Asian Media part of Mymediablogs.com Channel

I’ve just read this article from The Economist that talks about how journalism training is booming in the developing countries. What attracts me is the first paragraph of the article that says: “traditional media may be declining in much of the rich world, but in poor countries it is booming. The growth in private media in developing countries has spurred much of the demand, as has new technology.”

It gives me a little picture about what’s going on traditional media. Declining yet blooming!

Topic: Media business

BAD news for every press freedom enthusiasts:

The telecom regularity body of the government yesterday pulled the plugs on the transmission of CSB News, a satellite TV channel of Focus Multimedia Company, for ‘forgery’. A group of officials of the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regularity Commission (BTRC) including three deputy directors and an assistant director accompanied by a number of security personnel entered the CSB office at Uttara and switched off its transmission at 6:34pm, said a news release signed by Mohammad Ali Zakir, company secretary of Focus Multimedia Company Ltd.

Read full coverage here.

Topic: Censorship, Media business, Press freedom

Classic but still. Cambodian reporter’s home set on fire as he wrotes about illegal logging in the country.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), Cambodian Association for the Protection of Journalists (CAPJ), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), and International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) have all called for independent investigations and have condemned the attacks against Phon Phat, reporter for the Khmer language Chbas Ka (”Accurate”) newspaper. Media groups say that on Aug. 9, Phat received an anonymous phone from someone who said he should expect a “gift.” Unknown attackers lit Phat’s house on fire at approximately 4 a.m. the next morning. The blaze was quickly extinguished and Phat and his family escaped unharmed. Arsonists struck again a week later on Aug. 17. According to CPJ, Commune Police Chief Sann Ly told Cambodian media that the attacks were most likely revenge for Phat’s recent reports of illegal logging activities in the Bakan district. District Police Chief Youk Yoen also told reporters that because the assailants used a small amount of gasoline, it is likely they did not intend to kill Phat or his family. Yoen said that authorities will deal with the incidents as “an attack on the free press.”

Read the rest of the story.

Topic: Censorship, Press freedom

The Alliance of Independent Journalists, together with Tifa Foundation was monitoring the content of 10 news dailies from June 12-Aug. 4. Based on the result, they said that the print media has violated the traditional professional standards of impartiality and objectivity in their coverage of the gubernatorial election.

The dailies are Indo Pos, Kompas, Pos Kota, Warta Kota, Media Indonesia, The Jakarta Post, Suara Pembaruan, Koran Tempo, Rakyat Merdeka and Republika.

Ignatius Haryanto, the research coordinator, said that they were focusing on content analysis to measure the impartiality of a publication. And in result, they got some newspapers did not provide fair and balanced reporting and endorsed or outrightly opposed a particular candidate.

Hmm.. Why am I not surpised?

Please click here to read the article from one of the research object, The Jakarta Post.

Topic: Ethics, Media Credibility

T. P. Mishra from The Rising Nepal writes an editorial on the blocking of www.bhutantimes.com (one of the popular sites in Bhutan) by the royal government. They said it brought controversial issues. Previously, www.bhutannews.com was also banned.

THE Royal Government of Bhutan has blocked one of the popular sites - www.bhutantimes.com - since June from viewing within Bhutan, accusing it of carrying ‘controversial’ issues. The government hasn’t yet withdrawn its decision despite the IFJ’s call. This is nothing but the government’s continuous attempt to bring the media under its armpit. Legal aspects Actually, the government had ordered the recently formed Bhutan Information, Communication and Media Authority (BICMA) to block this site inside the country. This site was one of the popular sites for forum discussion where people could register and express their opinion on important national issues. Minister Sangey Nidup, who is the maternal uncle of the present Crown King, was critical of the forum discussions in the recent months. The absolute regime’s decision to block this site is a direct violation of an individual’s right to information.

Reality bites. Please click here to read the full editorial.

Topic: Censorship

From IPS News:

Kurdish human rights and political groups have launched an Internet campaign Internet to save the lives of Adnan Hasanpoor and Abdolvahed (Hiva) Bootimar, two Iranian Kurdish journalists who were sentenced to death on Jul. 16 by a revolutionary tribunal in the Iranian Kurdish city of Marivan. Hasanpoor was found guilty of ‘moharebe’ (taking up arms against the Islamic state) and espionage. The charge of espionage rested on telephone interviews he gave to the foreign media, including the Voice of America, his lawyer was quoted as saying by the Iranian Labour News Agency. Bootimar was also tried on the charge of moharebe, fellow Kurdish journalist Khosrow Kurdpoor told IPS. Kurdpoor, who runs the Mukrian News website, was quoting the lawyer who represented the two journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF - Reporters sans frontières), the international press freedom watchdog, has voiced deep concern over the sentences of the two journalists and appealed to the international community to ask Iran to reverse its decision and refrain from executing the two men “who only exercised their right to inform their fellow citizens”.

Well, the decision to put that two journalist in a death sentence is a rather to much. The Iranian government must undergo more comprehensive and accurate investigation before such a decision. It’s human’s life for God sake!

Topic: Censorship, Ethics

From AsiaMedia:

Photojournalist Javed Khan fell victim to a flying bullet and died before any help arrived. Another cameraman, Israr Ahmed of the CNBC, was hit three times by automatic gunfire. Till our going to the press, doctors were trying hard to save his life. Another senior journalist, Absar Alam of Geo, was injured when he was hit by a stray stone, but his condition was stable.

My deepest condolences.

Topic: Uncategorized

Speaking about bribery: A local journalist has been sentenced to four years rigorous imprisonment for taking bribe in Satkhira. This fellow, Raghu Nath Kha, demanded Tk 5000 as bribe to Eman Ali, a driver of Tala upazila parishad.

He threatened him to publish news against him on alleged corruption of non-compliance if he does not give the money.

Read more »

Topic: Ethics

(Received this news from a mailing list. Thought you might be interested to participate. If you are, then good luck for you!)

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Asia and the Pacific and the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) proudly announce the launch of the Asian Rice Journalist Award. The first Award to acknowledge excellence in writing on rice and rice related issues in Asia.

Read more »

Topic: Uncategorized

I have just read an article written by Arman Ahmad from Penang Watch, that tells about how YouTube became popular in Malaysia (YouTube is the fifth most popular website there, according to alexa.com).

Ahmad said, YouTube first began to gain prominence during the nude squat incident in which a woman was forced to do nude squats while in police custody. When people read about the nude squat video in the newspapers, they wanted to see and evaluate its authenticity for themselves. Many of them found it on YouTube.

Most recently, when a local actress with “Pan Asian looks” was filmed in a passionate kissing scene, many turned to YouTube to find out who she was as the local papers had withheld her identity. One version of the video received 14,000 hits while there were at least half a dozen similar posts with different search tags.

Read more »

Topic: Censorship, Media business