Media seen by Bjørklund

Text-messages as a journalistic tool

2009-05-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

Africa`s very limited internet access have forced reporters to make use of other technology, with text messaging being widely used to reach an audience. This new technology comes with a price, as poor journalistic practice spreads and journalists are targeted.

For all the obvious advantages of making use of this technology, there is a price to be paid - as Tom Rhodes writes in an article submitted at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CTJ).

In his article, Rhodes points to the Kenyan presidential election in 2007, where text messages from reporters witnessing the counts in precincts nationwide reported back to newsrooms in Nairobi that opposition candidate Raila Odinga was pulling away to a historic victory.

But when the official results were announced two days later, on December 29, 2007, the verdict was very different: Mwai Kibaki was the winner. International election monitors would later find fraud in the national vote counting, something Kenyans had sensed, thanks to the early poll reports from journalists using text messages to get the information out. Violence erupted as a result.

Text-message reporting in Kenya would later help circumvent government censorship and cast an important spotlight on the violence, even as many SMS users would spread hate and threats across the landscape, still according to mr Rhodes` article.

This new technology obviously isn`t solely a positive move forward:

"New information technology is a mixed bag of blessings," said Catherine Gicheru, editor of the daily Nairobi Star, according to Rhodes` article. "It definitely helped in the election coverage: You could be told in real time election results in far-off, remote constituencies. But the fact that anyone can send information to millions of people can also be dangerous, such as the mass hate messages sent by mobile phones."

Even though internet access is improving in Africa, the day when a majority of Africans can access the internet is still very much in the future, text messages and radio will still play a very significant tool in terms of reporting.

"The mobile phone in Africa represents the opportunity for ordinary people to have a voice, and it adds a level of transparency to issues that was simply not available to everyday Africans in the past," said Erik Hersman, a Kenya-based Web developer and technology blogger, according to Tom Rhodes` article.

Rhodes continues: "Cell phones have been used in reporting all over the world for many years, but in Africa they have particular importance. African journalists use texting to overcome significant obstacles--including poor or nonexistent land lines, roads, and computer access that would prevent them from interviewing people, collecting information, filing stories, or just passing along notes to colleagues".

"But the same technology that benefits journalists can undermine the profession. Text messaging can be used easily to threaten and intimidate reporters, as happened time and again after the Kenyan election. Because technology allows everyone to spread information easily and quickly, it has opened the door to unprofessional and unethical practices. The mere issemination of information and opinion is not in itself journalism".

- This problem is obviously not unique to Kenya.

According to another article at CPJ, dozens of text-message threats are made against journalists across the continent. Some of the worst cases have been reported in Somalia: "When the phone screen says 'private number,' I don't answer," said Mustapha Haji, a veteran Mogadishu journalist and director of Radio Simba. "It means someone is calling to say they will assassinate you."

- The lesson to be learned?

Bad journalistic practice due to new media technologies is a global issue and not a problem Africa struggles with by themselves. The fact that anybody can report on anything and instantly publish it on internet platforms is a major challenge to the global mainstream media. Accountability, transparency and other well-established western journalistic deeds are very much under threat.

- Africa need modernisation to feed it`s people

2009-05-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Economic mismanagement by African leaders poses a greater threat to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) than the current global financial crisis, according to the Vice President of The Hunger Project (THP).

In an interview with Daily Graphic, Dr. Tadesse said that with proper management of the economy and adherence to good governance and good democratic practices, Africa could produce enough food to feed its people and even export some to other parts of the world.

Dr. Tadesse is assured that in spite of the effects of the financial crunch, it us still possible for Africa to eradicate hunger and poverty, as well as achieve the other targets of the MDGs by their first and second time lines in 2015 and 2025 respectively.

"Africa has enormous natural resources such as oil, gold, cocoa and coffee. If African governments use these resources judiciously and they focus on more trade and less aid, and if the international community fulfill their promise to give financial support to Africa, it is possible to achieve the MDGs", he said.

Dr Tadesse pointed out that achieving the targets of the MDGs required African Governments to be committed to good governance, good journalism and democratic practices, political stability and respect for the will of the People.

Dr Tadesse said agriculture was crucial for Africa's development and stressed the need for African governments to promote the modernisation of agriculture, while projecting it as a lucrative sector and not just one meant for the less educated.

"Agriculture in Africa must be modernised; it must have its value. It's not only for people who are not educated," he emphasised.

It would seem like this is another cry towards modernisation development. Development through religious imitation of more "developed" societies, no matter cultural differences.

I`ve blogged about this earlier, outlining the historical context of the modernisation paradigm using a project in Ghana as example. A lot more about the modernisation paradigm in development theory could be read through Jan Servaes and his book Communication for Development: One World, Multiple Culures, where he scrutinises the different historical approaches to development theory.

A significant criticism of modernisation theory and the development of so-called Third World countries through the use of media technologies is that it threatens local culture established within a developing nation.

The criticism goes further, claiming Western models of journalism are imposed upon a developing country with the notion that “this is how development should be in the Third World and this is how it should be done.”, quoting Melkote & Steeves in their book Communication for Development in the Third World: Theory and Practice for Empowerment.

This impedes the survival of local culture and stops natural progression and development, forcing the country to move towards westernised ways of living which may be unsuitable for it.

Does print journalism have a future in Africa?

2009-05-08T05:33:00.000-07:00

- The poor broadband access in Africa is good news for the print newspaper industry, according to the print newspaper industry: (...)

The global economic meltdown and new media technology may be killing off traditional newspapers in the developed world, but rising literacy levels in the developing world mean they will not disappear any time soon, according to Print Media South Africa chair Prakash Desai.

Speaking at World Press Freedom Day in Grahamstown, South Africa, mr Desai said he was confident the growing popularity of online media would not sound the “death knell” of newspapers – especially in the developing world, according to Dispatch Online.

"The fact that online newspapers are still running at a loss leads me to believe that big changes will only happen in the distant future. Only three million people out of 48 million in South Africa have access to new technology, and there are billions of people around the world in a similar position", said mr Desai.

Speaking with other local and international media experts on the theme that “Print is Eternal”, mr Desai said the financial problems of many international newspapers have more to do with “bad debt” than media issues.

"Research over the past year reveales that newspapers that stopped their print versions to go solely online are now suffering more than those that embraced both versions. They had a 75% decrease in revenue and lost 50% of their readers", said the deputy director of Press Freedom and Development Programmes from World Association of Newspapers, mrs Mirjana Milosevic.

"The problem will only become really apparent in South Africa when more people can access the Internet. Media are blossoming in some parts and in a maelstrom in others, the industry varies greatly around the world. In some countries print is eternal, in others it is not. The challenge for newspapers is to hold communities together when people have access to 250 million websites”, said the “problem” would only become really apparent in South Africa “when more people can access the Internet”, said US media consultant Vin Crosby.

Louise Vale, general manager of Grocott’s Mail and the David Rabkin Project for Experiential Journalism, said producing a newspaper that was seen as the voice of the community ensured that “print is eternal”.

"Although high unemployment capped newspaper sales at 4000 per edition in the Grahamstown area, very limited access to the Internet in the broader community means this is no major threat to the newspaper’s survival – as long as they tackle relevant community issues. The smell and aura of printed news will always beat the buzz and interference of computers", said mrs Vale.

- Sure. Keep teling yourselves that.

Ugandan journalists to receive governmental funding

2009-05-07T05:24:00.000-07:00

The President of Uganda have said that he "believes in and supports freedom of the media, but that the freedom comes with the responsibility to tell the truth" as he is prepared to fund journalism, according to Daily Monitor.

Speaking to journalists at a dinner organised by the Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) to mark The World Press Freedom day, mr Museveni said that he “totally supports” media freedom and independence, but accused journalists of "not always getting it right" and not reporting on critical issues of development.

"To guarantee and safeguard that future, reporting should concentrate on issues such as a common market for Africa, political integration, infrastructure development and social transformation", mr Museveni said according to Daily Monitor.

- Play along, in other words. And it would seem that the majority does:

According to the article, UJA chairman Joshua Kyalimpa identified the “exodus” of trained journalists to more lucrative sectors and the invasion of "quacks" who bring the profession into disrepute, commercialisation of journalism at the expense of content and programming, as well as laws that stifle media freedom as the biggest challenges Ugandan media is facing.

More importantly, "mr Kyalimpa reminded the President of a Shs100 million pledge to the association, which Mr Museveni increased to Shs150million – at Mr Kyalimpa’s urging – and promised to honour soon", still according to the article in Daily Monitor.

This opened debate over the issue of the media’s financial independence and whether the association should ask for money from the government. The Monitor Publications’ Managing Editor, Mr Daniel Kalinaki, opposed the handout.

President Museveni defended the offer and said he was only honouring a request from the journalists. He added that it was "sacrilegious in African culture to reject an offer" and that "if journalists reject money from the government then they must also reject funding from any foreign groups or governments".

Miss Rosebell Kagumire, a Ugandan journalist, comments on the meeting in her blog:

"How on earth can a media that wants handouts from the president at the same time expect to be treated fairly. How embarrassing can the Ugandan journalists in this organisation be? I have never been part of this association and most Journalist friends and I mean respectable journalists have never been involved in it. I don't understand who is behind this association and what the heck they need all that money for.

This is the problem of media in Africa that they become mouth pieces of government and NGO and anybody who can pay their poor -both ethically and financially-reporter. So what do they call that money from the president- a gift or bribe? If you happen to be a journalist that picks this money on 'our' behalf I wonder if you will ever have the audacity to put a tough question to the president when need arises. I now believe more than ever that the biggest threat to media freedom is not the state but the media itself on many occassions in this country."

- Very encouraging words from miss Kagumire this. With this sort of sentiment, I can see Ugandan media face a brighter and more independent future.

Freedom of the Press 2009

2009-05-06T04:08:00.000-07:00

Global press freedom declined for a seventh straight year in 2008, with journalists subject to an increase in violence and punitive laws, according to Freedom House.

The US-based non-profit organisation, describing itself as “clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world”, published its findings in the report Freedom of the Press 2009 in time for the World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd - by doing so “identifying the greatest threats to independent media in 195 countries and territories”.

Unsurprisingly, as with the findings of other indexes on press freedom, the report points to “particularly worrisome trends in East Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa”.

Having said that, the report points towards a decline in press freedom worldwide and not only in the developing world, citing the financial crisis as the locomotive:

"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," said Jennifer Windsor, Freedom House executive director in a press release.

She continued: "The press is democracy's first defense and its vulnerability has enormous implications for democracy if journalists are not able to carry out their traditional watchdog role."

Freedom House also recently published a report on Freedom of the internet - a global assessment of internet and digital media - which further points towards this trend. The full report can be read in PDF-format here.

Guardian International Development Competition

2009-05-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

- What part should international development organisations play in strengthening developing-country media outlets to hold power-holders to account?

The question is raised by The Guardian as they invite citizen journalists to write articles about the issue through the Guardian International Development Competition.

The competition is in partnership with a host of NGOs: Marie Stopes International, British Red Cross, African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), Farm Africa, Find Your Feet, International Childcare Trust, One World Action and Panos London.

The competition aims to explore a range of questions and dilemmas:

Media liberalisation has meant less state control and more media outlets, but these have been concentrated in cities, resulting in that the quality and diversity of what has been published or broadcast has not been improved. Rural reporting is still neglected.

The Guardian states: "A 'free' media is seen an essential component of accountability by exposing corruption and providing a space for issues to be debated and agendas developed. In some developing countries it may be the only vehicle that can take this role".

Further: "Along with liberalisation and cheaper technology, any individual or group can produce its own media output, as a website, blog or through citizen journalism".

Apart from the obvious advantages that comes with technology and liberalistation, you also come across some problems. Local radio stations in Kenya in early 2008 were both blamed for inciting violence and praised for calming tensions. Given the illiteracy rate, it would seem radio remains by far the most important medium in Africa.

Summing up:

- Can citizen journalism strengthen information flow about development between and within countries? Does it matter that the content has not been filtered by professional journalistic standards? Does it matter that it often makes no claims to being objective or authoritative?

Whistleblowers called for in Zimbabwe

2009-04-23T16:19:00.002-07:00

- There is a lot of bad news coming out of Zimbabwe, and the state of the media in the country is widely criticised. But here is an interesting one:

A Zimbabwean newspaper have asked the public to submit incriminating documents that could unravel "wrongdoing to the economic well-being in Zimbabwe."

The Zimbabwe Times states: "We have created the forum as a facility for responsible and patriotic citizens to place such information in the public domain in the national interest. This forum is an avenue for civic engagement by Zimbabwean citizens in the rehabilitation of our battered nation’s economy through public accountability and transparency."

The statement goes on: "We hope to keep our elected officials accountable to us, the electorate they serve. Through the X-Files (the forum) we hope to create and maintain transparency, where there may be deliberate attempts to cover up the truth for illicit personal gain."

The newspaper insist that they consider qheque-book journalism (to pay sources for information) as a form of corruption, and state they won`t pay whistleblowers for any information: "Contributions shall be entirely voluntary and no payment shall be disbursed either for documents or for any tips for investigation into corruption." The uploaded files can be seen here.

- Zimbabwe obviously need more transparency in media and political processes, but I`m still not sure what to make of this.

Business-reporting training in Africa

2009-04-20T07:22:00.001-07:00

An African body out to strenghten the investment climate on the continent have set up a journalism training programme in order to improve business, investment and financial journalism standards across Africa, according to Daily Monitor.

The scheme is a product of The Investment Climate Facility (ICF), a body focusing on removing business constraints across the continent. The reporting training programme is in partnership with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

A group of 20 successful applicants will be invited to join the programme and undertake training in either London, Paris or Lisbon.

"This is an important project as it will not only increase domestic and foreign confidence in regional reporting but will also increase awareness of the importance of the investment climates for the future of Africa. We truly believe that financial and business reporting should be 'by Africa for Africa'," said Mr Omari Issa, Chief Executive Officer of ICF, according to Bizcommunity.com

China: a threat to African development?

2009-04-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

Above: Mr. Chen Yuan (right), chairman of the board of the Chinese Development Bank and Mr. Matthews Prosa (left), South African governmental official, attending the opening ceremony of the first representative office of the China-Africa Development Fund in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 16, 2009 (photo: China View)

As trade between China and African countries have risen from US$ ten billion in 2000 to US$ 107 billion in 2008 and Africa supplies China with one-third of its oil imports, voices have been raised claiming China is a threat to African development.

This claim was challenged during a seminar on "Governance for African development" in Dekar, Senegal, earlier this month. The seminar was organised by the Research Centre on Social Policies (CREPOS) of the University of Dakar and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of London University, in partnership with the Mo Ibrahim foundation.

"There is a manipulation effect through the media which describes China's presence in Africa as a threat to good economical governance. It is wrong to present China as a threat," said Mr. Carlos Oya, lecturer in economic development policies at SOAS, according to afriquejet.com.

"China is not a big donor agency. It gives about US$ 500 million to developing countries, as against US$ 30 billion for the countries of the Economic Cooperation and Development Organization (OECD)," he added.

Other speakers at the seminar said that the link between governance and development is an issue all Africans should concern themselves with:

"We organised this seminar to discuss 16 themes on good governance and development," said Senegalese scholar Alfred Ndiaye, referring to the question of mobilisation of financial resources in African countries, local governance, modernisation and corruption.

More robust press freedom in Zambia?

2009-04-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Above: Journalists in Zambia reading a newspaper (Photo: BBC)

A new draft constitution in Zambia prohibits legislation undermining media freedom and administrative behavour threatening media development, according to IPS

The National Constitutional Conference (NCC), consisting of some five hundred representatives "from all sectors of the Zambian population", is set to have a plenary discussion on its proposals in May. A referendum on a the final draft is expected to be held by December.

"Separate provision is made that categorically safeguards the freedom of the media while clauses in the current constitution on freedom of expression are also retained", said Mr. Amos Chanda, Vice President of The Press Association of Zambia.

Other constitutional changes being considered includes a new electoral system, an independent electoral council and greater control by parliament over the government, according to journalism.co.za.

"The NCC is to date the greatest window of opportunity for the country to begin repealing, amending and enacting progressive legislation in tune with credentials of a rather robust democracy that Zambia has become in the last 18 years of plural politics," Mr. Chanda said.

Mr. Webster Malido, chairman of the national Press Freedom Committee, said that if this legislature goes through, Zambians will be able to get all the information they are currently denied, according to allAfrica.net

"Journalists are currently working under difficult conditions as they do not have access to important information", Mr. Malido said.

Participatory development in Ghana?

2009-04-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

(Photo: Pernille Bærendtsen / Louder Than Swahili)

The President of the Ghana Journalist Association (GJA) have spoken of the need of a more participatory model as to development and journalism in the country.

Mr. Ransford Tetteh, also the editor of the national daily newspaper Daily Graphic, spoke at a two-day workshop in Accra on post election conflicts in Africa, according to the national news site myjoyonline.com.

"Development is about people, so the people must be free to discuss and decide what kind of development they want. The new approach to development is information distribution, -sharing and -participation, media can only promote development if it offers the platform for two-way communication", Mr. Tetteh is quoted.

This is a different voice to the one expressed by state officials, blogged about in my last post on Ghana, a voice and policy which points towards more of a pure, old-fashioned modernisation approach to development and journalism.

Not that the idea of modernisation is gone alltogether in Mr. Tetteh`s arguement: "Every development activity is information-based or information related. People must be exposed to new ideas and new concepts and the opportunities provided for adopting the necessary measures towards development or modernisation", he said.

On democracy, Mr. Tetteh said: "the media keeps democracies viable by giving a voice to the voiceless, ensuring that a ruling majority can not trample on the rights of a minority, promoting press freedom is really about promoting human freedom".

There is a lot to be read about participatory development theory - an idea that points towards greater participation from the "subjects" of development - as opposed to the "imitation" seen in modernisation theory. Jan Servaes write about it in his book Communication for Development: One World, Multiple Cultures, where he scrutinises the different perspectives towards development theory in a historical context.

Media freedom in Zimbabwe?

2009-04-11T14:36:00.000-07:00

Above: Alleged footage from a Zimabwean prison. (AP / Youtube)

A recent documentary by the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa, The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), reveals harrowing conditions in what it claims is a Zimbabwean prison.

The SABC claims the footage was shot over four months by prisoners with cameras smuggled into a prison at Beitbridge, close to the South African border.

Unsurprinsingly, Zimbabwe’s Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa has dismissed the documentary as fabricated: “What was shown by the SABC3 is not true. The SABC is lying. We do not allow cameras into our prisons. We have made investigations and found out that the footage is not from Zimbabwe but other countries,” he told www.radiovop.com.

Roy Bennett, the deputy agriculture minister-designate from the MDC, the opposition party in Zimbabwe, who spent a month in prison on sabotage charges before being released last month, called his experience harrowing:

"Those pictures (shown by SABC) are real, if not rather conservative pictures. The conditions in the prison I was in in Mutare were far worse images than that," he told Al Jazeera.

Having seen the documentary, a student based in South Africa posted a blog post on Newzimbabwe.com, raising questions around the ethics and law concerning the documentary, calling the actions of the broadcaster neo-imperialistic:

“Is it the prerogative of a television station, its editor, his reporters, and the directors to decide what is and what should or shouldn’t be the national agenda in a country of millions of citizens, all with different professions, some even more challenging than journalism which can be practiced by anyone even with just a three or six month diploma or certificate training?

Not in South Africa, not in England, not in Australia and certainly not in America will they tolerate anyone sneaking a camera into their jails without clearance from the correctional services department. Wouldn’t we all be rich if we could bug cabinet meetings; commit other national security breaches and sell the tapes, all in the name of freedom of information?

This is clearly an act of neo-imperialism through the media which has been used corruptly by the West to contain Third World sovereignty by disrespecting state institutions through criminal acts. In the interest of justice, and the rule of law, SABC, which generally is a good television station, should offer the world and the Zimbabwe government an explanation and a legal one for that matter, why it broke the law in a foreign country in the process of news gathering.”

I can`t say I agree with this "clearly being an act of neo-imperialism used by the West to contain Third World sovereignty". The blogger does however raise an important question, that of imperialism in media, but in this case I would happily leave all such notions aside. As long as the documentary is genuine, I`m not too bothered about any underlying motives.

It would seem that in the interest of justice, and indeed the inmates in these prisons, some of which is probably sat there in the interest of the idea of the same democracy the blogger above so defiantly is defending, SABC have done the world and Zimbabweans a service by revealing the state of Zimbabwean prisons. And you can`t unveil a wrongdoing by asking the wrongdoer for permission, can you?

As to the criticism raised by the student blogger, there is a lot to be read about what he seems to be pointing at, the imperialism paradigm in development theory. Colin Sparks writes about it in Globalization, Development and the Mass Media, where he scrutinises the different paradigms of development theory.

Srinivas Melkote and Leslie Steeves also write about it in Communication for Development in the Third World: Theory and Practice for Empowerment, abother text on the different paradigms of development theory.

Participatory journalism in Katine

2009-04-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

Above: Alan Rusbridger, editor of the Guardian, explains his motivation behind the Katine project. (Youtube)

A lot have been said and written about the Guardian Media group`s Katine project.

The £2.5 million project is aimed at supporting development work in Katine, a rural sub-county of north-east Uganda. The work is carried out by the African Medical and Research Foundation (Amref) and Farm-Africa, and is funded by donations from Guardian and Observer readers as well as Barclays bank.

In an exciting new development of the three-year project, Guardian have given training to villagers in shooting video. By doing so, the villagers are able to report on their lives and challenges themselves.

According to Journalism.co.uk, Richard Kavuma, a Ugandan journalist working for the Guardian on the project and who was named CNN Multichoice African journalist of the year in 2007, stated:

“My own understanding of the media from the elementary classroom is that we are supposed to be the voice of the people. Especially those who do not have the voice to be heard. I see it (Katine) as an extension of what I was meant to be doing as the media.

“This project is bringing the voice of Katine to a wider interational audience - what they perceive as their problems and how they think the project is helping or not helping them.”

A similar participatory journalism project runs in Sierra Leone, through Network Movement for Justice and Development in eastern Sierra Leone. When launched some ten months ago, a spokesman said:

“Participatory video is a very good tool for marginalized people because it shortens the distance between grassroots-people, the voiceless and policy makers. It gives grassroots people the opportunity to tell their stories, which to me is very good, because when the policy makers hear directly the voice of the suffering, they will actually feel the pinch more than if somebody else comes and report on the matter. The camera doesn`t care whether somebody can read or write. All the PV (Participatory Video) cares about is whether the individual actually tells their story or not.”

Above: Slideshow portraying the Participatory video-project in eastern Sierra Leone (Youtube)

For more reading on Partipicatory development theory, I would recommend to read Colin Sparks` book on the issue: Globalization, Development and the Mass Media.

The book explores ways in which the media can be used to effect change and development. It traces the evolution of thinking from attempts to spread 'modernity' by way of using the media through to alternative perspectives based on encouraging participation in development communication.

Modernisation theory alive and well in Ghana

2009-04-07T16:23:00.000-07:00

Photo: Brian Donkersley / travelblog.org

Journalists in eastern Ghana have been told to educate the rural population by the regional minister, according to this blog post from allAfrica.com.

The blogger cites the regional minister on that it is the "desire of the government to develop the rural areas, where the bulk of the country's wealth is produced . . . and that this effort "would be meaningless if personnel of the fourth estate of the realm (journalists) did not give much emphasis to rural reporting".

He continues:

"They (the journalists) should educate them (the people) on the importance of formal education, particularly that of the girl-child. The rural folks also need to know more about family planning and the need to abolish those outmoded socio-cultural practices that are inimical to their development". The quote is accredited to Mr. Mark Owen Woyongo, Upper East Regional Minister of Ghana, during an interactive meeting with journalists, radio programmers and TV-presenters "recently".

Abolish outmoded socio-cultural practices inimical to their development? I wish the author of the blogpost (or the regional minister) would be more specific in which "outmoded" socio-cultural practices he is referring to. Are we talking about hygiene or religion?

The blog post continues:

"He (Mr. Woyongo) urged practicing journalists in the region to give more emphasis on rural reporting, by using their pens to persuasively effect changes in the people's attitudes and habits. Mr. Woyongo, a journalist himself, said until the media informed and educated the people on these problems, diseases and squalour would continue to prevail in their lives. He asked journalists to consider themselves, not only as partners, but catalysts in the development agenda of the region".

- Pretty much the blueprint of modernisation theory, this. Just to explain the thoery a little bit:

According to Jan Servaes and his book Communication for development: One world, multiple cultures, the modernisation paradigm, the dominant development theory from around 1945 to 1965, aimed to transfer technology and socio-political culture of developed societies to "traditional" or "underdeveloped societies in order to facilitate transformation through mass media. It is deeply rooted in Western economic history, the central element being the metaphor of growth and the identification of growth as the central idea of development.

It was formulated under a different social, cultural, economic and political situaton to today, it was absoluted and intended to be transferred to the rest of the world. It aims to "bridge the gaps" by means of imitation between what is seen as traditional and modern, retarded and advanced cultures.

Daniel Lerner, another prominent modernisation theorist, identified two types of "mental structures" in his book The passing of traditional society: Modernizing the middle east.

One, the traditional and essentialy illiterate, was fixed and oriented towards stability and the past. It was embedded in a set of skills and pattern of emotions, which excluded the ability to imagine oneself as being in a different position from where one was now.

Lerner would say that the "modern person" would be capable of empathy, while "the traditonal person" outlined above would be fixed on status quo - and the past. Such societies were unable to develop because the population lacked not only technical skills, but also the future-oriented perspective that could lead them to work, save and plan for a better life.

Instead, they were satisfied to continue in the ways of their fathers and grandfathers. Like their forefathers, the inhabitants of such societies were content with various forms of dictatorial and traditional government. Contrasting this was the modern personality, which was literate, fluid, and open to change. It was mobile, in that it desired change, betterment and self-advancement.

During the Cold War, USA and USSR tried to expand their own interests to developing countries by means of development, The Marshall Plan and the Warsaw Pact being examples. The US was aiming for a replica of its own political-economic system, by doing so opening the way for transnational corporations.

Many developing countries saw the welfare state of the North Atlantic as the ultimate goal of development. They encouraged influence and support from IMF and other international bodies. They were interested in technology transfer, establishment of a centralised state with development bureaucracies for agriculture, education and health.

- Like Ghana does now.

Citizen Journalism in Gaza

2009-01-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Above: Dr. Mads Gilbert describes the situation in Gaza on the phone to CBS News.

Yesterday, I received a forwarded text message depicting the situation in Gaza. It was written by Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian anaesthetic doctor who entered Gaza through Egypt along with fellow Norwegian collague Dr. Eirik Fosse seven days ago. They now find themselves battling a surge of civilian casualties. Translated to English, the text message reads:

"They bombed the central fruit and vegetables marked in Gaza town two hours ago. 80 wounded and 20 killed. All of them came here, to Shifa. Hades! We are up to our knees with death, blood and amputants. Lots of children. Pregnant women. I have never experienced anything this terrible. And now we hear tanks. Tell people, pass it on, shout it from the rooftops. Everything. WE MUST DO MORE! We are living in the history books now, everyone! Mads G, 1.3.09, 13:50, Gaza, Palestine".

As Gaza remains closed to the media, citizen journalists like Dr. Gilbert and Dr. Fosse are the only sources of information from the area. They`ve been interviewed by a host of international media organisations. I`m thinking Israel will later regret excluding the media from Gaza.

PS: The Israeli Information Center For Human Rights In The Occupied Territories, B`Tselem, issued this press release on December 25th, stating:

"Palestinian rocket fire at Israeli civilians constitutes a war crime and those responsible for it must be prosecuted. Israel is obligated to defend its civilians, but it must do so in compliance with international humanitarian law."

- Since then it`s been quiet.

Israeli army video blogs censored by YouTube

2008-12-31T04:46:00.000-08:00

As the horror in Gaza is into it`s fourth day and Israel seem to be ready for an invasion, the war is also fought on the internet. YouTube temporary removed a number of videos of the attacks on Gaza posted at the Israeli Defense Force`s official YouTube channel, possibly due to thousands of "inapropriate comments". Some of the videos were later put back with the comment section disabled.

The video above, shot by Israeli army personel, depict bombings of what the publisher claim to be "rocket launching sites" in Gaza. The comment field is also a war zone.

This blogger comments:

"It`s a propaganda campaign, pure and simple. Even though you can see far worse in the chillingly note-perfect AC-130 stage in fucking Call of Duty 4, there are people dying in those buildings, and no, not of of them are terrorists. No war in history has been fought without the warring parties attempting to control the story with info dissemination. But using a forum like YouTube, a public community where smartbombs destroying buildings in a populated city are adjacent to sleeping kittens and 12 year olds` rants on why homework sucks, and where said 12 year olds (literally, and those of 12-year-old intellect) can fill the comment sections with racist hate-spew, is this where we draw the line?"

I think YouTube are wrong to remove this content and censor the comment fields. The firestorm of hate fueled comments are at the very least some sort of dialogue. YouTube have no ethical right to censor this debate. As to the videos, the world is watching anyhow. (The Wikipedia page of the Gaza Strip Airstrikes is flagged with disputed neutrality, as could be expected.)

On a personal note: I`m writing this from Stavanger, the Norwegian oil hub on the west coast, enjoying Christmas break from University and preparing for New Year`s Eve celebrations with friends. I am very fortunate to be located where I am. My thoughts go out to those less fortunate with their location, the civilians in Gaza in particular.

Representative Journalism pilot project in US

2008-12-25T23:51:00.000-08:00

Representative Journalism, another experiment in community funded journalism, is being tested in the US.

As with other community supported media business models, this project allows communities, individuals and groups to assign journalists to deliver Web-based local and topical news. The project, called Locally Grown, is geared around an online community in Northfield, Minnesota.

As explained in the documentary above, the pilot project is trying to find out whether there is a financial market for the idea in the community, how a journalist would have to behave to get that support from individuals or advertisers, etc etc.

The journalist assigned to the project says she is trying to bring professional standards and ethics into the blogosphere. "She (the journalist) doesn`t work for us, we`re just the place where she publishes her stuff, the place where she hangs her professional hat," a CO-Host/Blogger from Locally Grown says in the documentary.

The idea comes from Mr. Leonard Witt of Kennesaw State University, a former journalist concerned about the struggling print media: “We are living in an era when old journalism models are failing, newspapers are faltering and experienced journalists are losing their jobs,” Mr. Witt said in a press release from PJnet.

I`ve blogged about community funded journalism before. People are increasingly interested in local news on expense of foreign news. There certainly is a market for very local news stories. Community funded journalism is a very exciting idea, but my problem is still with the funding. (The project in Minnesota is funded through a grant awarded to Kennesaw University and not by the community.)

I don`t like the idea that people could pay for having produced the news they want. Especially in small communities in the blindspots of the public eye. Who`s going to write the important stories nobody want to pay for? Who`s going to write the stories nobody has thought of yet? Who`s going to write the stories the community don`t want to be written?

I`m not protesting about communities paying for the production of cosy feature articles, but news stories. Media can`t function as a watchdog if it`s paid for by the local community.

EU voices concern over Politovskaya-trial

2008-12-25T09:48:00.000-08:00

The European Parliament issued this press release just before Christmas, by doing so voicing it`s loudest critique on the court proceedings to date. As I`ve blogged about earlier, there`s been several issues concerning public access to the trial.

The statement reads:

"Two years after the brutal killing of the Russian independent journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who has become a symbol for freedom of the press, serious concerns have been raised with regard to transparency and respect for the rule of law in the criminal investigation and trial following the murder. Parliament calls on the court to fully respect the jury's decision, open the proceedings to all journalists and media, and "establish not only who committed and assisted in the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, but also who ordered it".

It`s encouraging to see the EU follow media watchdogs like Reporters Without Borders in taking such a strong stand on the issue, but I still don`t think their opinion will be heard in Kremlin.

Every Human Has Rights Media Awards

2008-12-19T05:38:00.000-08:00

Citizen journalists were among the winners as the media watchdog and -entrepreneur Internews Europe hosted "Every Human Has Rights Awards" earlier this week.

The Paris-based NGO had invited mainstream and citizen journalists to submit world and current affairs reports and stories illustrating one or several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 482 contributors from 108 countries took part, according to the award`s website.

It shouldn`t surprise anybody to see citizen journalists take the stage among mainstream journalists at events like this. The quality and scope of the contributions is impressive. The full list over contributions by citizen journalists awarded is here:

The Tribune Company bankrupt

2008-12-14T15:23:00.000-08:00

One of America's largest media companies has sought protection from its creditors in bankruptcy court. The Tribune Company sought protection last week under Chapter Eleven under US bankruptcy laws. (Chapter Eleven lets a business continue to operate while it seeks to restructure its debt.)

The Tribune Company owns the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and other newspapers. It also owns twenty-three television stations.

According to this story from voa.com, The Tribune Company is the first major newspaper group in US to declare bankruptcy since the rise of Internet in the mid-90s. The article goes far in suggesting that Internet is the cause of the media groups (and all other media groups) problems.

According to this article from The Guardian, penned by Peter Preston, internet can`t be blamed for the problems, it`s down to debts brought on by poor ownership:

"The central problem isn't the internet (a dampener on profits and spreader of uncertainty, at worst; not the end of everything). The problem is newspaper ownership flawed by misplaced ambition and short-sighted management."

I think the truth lies somewhere in between the Internet and greedy ownership. One thing is certain, The Tribune Company isn`t he last newspaper-geared media group to get themselves into trouble over the next few years.

Bloggers in Vietnam

2008-12-14T14:56:00.000-08:00

With fast, free Internet available at internet cafes and Universities across Vietnam, bloggers are increasingly challenging censorship and the ruling Communist Party, according to this article from San Francisco Chronicle. A student is quoted:

"We won`t go to the streets, we won`t shout anything. We`re sitting before the screen, typing and blogging."

The article goes on to say that a Vietnamese state-regulated news site has been hacked by bloggers, typing in pro-democracy and nationalist slogans. The story is penned by Geoffrey Cain, Chronicle Foreign Service. I wonder if he`s situated in Vietnam. As most media enterprises are cutting back on their foreign reporting, it`s encouraging to read well researched stories from Asia that aren`t written in news rooms in Europe or the US.

Community-funded journalism project in Australia

2008-12-07T07:06:00.000-08:00

I`ve blogged a bit about community-funded journalism before. It`s one of the new media funding models emerging as mainstream media continue to cut back on their staff and the global financial crisis is rocking media in general.

At the MEAA-summit (Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance) in Australia last week, journalist and author Margaret Simmons announced plans for a loose consortium of journalists, publishers and universities to set up "the first substantial experiment in community-funded journalism in Australia, the foundation for Public Interest Journalism."

"The idea is to develop a more interactive relationship between potential audiences and journalists so that audiences can directly commission the journalism they want," says Simons.

I`m still not sure about this model. The idea of having people pay a journalist to write a story just sounds wrong. I`m not sure about the whole public interest-argument, either. There is a difference between public interest and what`s of interest to the public.

The report following the MEAA-summit, "Life In a Clickstream: The Future of Journalism", can be read here

Mumbai coverage scrutinised

2008-12-06T17:16:00.000-08:00

As could be expected, mainstream media is now considering how the Mumbai attacks were reported with regards to citizen journalists breaking the story and supplying the baseline of the reporting.

The Independent argues "Twittering is not how to supply news", saying that BBC was playing Russian roulette with it`s editorial integrity by including a live update from Twitter on it`s website during the attacks.

As I`ve blogged about earlier, for all the good citizen journalism coming out of Mumbai it wasn`t all good. A lot of it was gibberish, repetitive or unhelpful. Some were in the know, others just wanted to be heard.

To me, the biggest ethical dilemma seems to be that mainstream media can`t possibly check all the facts if they include a live update from citizen journalists.

BBC News website editor Steve Herrmann admitted that BBC "will need to take more care in how it uses lightening fast, unsubstantiated citizen posts in the future."

Is there a need for an international ethical standard when mainstream media is dealing with citizen journalism?

Politovskaya-trial again closed to public

2008-12-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

The trial was initially closed to the public, then it was opened - and then it closed again, following what clearly must have been Government sensitive testemonies. It`s turning into a farce, really.

(Anna Politovskaya was a Russian investigative journalist and Kremlin critic, murdered in 2006)

The trial judge yesterday closed the trial to the public to hear "classified evidence", as the court heared a testemony from a witness linked to Government agencies, AP reports. The trial was again opened to the public following this testimony.

Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Politovskaya`s lawyer saying the witness testified that one of the accused, a former police officer, had told him that he gathered information about Politovskaya. The same witness allegedly also said $2 million was "paid out" for the murder.

Well, I don`t know. Who can tell? A lot of information has come out in earlier proceedings, and a defense lawyer earlier said that court documents indicated that a unnamed Russian politician was behind the murder.

Men are standing trial and someone is probably eventualy going to get sentenced. Possibly even the men who carried out the murder. But I can`t see the ones who ordered the murder being caught. When the trial keep getting closed to the public whenever crucial evidence is being heard it`s hard to not see the proceedings as a well coreographed show.

Reporters Without Borders issued a statement, saying:

"Judge Yevgeni Zubov`s decision to continue the trial behind closed doors has increased our concerns about transparancy. It prevents journalists and public from being able to evaluate the arguements, testimony and evidence presented in court."

Al Jazeera launches web portal for Citizen Journalism

2008-12-06T15:41:00.000-08:00

The Beirut-based website Menassat.com reports that Al Jazeera have launched a web portal "in a attempt to increase citizen journalism in the middle east". The portal is currently available in Arabic, but an english version is on its way.

Mumbai and citizen journalism

2008-11-29T09:34:00.000-08:00

As the somewhat dramatic account (above) tells you, it was citizen journalists and not mainstream media that broke the story and published the first images and comments from the terror unfolding in Mumbai this weekend.

This story from TechCrunch provides good insight to the first few hours of the reporting of the attacks. Bloggers and social media sites like Flickr and Twitter broke the story and provided the foundation for mainstream media coverage. Several local Indian news channels were reported to have carried a live feed to Twitter updates on the attacks. (Twitter is a micro-blogging service where people can send short messages of up to 140 characters to friends using text messages or over the internet.)

This comment from The Daily Telegraph, written by Demotix, a citizen journalism press agency, is arguing the Mumbai attacks were another defining moment for citizen journalism. Now, Demotix would hope this to be the case as this is the business they`re in, but I still think it is a good argument. There certainly was a lot of citizen journalism going on in Mumbai. But for all the good citizen journalism it wasn`t all good, as this Telegraph-reader commented:

"Browsing Twitter in the hours after the attack, it was striking how little reliable, eye-witness information was about. Most of the Tweets were taken from mainstream media reports, and many of the rest were gibberish, repetitive or unhelpful. There were a handful of Mumbai-based Twitterers posting good stuff but they were drowned out by the chatter. It's a problem that I've experienced with the site before - the difficulty of separating those who are really in the know from those who just want their say."

Another interesting by-story is The Times reporting that Indian police asked Twitter-users to stop updating the site for security reasons as it was assumed the terrorists gained strategic information through the updates.

Politovskaya-trial reopened to the public

2008-11-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

The Russian mainstream TV station RT published this story (above) today, as the Anna Politovskaya-trial is reopened to the public following the controversial and internationally criticised decision to close it to the public last Wednesday, as Reporters Without Borders and a united western media expressed disapproval.

- So is this a victory for press freedom in Russia, then?

The Guardian published this feature yesterday, the headline runs "To be a journalist in Russia is suicide", following the attack on Moscow-based journalist and editor Mikhail Beketov earlier this month. According to the story, Beketov was attacked in his garden with clubs, breaking his fingers and skull before leaving him for dead, laying unconscious for two days before a neighbour called the police.

"The police appeared unbothered by the assault and - assuming he was dead - flung a blanket over Beketov`s face. At this time the journalist`s arm twitched."

The Guardian published another comment a few days ago, pointing out that western media (as well as Putin and his allies) are pushing an impression of Putin as an all-mighty dictator that controls every aspect of the country, while the reality is that the very special democracy he undoubtedly is in charge of does not allow any single person to have such power.

Demotix: Correction

2008-11-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

The Citizen Journalism news agency Demotix contacted me yesterday to flag some mistakes in the NewMediaAge-article I linked to in my post about them. I`ve corrected my references from the article in my post, but anyway:

- Demotix` clients does not include BBC and The Financial Times, but Newsweek, The Daily Telegraph, La Republicca, Le Monde and al-Nahar (Lebanon). They are also supported by Non-Governmental organisations such as United Nations, Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International.

Demotix say they expect more clients when they relaunch their web 2.0-site. Yes, there certainly seems to be a lot of money in this model.

Citizen Journalism news agency opens for advertisement

2008-11-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

The citizen journalism news agency Demotix is to open up it`s site to advertisers in a bid to create additional revenue streams, NewMediaAge reports. There seems to be a lot of money in this. Demotix works like any other news agency, but their sources are citizen journalists from (according to NewMediaAge) 83 countries, including countries with limited press freedom.

You basically upload your copy, video or photo to them, they sell it for you and give you 50% of the sale. Their clients include Le Monde, Newsweek and The Daily Telegraph.

This looks like a model that isn`t going to go away. Does this benefit journalism? Most news enterprises are cutting back on their foreign reporting, if mainstream media is going for sites like Demotix for foreign news, (and there is money in producing these stories and photographs) how can it really be trusted?

Developments in the Politovskaya-trial

2008-11-23T13:03:00.000-08:00

Following the events on Thursday, international media is reporting on the recent controversy surrounding the Anna Politovskaya-trial. The BBC is blunt in its reporting, quote:

"Politovskaya`s supporters believe state security agents were involved in her murder - and for that reason, they say, there will never be a fair and open trial"

The Moscow Times reports that an internal probe have been opened to look into the decisions of the trial judge who closed the trial to the public. This might take a while.

What`s happening to the Politovskaya-trial?

2008-11-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

It`s hard to keep up with events in the Anna Politovskaya-trial. (Politovskaya was a Russian investigative journalist and Kremlin critic, murdered in 2006.)

On Monday it was reported by Russian mainstream media (above) that the much delayed trial was to be heard in open court. This decision was changed yesterday, as Reporters Without Borders released this angry press release.

Earlier today, AP and a number of other media were reporting that the trial has been adjourned for ten days following fears of transparency and lack of fairness. In his justification, the trial judge said the jurors had asked him to close the trial to the public out of fear of repercussions. He also claimed the defence lawyers "were busy with other work", which they are denying is true.

As one might expect, this decision infuriated Politovskaya`s family and sparked allegations of a cover-up. AP published another story later today, stating the jurors never said they wanted the trial to be closed to the press. Nineteen out of twenty jurors signed a statement today asking the trial judge to reverse the decision, a juror told Echo of Moscow Radio station, according to AP. The juror is quoted:

"We asked only for the removal of television cameras, while we had no objection to the written media attending".

This statement is again being contradicted by this news story from the Russian News and Information Agency Novosti, published earlier today.

Who knows what will happen next, but I don`t think Putin/Kadyrov will stand to benefit from the trial being held behind closed doors.

Community-funded journalism?

2008-11-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

As newspapers are laying off journalists to cope with new media realities and the global financial crisis, new ideas for media funding is emerging.

David Cohn, an American Web Journalist, have launched Spot.Us. The site is a hub where freelance journalists can pitch story ideas and readers can pitch in money to pay the journalists to report and write the story. Cohn calls the model "community-funded journalism. (Source: TechCrunch) This link tells you all you need to know about how Spot.Us is organised as to funding, editorial work, media law, etc.

Some interesting comments on the concept left by readers:

"Sounds good for an experiment, but doesn’t seem it will take off anytime soon. I still prefer my CNN news", "This is a great idea and I look forward to supporting it. Citizen Journalism is key to democracy" and "I don`t know whether this will work. It will probably sway either right or left wing, but hopefully there`ll be editors vetting it."

I don`t think this is the way forward, but I`ve got a feeling I might have to get used to this model.

Citizen Journalism in Congo

2008-11-15T16:40:00.000-08:00

Human rights activists and journalists in The Democratic (...) Republic of Congo have set up an interactive online portal to chart the violence in the country. Citizen journalists in the war zone can report on the violence through it, but it`s also intended to be a map site to situate the conflict zone for global viewers. Having been active for a week or so it contains a frightening amount of information provided by, well, anybody.

Media interest in High North

2008-11-15T14:49:00.001-08:00

Barentsobserver.com, a multi-linguistic news site producing and publishing news stories concerned with the High North, have published this editorial pointing towards geopolitical interest in the High North as the motivation behind Russia offering Iceland a substantial loan in order to battle to financial crisis.

It should be noted that Barentsobserver.com is managed by the Norwegian Barents Secretariat, a project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Needless to say, Norway has a keen interest in the High North and a big conflict of interest with Russia, this news site contains a bit of a bias. Having said that, it is a very good source of information from the High North.

This article from the news site EUobserver.com offer insight as to where the Norwegian Barents Secretariat is going with Barentsobserver.com.

Russian interest in Iceland: Russian media

2008-11-15T10:27:00.000-08:00

As I`ve blogged about earlier, the Russian government has offered Iceland a substantial cash loan following the Icelandic economic collapse.

The Moscow Times, also blogged about earlier, is owned by the Finnish-Danish Sanoma media group and is a good source of news from Russia. This news story (fifth paragraph) is carefully questioning the motivation of the initiative from Kremlin.

Western media coverage on the initiative (apart from Russian mainstream media) points at increasing Russian domestication of the High North. The Nordic countries and other nations with an interest in the Arctic seem to have come to the same conclusion, as they have lined up to offer Iceland financial help following the Russian initiative. Russian mainstream media report the scepticism as yet another example of western bias.

This news story from BBC highlights the question marks raised on Russian motivation for rescuing the Icelandic economy and offer good background to the story.

Arab Press Freedom Forum

2008-11-08T16:58:00.000-08:00

This sounds interesting: The third Arab Press Freedom Forum is to be held in Beirut, Lebanon, on December 12th and 13th, a press release from the Paris-based World Association of Newspapers, (WAN) stated today. WAN, who organise the forum along with the Lebanese Al-Nahar daily newspaper, is looking to "overview the latest press developments in the Arab world, from obstructive government policies to the changing face of Arab blogging, and from the appeal and influence of Pan-Arab news media to the business of newspaper publishing in the Arab world"

The Arabic Network For Human Rights Information has a lot of useful links for further reading.

Internet: Obama vs. McCain

2008-11-04T09:01:00.001-08:00

Above: Obama interviewed by YouTube, answering questions from users.

Both Obama and McCain have made "change" the core of their campaigns, and something has certainly changed already. If Obama wins, he might have the internet and social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace in part to thank for it.

This article provides good analysis on how Obama have boldly gone where no presidential candidate have gone before.

At the time of me writing this, McCain and Obama are desperately appealing for votes. So are their families.

Michelle Obama is blogging at Blogher, "the community for women who blog", effectively reaching out to, well, American women. Her last post is on Halloween, family life, her daughters and her husband.

"I only wish you had a picture of the girls!", "You are good people, Michelle!", "Beautiful family!" and "I can`t wait to have you as First Lady" are among the comments.

McCain`s daughter Megnan, a recent graduate from Columbia University, is blogging for the sake of her dad along with some friends. The aim of the blog is obviously to explain younger voters what a nice man daddy is.

Having read it, it looks like she and her friends had a lot of fun campaigning with daddy and his "crew". It`s also very clear to me that she loves daddy very, very much.

There is obviously also a substantial number of blogs commenting on the candidates. Some interesting, some rediculous. This is a Christian-Conservative rant on why Obama is the devil. This is a rant on why McCain in the White House would prove disastrous. If you`re interested.

World Press Freedom Index 2008

2008-11-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

- And finally some good news from Iceland.

The annual World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) places Iceland on top of the list, along with Norway and Luxemburg.

Iceland jointly topped the list last year as well as in 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003 and 2002, when RSF started compiling it. Well done Iceland.

Northern European (and especially Scandinavian) countries, where robust press freedom is firmly established, have dominated the top end of the lists since 2002.

Being top of such a list for seven years running is clearly something to be proud of, but as a Guardian reader comments: "(...) journalists in Iceland, despite having the most freedom in the world, somehow missed that their economy was about to implode". It is a very good point.

RSF looks at a number of factors when drawing up the index, including the treatment of journalists, freedom of speech and information as well as media ownership.

According to the document, 81 journalists and 32 media employees were killed last year, 64 of which in Iraq. 139 journalists have been killed in Iraq since 2003, which is twice as many as died during the twenty years of war in Vietnam.

More on the World Press Freedom Index 2008

2008-11-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Some other comments on the document:

The UK comes out 23th due to the situation in Northern Ireland, where journalists continue to be threatened by paramilitary groups. The USA comes out 36th, which is a significant improvement from last year`s place at 48th, but receives criticism for arresting journalists during the Democratic and Republican conventions.

This feature from the US-based The Huffington Post reflects on the poor global standing.

Russia, where the trial of those accused of murdering investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya started two weeks ago, comes out at 141st, below countries like Sudan, Bangladesh and the Philipines. Not very flattering for a nation that continuously tells the world about its democratic values.

Parts of the Politkovskaya-trial takes place behind closed doors, as several of the documents are classified as secret by FSB, the successor agency of KGB.

China comes out seventh from bottom at 167th. The lowest ranking countries, North Korea, Turkmenistan and Eritrea, are referred to as the "unchangeable hells" of media and political oppression.

Business as usual?

2008-10-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

The Icelandic Travel Industry Association issued this press release today, reminding tourists "it`s all business as usual" on Iceland. At this point, cash flow isn`t going to get them out of the mess they`re in.

Following aid from IMF, the Icelandic Prime Minister, Mr. Geir Haarde, have identified 4 billion Euros as missing in order to balance the economy. Russia have offered to lend Iceland this money, which made the Nordic countries act fast to reassure Iceland they could expect help "from their closest friends".

Following the Nordic Council meeting in Helsinki yesterday, the Icelandic government were assured the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and associated territories) are ready to help Iceland battle their financial crisis.

And today, The Faroe Islands, with a population under 50 000 a very marginal power in the High North, have offered a £25 million loan. Very charming, but not really doing the business.

Russia have stepped up their interest in the High North, as the battle for oil, gas and mineral rights in the Arctic is heating up. An estimated ten million metric tons of hydrocarbons are buried under the Arctic seafloor, according to an article in GeoTimes. As global warming keeps opening up the Arctic Ocean, the players involved in this game get more and more eager.

Last year, a Russian expedition rather vulgarly deposited a Russian flag under the seabed at the North Pole, much to the disapproval of other nations with territorial claims in the Arctic.

"Look, this isn`t the 15th century, you can`t just go around the world and plant flags and say we`re claiming this territory", Peter MacKay, Canada`s foreign minister, said on Canadian TV.

Russia offering Iceland this loan can hardly be seen as anything but part of their increasing domestication of the High North. The Nordic countries` sudden solidarity can hardly be seen as anything else, either.

David Randall on Russia

2008-10-28T13:10:00.001-07:00

Mr. David Randall, assistant editor of Independent on Sunday and author of a number of books, among them The Universal Journalist and The Great Reporters, held a guest lecture at University of Sheffield today.

I read The Universal Journalist last week. An interesting, entertaining and inspirational read, and one of the best books I`ve read on "How to be a Journalist".

Obviously, Mr. Randall has a long and impressive CV. I made note of his contribution in establishing English press in Russia in the mid-90s, working as managing editor of Independent Press, who at the time published Moscow Times and later St. Petersburg Times. The group has now merged with the Finnish-Danish Sanoma group. I`ve blogged about this earlier.

Mr. Randall shared some anecdotes on the rich culture and civil manner of Russian folk, which I appreciated, having travelled in Russia and having an interest in the country. When asked about the negative western perception, Mr. Randall said this is "serving the stereotype and conventional view" and further: "Unfortunately, this is what most journalists do in general".

He also pointed at the obvious advantage of not having a drunk (Jeltsin, in case you wondered) as President anymore, as well as the improving economy and decreasing corruption under Putin. Even though Putin had to pass the presidency over to Dmitry Medvedev in May this year due to legislation, Putin still very much controls Kremlin. Fair enough, but I`ll stay sceptic until I`ll stop reading stories about critical Russian journalists disappearing or turning up dead.

David Randall on citizen journalism and reporting

2008-10-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

I have separated my post on Mr. Randall`s guest lecture at University of Sheffield in two, it seems more digestible this way.

Talking about the future of journalism in increasingly digital and immediate times, Mr. Randall asked how many times a citizen journalist (blogger) had reported on matters of national or international significance. The auditorium went silent, possibly due to his somewhat intimidating presence, but to be honest I couldn`t really think of a single occasion.

When writing this, I have come up with some examples. During the 7/7 bombings in London, the first dramatic photographs came from Londoners trapped underground, who recorded the scenes with their mobile phones. Many of these photographs were quickly available to the world, not on television screens or newspapers, but on Bloggers` websites. William Hachten and Scott F. Scotten wrote about this in The World News Prism. The book offer good analysis of significant news events as well as insight on current global media developments and trends.

On the secrets of being a good reporter, Mr. Randall pointed at fanatical curiosity, being a compulsive reader of anything and the ability to apply intelligence to what you`re writing about. Sounds good, doesn`t it? In his own words, though in a different context: "It does take a bit of an ego to survive this crap". He later had a question from the auditorium, "Is The Independent the best newspaper in UK?", at which he answered "Yes", giving a brilliant example to what sort of answer you`ll get when asking a closed question.

Mr. Randall pointed at Metafilter.com as a news site worth reading. I thought it`s worth mentioning.

Russia freeze student loan instalments

2008-10-26T04:41:00.000-07:00

As the credit crunch hits Russia, the Russian government have decided to freeze all student loan instalments. According to this news story in The Moscow Times, well under one percent of Russia`s seven million students receive financial aid. The students found out about the decision when trying to pay their tuition fees. The interviewee, a journalism student, said he was unable to take his exams following the freeze in payments.

I suppose you have to save where you can? Those Russians are hard people.

The Moscow Times is owned by the Finnish-Danish Sanoma group, and is alongside St. Peterburg Times (also owned by Sanoma) a good source of Russian political and economic news.

Lazy journalism

2008-10-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

The student/academic initiated organization Human Rights In China published a statement last week, welcoming the Chinese government`s decision to make permanent temporary media regulations that have provided greater freedom for foreign journalists reporting in China since January 2007. The statement then went on to urge the Chinese government to extend these freedoms to domestic journalists.

Aftenposten, a Norwegian daily broadsheet, ran a news story today on Chinese officials refusing a Norwegian delegation of politicians, civil servants and “experts” to bring journalists into Tibet during the much delayed discussions with China on human rights. There is a lot of public interest in this news story.

The problem is it doesn`t offer any comment from a Chinese official. As it stands, the information in the copy comes solely from the Norwegian foreign minister`s office. I`m sure they had a nice chat.

As much as I disagree with the Chinese government`s attitude towards press freedom and control of information, I can`t help but ask myself: If you don`t apply balance or opposing view to your copy, can you really criticize the Chinese approach?