and take over Astra as a politically motivated campaign aimed at jailing businessman Dan Adamescu and silencing Romania Libera.” Nevertheless, he believes some voices will never be silenced.

Ocran explains that due to newspapers like the Romania Libera, unjust leaders like former Prime Minister Victor Ponta have been exposed for being involved in affairs like “suspicious emergency decrees and has called into question the Government’s commitment to respect the rule of law.”

“Romania is and always has been a complicated political environment where public and private agenda are difficult to discern” says Simon Wolfe of Forbes magazine. “Given what we have seen happen in Russia, Hungary and numerous other countries in the region, this is a pattern that should not be ignored.”

 

 

Turkey Reclaimed as World’s Leading Jailer of Journalists; Why Are Hundreds of Media Outlets Being Shut Down?

Turkey has been receiving much attention after closing more than 130 media outlets back in July of 2016. According to Reuters, “A state of emergency was declared following a failed military coup, stirring concern among Western allies and rights groups about deteriorating press freedoms.”

Now members of newspapers like pro-Kurdish ‘Ozgur Gundem’ and the ‘Zaman’ newspaper, are awaiting long term or life sentencing for having relations with terrorist organizations and posing threat to national unity. Reuters also states that “In the indictment...life imprisonment and jail sentences of up to 17-1/2 years were sought for the nine suspects recently arrested".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has indicated that Fethullah Gulen who works for the Zaman newspaper, is suspected to be one of the organizers of the coup against the government. Since his arrest, the government has taken over the Zaman newspaper which is now strongly pro- Erdogan.

NPR confirms that One of Turkey's oldest and most-respected newspapers, the ‘Cumhuriyet’ have also been targeted by prosecutors. “In May, the paper's former editor-in-chief was sentenced to five years in jail for espionage after he published evidence of Turkish intelligence trucks delivering weapons into Syria.”

Prize winning novelist Asli Erdogan who is reportedly not related to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was one of the many accused of spreading propaganda of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as reported in Reuters.

The Guardian also mentions, “The Turkish government has used a state of emergency law to order the closure of at least 131 newspapers, television and radio stations, publishers and news agencies.

The BBC reports “Three news agencies, 16 TV channels, 23 radio stations, 45 papers, 15 magazines and 29 publishers will be shut”. With down of these media outlets and multiple arrest made, Turkey has now reclaimed its place as the world’s leading jailer of journalists.

 

 

The Risk of Social Media: Vietnam

It is no surprise that a communist country such as Vietnam is guilty of social and political injustices. 

A traditional response to injustice is protest. Many people are apprehensive to protest, due to the infringement on their rights, and potential danger. Protesters are handled with excessive force, they are intimidated, harassed and in many cases face detention. In alternative, activists use social media, especially blogging, as a tool to inform society. It's successful because of the ability to reach millions of people. The problem begins when bloggers receive a lot of attention.The citizens who follow bloggers online, are relying on them to expose corruption. They simply cannot detain every citizen who blogs against the state therefore they target the most prominent bloggers. The Civil Rights Defenders states, "More than three million individuals host blogs in Vietnam." The detainees include bloggers with the most viewers, and most radical content. 

Some of the many issues Vietnam struggles with include Human Rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press. and more. An article published by the Civil Rights Defenders, explains in detail the types of  Human Rights violations occurring in Vietnam.

On a social standpoint, one injustice that Vietnamese citizens are fighting against involves land ownership. Land owners are commonly forced to give up their land to corporate development projects. In return, they receive unfair compensation for their land. Another major social issue is police brutality one that Americans are particularly familiar with. The difference is this: With the rise of social media in the U.S., we have seen evidence of police brutality. Typically, in the form of video footage from a witness. In Vietnam, individuals must be extremely cautious of what they post online. Any content shared that the government deems "anti-state," can lead to arrest and in worst case incarceration. 

Nguyễn Hữu Vinh, a well known blogger, was sentenced to 5 years for his published articles. His main focus? Government corruption. In an even worse case,  blogger  Ngô Hào, received a 15 year sentence. A petition has been created for both bloggers in attempt to get them out of prison. 

 

Radio Life in the UK

The United Kingdom is located within the northwest region of Europe. It is argued as Europe's most influential country with individual countries of England, Scotland and Wales which is also known as Great Britain. Northern Ireland is a distinct region that make up the rest of the United Kingdom.

Radio in the United Kingdom is a lot like radio throughout the world, where the goal is to reach a broad range of audiences, painting pictures for listeners with the latest news and entertainment and music as they go about their everyday lives. According to Radio and Telly, a team in the UK that provides relevant and accurate information to UK consumers, “Radio in the UK started back in the early 1920’s with just one tiny BBC radio station in Chelmsford, Essex. The last 30 years have led to several hundred radio stations, with a huge variety of formats and audiences.”

On media.info, a worldwide site for media contacts, information and analysis, the top five radio stations throughout the UK are BBC Radio 2 with 15.5 million listeners every week, BBC Radio 4 with 10.5 million, BBC Radio 1 with 9.9 million, Heart with 9.0, and Capital FM with 7.5 million listeners. The BBC stands for British Broadcasting Cooperation, and it is one the most respected broadcasting organizations in the United Kingdom.

There are 11 branches of radio within the United Kingdom mentioned by BBC News. BBC making up 8 of those branches. They include, “Radio 1 new music station, Radio 2 adult music station, Radio 3 cultural network, Radio 4 flagship speech station and news and sports on station Five Live. All five make up 1 conglomerate branch.

The second BBC branch is BBC Radio Scotland, third, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal, a Gaelic-language station for Scotland, fourth, BBC Radio Ulster, for Northern Ireland,  and fifth being BBC Radio Wales. The last three are BBC Radio Cymru, for Welsh-language listeners, BBC Asian Network for Asian communities in the UK and lastly, BBC World Service, a major international broadcaster, heard worldwide via shortwave and increasingly on FM relays, which programs in more than 30 languages.”

The other three divisions that make up the 11 branches not under the BBC include, Absolute Radio a national commercial pop and rock station, Talk Sport, a national commercial sports station and Classic FM, a national commercial classical music station.

Just as here in America, the United Kingdom has radio access online for people who are not in cars or have physical radios. You can pull up your favorite station online and listen in live whenever you like. Radio has had a resurgence in popularity, as stated by EJC, the European Journalism Centre. They claim “more than 90 percent of people over 15 years of age which equates to about 46.3 million people, listen at least once a week. However, it is national, rather than local, stations which have increased their popularity.”

 

British Journalist John Cantlie, Captive by ISIS, Appears in New Video

"A video grab from the YouTube film believed to show hostage John Cantlie walking round the Iraqi city of Mosul. Photograph: PA"   

     ISIS has released a new propaganda video featuring British journalist John Cantlie reporting on the conditions ISIS is working through on Aleppo in Syria.  The video seems to be propaganda to show that ISIS is still strong and well, despite the bombings and attacks made on their lands.  

"The photojournalist presents the documentary-style clip in English, claiming that “life in Mosul is business as usual” and that media reports suggesting the city is “depressed” and “living in fear” are “misleading”." (The Guardian) 

"Cantlie also shows a religious school and a court, where he explains that Islamic Sharia law "is 1,400 years old. And it is the rule of God, the rule of Allah. And therefore it cannot be changed." He cites, for example, that the punishment for robbery is having one's hand cut off."  (CNN) 

    British journalist, Cantlie has made several videos for ISIS while hostage, but this latest video leaves wide room for speculation on his life, calling this "the last of this series.  This gives people around the world an erie feeling and a reminder that Cantlie is still at risk of survival.  Many people have bashed Cantlie, claiming that he is a trader for making these ISIS videos, creating these propaganda videos to lure others from the West to join ISIS.  He has been held hostage for over two years by ISIS, becoming captive in November 2012.  Cantlie is dressed in casual civilian wear in the latest video, as to show he is just a ordinary citizen speaking of the every day activities he views around him.  Being hostage, Cantlie, strangely calm in the recent video series for ISIS, and is clearly under duress, doing all that he can to stay alive.  

"Cantlie refers to the latest video as "the last film in this series." He does not discuss his fate as a hostage, though he has previously commented on threats to his life. The videos he is forced to make are well liked in the jihadist community, considering that a number of accounts on social media have advocated for ISIS to keep Cantlie alive so he could continue creating the propaganda films."  (Newsweek) 

Pleas for Cantlie's freedom have been sent to ISIS by his family members.  

"His family have repeatedly called on Isis to set him free, with Cantlie's father Paul, 80, sending a message to Isis appealing for his son's freedom. He died shortly afterwards.

Jessica Cantlie, his sister, has previously appealed for “direct contact” with the extremist militants holding him."  (independent.ie)  

For those of you who are curious to watch the recently released video by ISIS with British Journalist Jogn Cantlie, you can check it out here, using the link.

If you would like more information or would like to help out by joining in demonstrations, there is a FaceBook page called "Free John Cantlie".

Al Jazeera Journalist Released From Egyptian Prison, Two Others Remain

    According to Wadah Khanfar, writing for theguardian.com, Peter Greste, journalist for al-Jazeera, was released from an Egyptian prison after 400 days.  Khanfar and his two fellow journalist were arrested due to the lack of freedom of press in Egypt under dictator Hosni Mubarak.  Despite the fact that Khanfar was released, his two fellow journalists are still being detained in the Egyptian prison.  Mohamed Fahmy, one of the two detainees, has been asked to revoke his Egyptian citizenship because he has dual nationality in Canada, and will make is easier to be deported.  The court has discriminated against Baher Mohamed, the third journalist, because he was given three extra years more than the other two journalists, making him imprisoned for ten years, rather than seven.

“They were arrested while conducting their professional duties, but the court imprisoned them for allegedly spreading lies and distorted the image of Egypt.”

    Under Egypt’s dictatorship, there is no freedom of press, making it very difficult for journalists to report on any news.  Egyptian citizens are fearful of their dictator and have no voice to help detained journalists be set free.  These men were doing their jobs and it’s saddening to see that journalists may be jailed or killed for reporting the news. 

BBC.com reports that there are campaigns running to urge the release of the other two journalists.  Greste spoke with a fellow journalist on the phone while he waited at Cairo's airport for departure.  Sue Turton, an Al Jazeera journalist who was also charged 10 years in an Egyptian prison, explained Greste was of course excited, but after his excitement the seriousness set in.  

"She said one of her colleagues managed to talk to Mr Greste on the phone as he waited at a departure lounge at Cairo's airport. She said "he was joking, and obviously he's elated. But his second sentence straight after that elation was - we've still got to get the other two out"."

Although the fate of these two journalists is unclear, the hope for their return is still kept alive.  The campaigns continue to pull in, and will hopefully make a difference.  

Media Censorship In Dubai

Media Organizations in Dubai are subject to strict content control by the government.

In Dubai the news is incredibly analyzed before the papers hit the news stand. Editrs scans news articles for any vulgar material. Most of the foreign newspapers are viewed as racy and have to be edited. Anything that doesn't meet Dubai's media standards is marked out with a dark line. Magazines, newspapers, books, you name it, has to be regulated before clearance. Although the telecommunications law guarantees freedom of speech, political media cogent is monitored daily. 

The governed are not getting full use of their rights to Freedom of Speech. The 1996 telecommunications law that guarantees Freedom of Speech is overshadowed by the serious regulation of political media. Journalists rely on self- censorship in order to avoid sanctions. The journalists who sensor their work tend to avoid criticizing political leaders, ruling leaders, religion, morals, or government policy. 

The city of Abu Dubai is home to 2,369,153 people. The hot weather and seven star hotels drives traffic to vacationers. The city is a big tourist attraction and is set up to stay that way. The media is censored in order to mold the idea of the city. Its goal is to attract celebrities and investors.  The press are supported by government funding. Neighboring countries such as India censor any reading materials such as magazines, books, or news papers. If the reading materials don't meet the consent of the countries media regulation agency, ( the National Media Council) whole articles can be removed.

A wealthy Indian news editor, Prem Singh says, "Nude pictures and anything [written] against these countries, especially Dubai. Anything against Islam." Prem would mark over any breasts that are too exposed in news papers or magazine before they are sent to UAE. As reported by Press Reference,  Most of the radio (13 AM, seven FM, and two short-wave) and television (15 total) stations available outside the free-zone are owned by the government with a few notable exceptions. These stations broadcast to around 820,000 radios and 310,000 televisions in the country. 

References:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18292869

BBC News Country Profiles. Available from http://news.bbc.co.uk/ .

Read more: http://www.pressreference.com/Sw-Ur/United-Arab-Emirates.html#ixzz3aGlcWl7k