Media links from around the world

BY aram| IN Opinion | 07/10/2006

Reporters press Tony Snow on the Woodward book

At his briefing Friday afternoon, Tony Snow, White House press secretary, faced probing questions from reporters fuelled by numerous tidbits and charges already emerging from Bob Woodward`s new "State of Denial" book.

Snow tried to counter some allegations and put off others. One high point came when a reporter asked about Woodward`s depiction of very strong and ongoing disputes between Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld -- leading to Rumsfeld refusing to take her calls. Snow replied that he had asked Rice about this specifically and she said, "That is ridiculous and I told that to Woodward." Snow repeated that denial a few minutes later.

Snow ignored a question from one reporter who asked why the White House had hailed Woodward`s two previous books on Bush and the war as accurate but now they say the new one has many errors. He denied the White House was in "denial" about the war, saying that it was indeed a "war" and that people focus too much on Baghdad when there is progress elsewhere.

Source: Editor & Publisher 29 September 2006

After leak to press, Bush declassifies part of NIE

After parts were leaked to The New York Times last week, the Bush administration late Tuesday released portions of a classified intelligence estimate. As suggested in the leaks, it says that the Iraq war may be doing more harm than good in halting terrorism.

The global jihadist movement, as the Washington Post summarizes the report, "is growing and being fuelled by the war in Iraq even as it becomes more decentralized, making it harder to identify potential terrorists and prevent future attacks. The war in Iraq has become a `cause celebre` for jihadists, breeding resentment of U.S. involvement in the Muslim world and drawing new adherents to the movement, the assessment says."

At a press conference earlier on Tuesday, Bush said he would reluctantly release part of the lengthy document, while denouncing the leaks. Democrats called on him to declassify the entire report and not cherrypick sections. The document reflects the collective judgment of the nation`s 16 intelligence agencies.

Source: Editor & Publisher 26 September 2006

The media and ground realities

I often come across this complaint in Western media that the Arab and Muslim media fails to renounce and condemn things such as violence, bombing and terror attacks in no uncertain terms. Pundits and wonks in the West also question why the media in Muslim world does not back the campaign or war on terror.

As far as I know, the explanation for this state of affairs is the fact that most Arab and Muslim media are not in private sector. Even privately owned ones are mostly controlled by the powers that be. Under the circumstances, how could you expect the media in the Muslim world to function with the freedom that is the characteristic of Western media?

Another problem with the media is gossip. Often the media hasn`t the faintest clue about a given situation and it resorts to gossip and speculation. They rake their brains if it is something that`s really going to happen? After some time, we realise that all those media reports were based on nothing but idle gossip and rumours.

Source: Khaleejd Times 2 October 2006

Your guide to citizen journalism

The idea behind citizen journalism is that people without professional journalism training can use the tools of modern technology and the global distribution of the Internet to create, augment or fact-check media on their own or in collaboration with others. For example, you might write about a city council meeting on your blog or in an online forum. Or you could fact-check a newspaper article from the mainstream media and point out factual errors or bias on your blog.

Or you might snap a digital photo of a newsworthy event happening in your town and post it online. Or you might videotape a similar event and post it on a site such as YouTube.

All these might be considered acts of journalism, even if they don`t go beyond simple observation at the scene of an important event. Because of the wide dispersion of so many excellent tools for capturing live events - from tiny digital cameras to videophones - the average citizen can now make news and distribute it globally, an act that was once the province of established journalists and media companies.

Source: Media Shift 29 September 2006

Egypt bans European papers for comments on Islam

Egypt has banned editions of two French and German newspapers, Le Figaro and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, because of articles deemed insulting to Islam, the state news agency MENA said on Sunday.

The edition of Le Figaro, dated Sept. 19, contains an opinion piece on Islam and the Prophet Mohammad by French philosopher and high school teacher Robert Redeker. The edition of the German newspaper, dated Sept. 16, contains an article by German historian Egon Flaig looking at how the Prophet Mohammad was a successful military leader. Flaig presents other arguments supporting the view that Islam has had a violent history.

The Egyptian agency said: "The minister of information said that he would not allow any publication that insults the Islamic religion or calls for hatred or contempt of any religion to be distributed inside Egypt." The Egyptian government rarely bans mainstream European newspapers or magazines.

Source: Reuters 24 September 2006 

Media situation worst during the king`s rule: report

The situation of press freedom in Nepal during the period of direct rule of the king was the worst, a recent report said.

According to the `State of media freedom: Nepal Report 2062` published by Kathmandu-based Freedom Forum on Sunday, there were 318 cases of short and long-term detention, 418 cases of manhandling, misbehaviour and beating and 33 cases of threats in between April 14, 2005 to April 24, 2006. Similarly, 29 journalists were interrogated, six abducted and some one dozen journalists were terminated from the job during this period. The report said 33 cases of ban or seizure and 18 cases of attack on journalists or media houses were noted in the period.

Speaking at the programme to release the report, Minister for Information and Communications, Dilendra Prasad Badu, said freedom of the press and right to information have major role to play in strengthening democratic principles and values.
 
Source: Nepal News 25 September 2006

(Compiled by Dr I Arul Aram)