November 16, 2001
US/DEALS: ABC,
CBS In Talks To Share News Resources "ABC News
and CBS News, which each held separate talks with CNN
over the summer about possible ways to combine some
newsgathering operations to save money, are now also
talking to each other." November 16, 2001 Source:
Los Angeles Times
US/FREEDOM OF
INFORMATION: US
Government Increases Secrecy "The Bush
administration, tightlipped before the Sept. 11 suicide
hijackings, has clammed up even more as it goes about
hunting down those who would do America more harm. In
the process, advocates of government openness and civil
liberties say the public's right to information and the
freedoms of innocent people are being
jeopardized." November 16, 2001 Source: Editor And
Publisher (via Journalism.org)
UK/CONFLICT
COVERAGE: Confusion
Surrounds Tape Implicating Bin Laden Confusion
continues over videotape that Prime Minister Tony Blair
referred to as providing further evidence of Osama bin
Laden's involvement in the September 11 US attacks. No
news organization has obtained a copy of the tape and
Mr. Blair himself, admits to have only seen its
transcript. When questioned on the matter, the White
House referred reporters to Downing Street. November
16, 2001 Source: The New York Times (free
registration req'd) (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
UK/CONFLICT
COVERAGE: BBC
Refrains From Using Word "Terrorism" "The BBC
World Service has taken a policy decision not to
describe the attacks on the US as "terrorism." Mark
Damazer, the BBC's deputy director of news, said the
service would lose its reputation for impartiality
around the world if it were seen to use such a
subjective term." November 16, 2001 Source:
Guardian Unlimited (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
AFGANISTAN/CONFLICT
COVERAGE: Taliban
Leader Defiant In BBC Interview "Defiant in the
face of stunning setbacks, Taliban supreme leader Mullah
Mohammed Omar said in a radio interview today that he'd
rather die than join 'an evil government' with
Afghanistan's former leaders. And in chilling remarks he
also predicted the 'extinction of America' in 'a short
period of time.'" November 15, 2001 Source: The
Star (via European Journalism Centre)
COLOMBIA/ATTACKS ON THRE
PRESS: Reporter
Shot Dead In Colombia "Hooded gunmen killed a
Colombian journalist while he watched a football game on
television with his family at home, officials
say." Source: CNN Europe
AFGHANISTAN/ATTACKS ON THRE PRESS
: Reporter
Speaks Of Anti-Arab Attack Tayseer Allouni, an
Arab reporter with Al-Jazeera, who was himself shot at
and beaten as the Northern Alliance took control of
Kabul, said yesterday: "What I saw is indescribable. I
confess I am psychologically shocked." A number of Arabs
in Afghanistan have been have been targeted by
anti-Taliban forces. November 15, 2001 Source:
News.telegraph.co.uk (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
IRAN/PRESS FREEDOM: Canadian
Reporter Arrested, Footage Erased "CBC-TV
reporter Neil Macdonald and his camera crew were
arrested in Iran and detained for four hours yesterday
after shooting footage of a protest." November 16,
2001 Source: Toronto Star
BANGLADESH/ATTACKS ON THRE
PRESS: Bagerhat
Journalists Protest Attack "Journalists of
Bagerhat brought out a silent procession on Tuesday to
protest attack on them on Sunday night in the Amlapara
residence of Awami League leader Fakir Mohammod Mansur.
Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Deputy
Commissioner demanding an impartial inquiry into the
incident and legal action against real
culprits." November 15, 2001 Source: The Daily
Star via Asia Pacific Media Network
US/LAYOFFS: Yahoo
Cutting 300 Jobs The announcement that the
dot-com is cutting 10 percent of its workforce "comes
just 24 hours after Yahoo announced a deal with SBC
Communications, the Western US phone giant, to develop a
co-branded high-speed Internet service." November 15,
2001 Source: BBC Also see: • Yahoo
Announces Major Restructuring, from The New York
Times (free registration req'd) • "Yahoo
Decides To Grow Up", from Reuters via Wired News
US/LAW: Lawmakers
Discuss Civil Liberties Issues (REAL AUDIO) "The
Bush administration is making dramatic changes in the
legal system, citing the threat of terrorism. But civil
liberties advocates are beginning to voice their
objections. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports for All Things
Considered." November 15, 2001 Source: National
Public Radio
SOMALIA/TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Telephone
Services Cut Due To Bin Laden Connection
Somalia's telephone contact with the rest of the
world has been greatly limited after the countries
largest operator the Barakaat Telecommunications Company
closed down its international services. The move came
when British Telecom and AT&T terminated their
agreement with Barakaat after its parent company the
Al-Barakaat group was linked to Osama bin Laden by
British officials and US. November 15,
2001 Source: IRIN via allAfrica.com
UK/JOURNALISM: Labour
Minister Attacks News Media "The Labour minister,
Clare Short, has launched a stinging attack on the news
media, branding TV and the press 'junky' and
'self-obsessed'." November 16, 2001 Source: Media
Guardian
INDONESIA/HUMAN RIGHTS: Roll
Call Of Dead Points To Hidden Holocaust A new
unverified report from civilians and church groups in
the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya lists 614 people
who all died violent deaths between 1969 and 1998,
allegedly at the hands of the Indonesian military. "Aloy
Renwarin, vice-director of the Papuan human rights lobby
Els-Ham, says there are strong suggestions that the
number of victims of Indonesian rule in Irian Jaya may
equal or exceed that in East Timor." November 16,
2001 Source: South China Morning Post via Asia
Pacific Media Network
UK/E-GOVERNMENT: UK
Government Trying To Push Its Online
Services "The UK Government is stepping up its
campaign to put more of its services online. . But the
government has a long way to go in its aim to reach more
people as a survey shows that barely 11% of people have
used the net to get at government services or to send
information to government departments." November 16,
2001 Source: BBC
HONG KONG/INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY: PR
Chiefs Reject Licensing System For Photocopying
Newspapers "Photocopying newspaper stories for
non-commercial use should not require licensing, a
public relations guild has argued after a survey of
senior managers in the trade... The news came as 12
newspapers formed the Copyright Licensing Association as
a one-stop shop to license photocopying and to grant
exemption to primary and secondary schools." November
16, 2001 Source: South China Morning Post via Asia
Pacific Media Network
THAILAND/COPYRIGHT: Thailand's
Karaoke Clubs Feel Heat Over Copyright "Two big
music companies in Thailand want 200,000 karaoke clubs,
which for years have gotten away with playing Thai pop
songs and traditional north-eastern numbers for free, to
pay copyright dues." November 14, 2001 Source: The
Bangkok Post via Asia Pacific Media Network
NAMIBIA/RADIO: PM
Angered Over Termination of Radio Show Prime
Minister Hage Geingob has reacted angrily to the
termination of the popular radio program Prime
Minister's Question Time by the Namibian Broadcasting
Corporation (NBC) saying the move is political and
promising to take the matter up with the
Politburo. November 16, 2001 Source: The Namibian
via allAfrica.com
US/LAYOFFS: Unemployed
Will Draw For Food "Todd Rosenberg has made over
a thousand dollars in two weeks just for being odd,
unemployed and clever. He launched a two-minute,
flash-animated chronicle called 'Laid Off: A Day In The
Life' that is quickly reaching Internet cult status à la
Mahir. His tale ... has hit home among the throngs of
dot-com casualties and others who see pink slips
flapping in the not-too-distant future." November 16,
2001 Source: Wired News
US/MEDIA AWARDS: The
Fourth Annual Inertia Awards "The Inertia Awards
... honor companies and individuals who are dragging the
feet of the worldwide Internet Economy with product
delays, professional incompetence, been-there-done-that
technology, monopolistic practices, and/or other
dilatory acts or omissions." November 12,
2001 Source: Webreview.com (via Wired News)
US/BUSINESS: Ad
Crunch Forces Tribune Cuts "Tribune Co. moved
Wednesday to cut the pay of its top executives by 5% and
freeze the salaries of all nonunion employees for a year
to cope with 'the worst advertising environment since
the Depression.'" November 15, 2001 Source: The
Hollywood Reporter via Yahoo News
US/INTERNET: Congress
Extends Internet Tax Ban "President Bush will
sign legislation that extends a moratorium on
Internet-related taxes for two years, although he
preferred a longer period of tax relief. A voice vote in
the Senate on Thursday renewed the tax ban that was
enacted three years ago but expired Oct.
21." November 16, 2001 Source: The Christian
Science Monitor
THE NETHERLANDS/BUSINESS: Self-Syndication
Brings Benefits To Publishers "Content
syndication involving brokers is becoming less common,
but self-syndication by publishers has a bright future,
according to Willem-Jan Schutte, CEO of BackStream, a
content management and syndication software
company." November 16, 2001 Source: Ifra Trend
Report (via European Journalism Centre)
US/INTELLIGENCE: Study
Finds Sheep Have Advanced Memory Systems (REAL AUDIO) "In
a new study about sheep memory published in Wednesday's
issue of Nature, neurobiologist Keith Kendrick says
these woolly creatures can remember up to 50 sheep
faces. All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer
reports." November 7, 2001 Source: National Public
Radio |
| |
November 15, 2001
US/JOURNALISM: Report
Finds Local TV News Beset By Advertiser Pressures,
Cutbacks "Local television news directors are
being pressed to produce more news for less money at the
same time advertisers are increasingly trying to dictate
the content of their shows," according to a
survey of 118 news directors by the Project for
Excellence in Journalism. November 15,
2001 Source: AP via Yahoo
CHINA/BUSINESS: Compass
Leads AOL Deeper Into China "AOL Time Warner has
made further inroads into China's heavily protected
media sector following last month's ground-breaking deal
to broadcast cable-television channels in southern
China. (AOL's) partner is Shanghai Industrial Holdings,
an SAR-listed vehicle controlled by the Shanghai
municipal government." November 15, 2001 Source:
South China Morning Post via Asia Pacific Media
Network
UK/POLITICS: BBC
Used MI5 To Vet Pacifist Staff "BBC officials
asked for help from the intelligence services to carry
out political vetting of all journalistic and
engineering staff from as early as the 1930s, according
to an MI5 file on relations with the corporation.
Employees with communist or fascist sympathies were
initially targeted but from the onset of the second
world war BBC management tried to terminate the jobs of
those with "pacifist or defeatist views'." November
14, 2001 Source: Guardian Unlimited (via European Journalism Centre)
US/NETWORK
TELEVISION: Networks
Discuss Cost Sharing Deal ABC News and CBS News
are discussing a possible cost-sharing arrangement that
could forestall their need to ally with CNN, the cable
news network that has held talks with both. November
15, 2001 Source: The New York Times (free
registration req'd) (via Benton Foundation
AUSTRALIA/OWNERSHIP: Publisher
Urges Reform Of Media Ownership Laws "John
Fairfax Holdings Ltd chief executive Fred Hilmer urged
the Federal Government yesterday to introduce revamped
media ownership laws to Parliament now that it had won a
third term." November 14, 2001 Source: The
Canberra Times (via Moreover.com)
GLOBAL/MARKETING: Coca-Cola
Marketing Deal With Harry Potter Film Breaks
Records "As millions enjoy Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in US), Coca-Cola
is assuming the role of exclusive global marketing
partner. Never has so much been poured into one movie by
one company." A broad international coalition of health,
educational and science organizations and individuals
has been fighting this marketing deal under the campaign
Save
Harry. November 15, 2001 Source: Financial
Times, SaveHarry.com
US/CONFLICT COVERAGE: Japanese
Media In US Take Pacifist Stance "Japanese
journalists and newspapers on the US West Coast are
taking a more pacifist stance to the ongoing war in
Afghanistan than their mainstream peers." November
14, 2001 Source: The Japan Times via Asia Pacific
Media Network
CANADA/OWNERSHIP: CanWest
Media Has Global Aspirations "In just the last
two years, a spree of acquisitions has transformed what
was once the smallest of the three national television
networks into a sprawling empire of 16 television
stations, 7 specialty channels, 26 daily newspapers and
120 community papers." November 15, 2001 Source:
The New York Times (free registration req'd)
NETHERLANDS/LAW: The
Netherlands begins Europe's first online court
hearings "The Dutch Ministry of Justice has
started to use video, audio and Internet links to hold
court hearings for two prisons and 15 tribunals, instead
of bringing trial participants into an actual
courthouse." November 14, 2001 Source:
europemedia.net (via onlinejournalism.com)
KOREA/BROADCASTING: Ministry
To Aid Broadcasters' Digital Conversion "The
Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday
it will inject an initial 40 billion won ($31.03
million) into the broadcasting industry next year to
help it switch to digital broadcasting
infrastructure." November 13, 2001 Source: The
Korea Herald via Asia Pacific Media Network
US/INTERNET: Private
Sector Better Able To Manage Internet Security, Says US
Official John Tritak, an official who works in
the nation's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office
(CIAO) has rejected calls for increased government
regulation of the Internet and argued that the private
sector should be left to deal with security threats on
the web. Mr. Tritak made the opening remarks at the
annual meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN). November 15,
2001 Source: Washington Post (via Benton Foundation)
QATAR/BIAS: Al-Jazeera
Editor Defends Station's Reputation Ibrahim
Helal, chief editor at Al Jazeera Television, says his
organization has been broadcasting reports of arrests of
Christians since 2000 and was used by Al-Qaeda because
it provided the only working satellite up-link from
Kabul. Mr. Helal who was reacting to criticisms from US
and British officials, claims that his organization was
only following western media practices and has a
reputation as a source of independent news in
Arabic. November 14, 2001 Source: The Irish Times
via allAfrica.com
US/INTERNET: E-Mail
Virus Slams Muslim Group "Last Friday, on the
Muslim Sabbath and on the cusp of the holy month of
Ramadan, the (American Muslim) council's e-mail list was
infected with the malicious 'Snow White' virus. The
council, in a press release, described the infection as
a 'criminal invasion' by 'hackers' in 'a deliberate
attempt to discredit and to disable e-mail
communications to our members.'" November 15,
2001 Source: Wired News
UK/BALANCE: Unbalanced
Western Media Affects Tourism Representatives
from Africa and the Middle East accused the American and
European media of unfair representation and depicting
their countries as insecure. The panelists, attending
World Travel Market Exhibition in London, were
discussing the impact of western media on tourism to the
region. November 15, 2001 Source: The East African
Standard via allAfrica.com
US/MILITARY: Army
Intranet: World's Largest "The network will have
at its disposal 70 terabytes of storage. According to
figures compiled by the Internet Archive, that's three
times the size of the Library of Congress, the world's
largest library." November 15, 2001 Source: Wired
News
HONG KONG/MEDIA STUDY: Faith
In Media Rising, Study Finds "Public confidence
in Hong Kong's media and freedom of the press has risen
significantly in the past three years, a survey released
yesterday showed... (Surveys show that) a calmer
political situation had boosted confidence in the
media." November 15, 2001 Source: South China
Morning Post via Asia Pacific Media Network
GLOBAL/CULTURE-JAMMING: Software Enables
Easy Web Site Parodies After their WTO-satire
site was challenged by the World Trade Organization for
trademark violation, culture-jamming activists The Yes
Men have created free software to enable anyone to
easily copy and distort Web sites, potentially opening
up many more trademark-violation legal
challenges. November 15, 2001 Source: The Yes Men
Web Site
BELARUSSIA/PRESS FREEDOM: Belarussian
Court Closes Opposition Paper "The Supreme
Economic Court on 13 November shut down the opposition
Belarussian- language weekly 'Pahonya' based in Hrodna,
a regional center in northwestern Belarus, Belarussian
media reported." (scroll down for story) November 15,
2001 Source: RFE/RL Newsline (via European Journalism Centre)
US/BROADBAND: Administration
Invites Comments On Broadband Deployment The
National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) has invited interested parties to
comment on supply and demand for broadband services; and
the technical, economic, or regulatory barriers to
broadband deployment in the United States. November
15, 2001 Source: NTIA (via Benton Foundation
GLOBAL/INTERNET: Survey
Finds Few Pay For Once Free Web Sites "Most
online users are unwilling to pay for content on Web
sites that use to be free, a
study by the Pew Internet & American Life
Project revealed Wednesday." November 14,
2001 Source: Reuters (via onlinejournalism.com) |
| |
November 14, 2001
AFGHANISTAN/COVERING
CONFLICT: Unpopular
With Northern Alliance, Al-Jazeera May Leave The
Country "Arab TV news channel al-Jazeera, which
for the first weeks of the Afghan war had a virtual
monopoly on live footage from the country, may soon be
forced to pull all of its staff out of the
country." November 14, 2001 Source: Media
Guardian
US/PROPAGANDA: Bush
Praises US Media's "Discretion" "President Bush
said American news media outlets would not air a "piece
of propaganda" from him, and likewise should not
broadcast propaganda from Osama bin Laden." November
14, 2001 Source: AP via SF Gate
CHINA/DEALS: AOL
Time Warner Makes Deal With State-Sponsored
Conglomerate "After sealing a landmark deal to
make itself China's first foreign television
broadcaster, AOL Time Warner Inc. has formed an alliance
with a China-backed conglomerate to invest in
media-related projects." November 14, 2001 Source:
AP via SF Gate
ZIMBABWE/PRESS
FREEDOM: Judge
Backs Press Freedom In Landmark Ruling "A
Zimbabwean High Court judge has defended the right of
the press to expose corruption, dishonesty and graft
wherever they occur and to name the perpetrators of the
malpractices." November 8, 2001 Source: The
Financial Gazette (South Africa) (via Morevover.com)
AFGHANISTAN/TELEVISION: Television
Broadcasts To Resume In Kabul Northern Alliance
forces occupying Kabul said they planned to resume
television broadcasts in the capital as soon as
possible. The Taliban had banned photographs and
television for five years. The Northern Alliance has
begun radio broadcasts from a mobile vehicle unit in the
Afghani capital. November 14, 2001 Source: Reuters
(via Yahoo Full Coverage)
BULGARIA/PUBLIC
BROADCASTING: IFJ
Ask Bulgaria For Public Broadcasting
Reforms "Bulgaria's leaders ''must move quickly''
to create a genuine public broadcasting system, urges
the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) in a
press release published on 7 November. IFJ recently sent
a delegation to the country to meet with local
journalist unions and assess the current state of
broadcasting." November 14, 2001 Source: IFEX (via
European Journalism Centre
ARGENTINA/PRIVACY: Argentina
Peeks Into E-Mail Laws "The first proposed bill
would give e-mail the same privacy status as regular
post mail, and it would be protected by the Argentine
constitution. Without a court order, regular post mail
can't be opened or examined by anyone except its owner.
Jail would await those who read e-mail without consent,
and a fine of up to $90,000 would be assessed if its
contents were published." November 14,
2001 Source: Wired News
US/NEWS COVERAGE: Authorities
Shut Down Crash Coverage At Logan
Airport "Massachusetts Port Authority officials
almost immediately turned off the overhead monitors
broadcasting CNN's Airport Network at Logan
International Airport Monday when news spread that an
American Airlines jet had crashed in New
York." November 14, 2001 Source: The Boston Globe
(via Yahoo Full Coverage)
US/INTERNET: US
Web Usage Hits All-Time High "A record number of
U.S. residents went online last month, Web measurement
companies reported Tuesday, driven partly by a large
increase in Web access at home and the rise of online
use by underrepresented groups." November 13,
2001 Source: CNET (via Project for Excellence in
Journalism)
LATIN AMERICA/OWNERSHIP: Media
Mogul's Cross-Border Formula Proves A
Success "Gustavo Cisneros has built a privately
owned media empire in Latin America by ignoring national
boundaries. His approach is likely to work even better
in the future." November 26, 2001 Edition Source:
Forbes Global (via Moreover.com)
THAILAND/POLITICS: Military
To Clarify Frequency Stance "The military was
told to explain why it wants to retain its broadcast
frequencies and prevent them being redistributed...
Defense Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh ordered the
military to set out its reasons and submit them to the
National Broadcast Committee and the National
Telecommunications Committee." November 10,
2001 Source: The Bangkok Post via Asia Pacific Media
Network
HONG KONG/CENSORSHIP: RTHK
Producer Claims Interference "A producer of an
RTHK radio programme (Radio 3's Letter to Hong Kong) has
resigned over what he claimed was editorial interference
by the Chief Secretary's office and station
managers." November 14, 2001 Source: South China
Morning Post via Asia Pacific Media Network
CHINA/INTERNET: Net
Surfers Help Rescue Teenagers "Two Shanghai
teenagers were rescued from their kidnappers after
Internet surfers helped police find them. The Shanghai
Daily quoted a police spokesman as saying: 'The girls
were abducted and forced to perform pornographic
services.' Lycos said that tens of thousands of Chinese
Web surfers across the country had joined the
cyber-manhunt." November 14, 2001 Source: South
China Morning Post via Asia Pacific Media Network
SOUTH AFRICA/I.T.: President
Mbeki Appoints High Profile IT Team Fulfilling an
earlier promise, President Thabo Mbeki has appointed a
team of leading industry experts to advise the
government on its information technology strategy.
Although the team's mandate has not been finalized, the
country's largest corporate transaction — the scheduled
privatization of the state's telecommunications body,
Telkom, in 2002 — will be one of the group's largest
challenges. November 13, 2001 Source: Moneyweb
via allAfrica.com
US/INTERNET: Community
Institutions Permitted To Use .EDU Domain
Name EDUCAUSE, an association of 1,800 colleges,
universities and corporate partners will manage the
Internet domain name .edu and extend the name's
application to include community colleges and
institutions that grant two-year degrees. November
14, 2001 Source: NTIA (via Benton Foundation) |
| |
November 13, 2001
AFGHANISTAN/MEDIA ON
THE FRONTLINES: Al-Jazeera
Kabul Office Destroyed "The Kabul office of the
Arab satellite TV channel al-Jazeera was destroyed this
morning by what it claims was a US missile." November
13, 2001 Source: Media Guardian
AFGHANISTAN/MEDIA ON
THE FRONTLINES: BBC
Reporter Claims Role In "Liberating" Kabul "The
BBC's John Simpson . told Sue MacGregor on the BBC's
Today program: 'It was only BBC people who liberated
this city. We got in ahead of Northern Alliance
troops.'" November 13, 2001 Source: Media Guardian
EUROPE/CYBERCRIME: Europe Aims
To Ban Hate Content From Web "The Council of
Europe is trying to ban racist and other hate-based
content from the Internet by adding a protocol to its
convention on cybercrime that is scheduled to be
ratified at a meeting Nov. 23 in Budapest." November
12, 2001 Source: International Herald Tribune
US/POLITICS: Bush
Prevails In Media Recount Of Florida Vote (REAL AUDIO) "A media
recount of Florida presidential ballots showed that
different scenarios produced varied election results.
But George Bush would have won if Al Gore had gotten the
recount he sought. NPR's Mara Liasson reports for All
Things Considered." November 12, 2001 Source:
National Public Radio
US/TERRORISM: Sept.
11 Terrorist Targeted Radio Free
Europe "Suspected terrorist Mohammed Atta
contacted an Iraqi agent with plans to blow up the Radio
Free Europe building in Prague several months before the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Czech
Prime Minister Milos Zeman said." November 10,
2001 Source: The Associated Press via The Nando
Times Also see: "Czechs
Learned of Terrorist Plot to Bomb Radio Free
Europe", from Reuters via The New York Times (free
registration req'd)
AFGHANISTAN/CONFLICT
COVERAGE: Interviewer
Notices Many Changes In Bin Laden's
Behavior Hamid Mir, a 36-year-old Pakistani
newspaperman, who was granted an interview with Osama
bin Ladin has explained how he found the Al-Qaeda leader
noticeably more aggressive than in a previous interview.
Mir states that Bin Ladin was selective in choosing
which questions to answer, spoke better English and
"that the people around him were treating him like their
spiritual leader." November 13, 2001 Source: The
New York Times (free registration req'd) (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
PAKISTAN/PRESS FREEDOM: Reporter
Links Deportation To Discovery Of Pakistani
Collusion Sunday Telegraph reporter Christina
Lamb, who was deported from Pakistan together with
photographer Justin Sutcliffe, says it was due to her
reported discovery of links between Pakistan army
officials and the Taliban. November 12,
2001 Source: BBC (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
GLOBAL/DEALS: Sony
And AOL Time Warner Make Broadband Deal "Sony and
AOL Time Warner are to join forces on a deal to provide
online entertainment via home networks, using games
consoles, TVs and hi-fi stereos." November 13,
2001 Source: BBC
US/POLITICS: ICANN:
To Serve And Protect The deadly attacks of
September 11 have "prompted the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to toss out its
customary agenda and replace it with a three-day special
meeting, which begins Tuesday, on how to guard the Net's
most vulnerable portions from terrorist
attacks." November 13, 2001 Source: Wired News
NIGERIA/PRIVATIZATION: Labor
Congress Threatens Legal Action Over Telcom
Privatization The Nigerian Labor Congress is
threatening to take the Bureau of Public Enterprises to
Court to stop the privatization of the state run
telephone enterprise, Nigerian Telecommunications
(Nitel) for failing to issue guidelines on labor
interests, government shares and core investors. The
Congress's head, Usman Aliyu described the sale "a
daylight robbery of the nation's telecommunications
industry." November 12, 2001 Business Day via
allAfrica.com
US/OWNERSHIP: Ms.
Magazine Sold To Feminist Group "Ms. magazine
will adopt an activist tone when it appears early next
year under new ownership." November 13,
2001 Source: AP via Yahoo News
TAIWAN/POLITICS: Political
Attack Advertising "Six opposition lawmakers
yesterday lashed out at the ruling DPP for launching a
"smear" campaign in Taipei, Ilan and Taoyuan Counties.
The candidates said that the DPP's TV election
commercial groundlessly accuses them of killing the
government's budget — which allocated approximately
NT$600 million for child welfare — in the
legislature." November 9, 2001 Source: The Taipei
Times via Asia Pacific Media Network
US/INTERNET: Free
Speech Triumphs Over French Internet Order "In a
decision that is being applauded by Internet companies
and civil liberties groups, a federal judge ruled on
Wednesday that the United States Constitution's
protections of free speech trumped a French order
requiring Yahoo to remove Nazi materials from its Web
site." November 11, 2001 Source: The New York
Times (via Benton Foundation)
EUROPE/ONLINE JOURNALISM: European
Award For BBC News Online "BBC News Online has
been named the best European news site on the Internet.
The award — described as Europe's most prestigious — was
made in Zurich at an Internet content conference on
Wednesday." November 8, 2001 Source: BBC News
Online (via European Journalism Centre)
US/TECHNOLOGY: Corporations
Ruin The Net Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University
Law School professor and a cyberlaw pioneer ... in 'The
Future of Ideas,' "warns that the Net is in danger of
being controlled by special interests who will not only
take our dollars but limit our speech and our ability to
produce creative works. We'll build a surveillance
society beyond Orwell's imagination." November 19,
2001 issue Source: MSNBC via Wired News
AFRICA/TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Teledensity
Figures Positive For Development Teledensity in
Sub-Saharan Africa passed the 1% mark with 1.2 landline
phones per 100 people and the number of mobile phones in
use increased by 15 times the figure in 1998 according
to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
November 12, 2001 Source: ITWeb via
allAfrica.com Also see: "Telecoms
Report Highlights South Africa's Dark Year"
UK/TECHNOLOGY: UK
IT Journalists Skeptical About Digital Plans "70
per cent of UK IT journalists do not think that the UK
is at the forefront of the digital age, according to
Mori's latest survey of UK IT journalists. Two-thirds
also said that they did believe that Tony Blair's
government would meet the 2010 deadline for the final
switch from analogue to digital TV (DTV)." November
12, 2001 Source: Europemedia.net (via European
Journalism Centre)
US/INTERNET: English
No Longer Rules The Web "According to a recent
report, the percentage of Web surfers who consider
English their mother tongue has slipped below 50%,
making non-English speakers the majority demographic on
the Internet for the first time in history." November
12, 2001 Newsbytes (via Online
Journalism Review)
US/INTERNET: Rise
In Internet Use Shows Strength Of
Medium "Internet use in the US grew 15% in
October to a record 115.2 million people, in what
analysts said was a welcome sign of the new medium's
growth despite harsh economic times." November 13,
2001 Source: The Wall Street Journal (via Benton Foundation)
US/INTERNET: News
Sites Flooded After US Plane Crash "News Web
sites buckled under the weight of traffic after the New
York plane crash." November 13, 2001 Source: Media
Guardian |
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November 12, 2001
AFGHANISTAN/COVERING
CONFLICT: Three
Journalists Killed In Afghanistan "Three
journalists — two French and one German — have been
killed in northern Afghanistan in a Taliban ambush on an
opposition convoy." November 12, 2001 Source: BBC
(via European Journalism Centre) Also see: After
Three Killed In Afghanistan, Journalists' Group Says
Reporters Should Be Pulled Out Of War Zones, from
Media Guardian
US/MEDIA
RECOUNT: Media
Outlets Release Recount Results: Bush Might Have Still
Won, Unless Full State Recount "In all
likelihood, George W. Bush still would have won Florida
and the presidency last year if either of two limited
recounts — one requested by Al Gore, the other ordered
by the Florida Supreme Court — had been completed,
according to a study commissioned by The Washington Post
and other news organizations. But if Gore had found a
way to trigger a statewide recount of all disputed
ballots, or if the courts had required it, the result
likely would have been different." November 12,
2001 Source: Washington Post Also see: Full
Florida Recount Would Have Favored Gore (REAL AUDIO), from NPR
EUROPE/INTERNET: Cybercrime
Treaty Gets Green Light "A controversial treaty
that tries to tackle cybercrime has been adopted by the
43-nation Council of Europe." November 12,
2001 Source: BBC
US/LAYOFFS: CBS
News Asks "60 Minutes" To Cut Staff "In what many
CBS News staff members described as the first time in
memory that television's pre-eminent newsmagazine has
been asked to reduce its production staff, '60 Minutes'
is cutting back its corps of producers as part of a plan
by CBS News to pare its budget in reaction to the rising
costs of covering the war in Afghanistan." November
12, 2001 Source: The New York Times (free
registration req'd)
KENYA/POLICY: New
Media Bill Limits Free Press The chairman of the
National Council of NGOs, Mr. Oduor Ong'wen, has
criticized the proposed Media Bill, arguing that it will
curtail investigative journalism, deny citizens the
means to develop their own media and is contrary to the
calls for a Freedom of Information Act. November 10,
2001 Source: The East African Standard via
allAfrica.com
US/PUBLIC RELATIONS: Hollywood
Promises To Help War Campaign ". Bush
administration senior adviser Karl Rove outlined a
seven-point White House message that he'd like Hollywood
to broadcast worldwide, and Jack Valenti, president of
the MPAA, promised 'to contribute Hollywood's creative
imagination and personal skills to the war
effort.'" November 12, 2001 Source: Hollywood
Reporter via Yahoo News Also see: This
radio brief from NPR (REAL AUDIO)
US/ACTIVISM: Three
Arrested At CNN Protest "Three men, two with
scarves wrapped around their heads, were arrested
Saturday during a protest that drew almost 200 people to
CNN Center over the network's coverage of the war in
Afghanistan." November 11, 2001 Source: Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
MIDDLE EAST/CONFLICT
COVERAGE: Arabic
Media Coverage Focuses On Civilian Casualties And US
Aggression Pictures of civilian casualties in
Afghanistan have tended to dominate coverage and Osama
bin Laden is not being portrayed as a heroic figure,
according to a New York Times analysis of the current
media in the Arab world. "Instead, the main message
delivered by most Arab newspapers and television has
been that the United States has moved arrogantly,
blindly, even callously into conflict in a country that
it does not understand." November 11, 2001 Source:
The New York Times (via Yahoo Full Coverage)
IRELAND/ACTIVISM: Irish
Activists Plan Net "Blackout" To Demand Better
Telecom "Ireland is at a serious competitive
disadvantage in Europe and worldwide because of the
problems in our telecommunications." Protest date:
November 16, 2001 Source: Ireland Offline Blackout —
Campaign Web site
US/PROPAGANDA: Voice
Of America Pulled Between Journalism And
Propaganda "At 9:30 each morning, 35 of America's
top propagandists gather around a long table at the
Voice of America radio headquarters on Independence
Avenue and decide how to brainwash 91 million people
worldwide; i.e., how best to cloak American agitprop in
the noble guise of objective news." November 10,
2001 Source: Washington Post
US/BALANCE: Opponents
Of War Are Scarce On Television TV executives
justify the absence of on-air antiwar views with claims
that there is not enough dissent to warrant coverage,
and that "credible" antiwar voices are hard to
find. November 9, 2001 Source: The New York Times
(free registration req'd)
UK/ADVERTISING: BBC
To Go Ahead With Commercial Site The BBC will go
ahead with contentious plans for a new high profile news
web site involving the government funded World Service
and the commercially operated BBC World. The proposal
has caused uproar amongst potential rivals, worried over
suggestions that advertising would fund the
site. November 7, 2001 Source: Guardian Unlimited
(via I Want Media)
CHINA/COPYRIGHT LAW: Copyright
Revisions To Increase WTO Compliance "Just days
before China is expected to complete the process of its
long-awaited entry into the World Trade Organization,
authorities have revised two laws to help smooth that
transition. The Copyright Law and the Trademark Law are
being given more punch to increase the protection China
gives, or is expected to give, intellectual property
rights." November 10, 2001 Source: South China
Morning Post via Asia Pacific Media Network
UK/CONTENT CONTROL: ITN
Censured Over "Tasteless" News Special "The news
broadcaster ITN has been censured for broadcasting a
'sick and tasteless' sequence in which the collapse of
the World Trade Center in New York was set to
music." November 12, 2001 Source: Media
Guardian
UK/NEWSPAPERS: War
Isn't Helping Newspaper Sales "After the soaring
circulations that greeted their post-September 11
coverage, newspapers are finding that readers are
deserting them in higher numbers than ever." November
12, 2001 Source: Media Guardian
UK/TELEVISION: The
Crisis In Children's Television "As TV
advertising revenues plummet, program budgets are being
slashed — and kids' television is being hit harder than
most." November 12, 2001 Source: Media
Guardian
PAKISTAN/POLITICS: Musharraf
Tames His Fundamentalist Critics "Their blood
curdling cries of "Death to America" dominate the
headlines, but Pakistan's Muslim fundamentalists are
fighting another, more lethal foe — the specter of
irrelevance. ... Among the many ironies is the role of
the Western media in inflating the role of religious
parties described as "an empire of soft-voiced,
sandal-wearing followers that makes generals and
bureaucrats quake in their boots." November 10,
2001 Source: The Age via Asia Pacific Media
Network
US/SECURITY: Privacy
Expert To Focus On Security Richard M. Smith, one
of the nation's foremost authorities on data privacy,
who headed the non-profit Privacy Foundation, resigned
his post earlier this month to turn his attention to
studying homeland security. In his first big case in his
new role, he worked with the American Civil Liberties
Union to test facial scanning technology that many of
the nation's airports are now considering
deploying. November 12, 2001 Source: The New York
Times (free registration req'd)
MIDDLE EAST/ONLINE
JOURNALISM: A
New Era Of Global Communication "As chief
executive of Arabic and English portal site Ajeeb.com, Al Sharekh
believes that the error-prone technology known as
machine translation has played a key part in speeding
the exchange of information between the English-speaking
world and the Middle East." November 12,
2001 Source: Wired News
US/VIOLENCE: City
Abandons Violent Video Game Ban, After Losing In
Court "Stung by unsympathetic appeals court
justices and rejected by the US Supreme Court,
Indianapolis is giving up on its bid to become the first
city in the country to prevent kids from playing violent
coin-operated video games." November 8,
2001 Source: Health Scout News via Yahoo News
US/CULTURE: 'Cuckoo's
Nest' Author Kesey Dead At 66 (REAL AUDIO) "Novelist and 60s icon
Ken Kesey dies of liver cancer at age 66. Kesey wrote
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and was immortalized by
fellow writer Tom Wolfe in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid
Test." November 10, 2001 Source: NPR
JAPAN/TELEVISION: Japan
Agog Over TV Parody Of Its Top Politicians "A
prime-time TV drama is breaking new ground by parodying
real-life politicians in petty fights and poking fun at
the lengths they go to make themselves look good in
public." November 9, 2001 Source: The Straits
Times via Asia Pacific Media Network
US/BUSINESS: Where
The Dot-Dead Wind Up "While bankrupt Internet
retailers shrivel up and die, the stuff they once sold
is showing a surprising knack for sticking around
online. Increasingly, it's turning up in other corners
of the Web, where former rivals and bargain shops hawk
the excess toys, computers and sports gear of the
dot-com departed. Their ambition: to survive yet another
holiday season." November 12, 2001 Source: Wired
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AS THE MEDIA WATCH THE WORLD, WE WATCH THE
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