Frontline Club bloggers
Skewz: On the Trail of Somali Pirates with David Axe
From Skewz: We had yet another amazing conversation with David Axe … [T]he Bush Administration unwittingly assisted in the expansion of pirate activity several years ago. The Islamic Courts emerged in Somalia with some popular support to provide security and stability in the war-torn country. Their appeal was similar to the Taliban’s more than a […]
The Business of the Baron
German media got itself into a little bit of muddle over the past week covering the appointment of Karl-Theodor von und zu Guttenberg as Germany’s new Minister of Economics, following the surprise resignation of Michael Glos. The media all seemed to be asking themselves: who is this 37 year old Freiherr (Baron) from Bavaria, and […]
New semester
Today was the first class of the new (spring) semester – the second (semester) for me as I teach Psychology of Trauma for Journalists at Moscow State University. The students are very nice. There were just 5 of them – the class is too early in the morning 🙂 – but the semester just started, […]
George Polk Awards announced
The 60th George Polk Awards were announced yesterday. The awards remember George Polk, the CBS reporter who killed covering the civil war in Greece in 1949. The foreign correspondent awards are as as follows, Two New York Times correspondents will share the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting. Husband-and-wife team Barry Bearak and Celia W. […]
Progress in Darfur Peace Talks
Good news emerging from Doha where members of the Justice and Equality Movement are poised to sign an agreement with the Sudanese government that could pave the way to peace talks on Darfur. The deal includes an agreement to end attacks on people living in aid camps and an exchange of prisoners. It is designed […]
The anti-photojournalist law
One issue we clearly have missed at Frontline is the new law- Section 76 of the Counter Terrorism Act- that makes it a crime to photograph the police if they don’t want you to. 150 photojournalists protested at Scotland Yard today. Henry Porter wrote about it in the Observer.New York’s Jimmy Justice the self-styled “cop-arazzi” […]
Afghanistan: the forgotten war?
Is Afghanistan at risk of being forgotten by the outside world? Not at the moment, you might think, what with lots of print generated each day at the hands of foreign reporters. Obama, too, is considering his own surge of resources to the country, and it seems the larger newspapers on both sides of the […]
Back to the maid’s room
After living in London for two years I am finally back. Back to Brazil, back to my city São Paulo, but this time – I’m back to the maid’s room. I’ll explain. As most flats in Brazilian cities, my family’s has a small room for the housemaid. Such rooms are usually small, dimly lit, sometimes […]
Welcome
Hello there! This is Natalia Viana writing from my office in Vila Madalena, a bohemian neighbourhood in São Paulo, Brazil. I’ve been an investigative journalist from over 8 years and, after living in UK (where I took an MA in Radiojournalism), I am back in Brazil. Here I have gathered with a very special group […]
Breakfast in Khartoum IV (Although I’m frankly not sure of the number)
Ozone is a quiet place these days. Ever since the US embassy in Khartoum warned its citizens to avoid places where expats tended to gather there have been fewer white faces here at the world’s best coffeeshop on a roundabout. Ozone is a particular target apparently. People are on tenterhooks waiting for the International Criminal […]
Video: Mexicans break kissing record
Mexicans are not a nation to shy away from public displays of affection, so thousands were in their element Saturday — Valentine’s Day — when they came together in Mexico City’s Zocalo, or central plaza, to break the Guinness world record for the biggest simultaneous kiss.
Mexico’s special prosecutor for crimes against journalists ineffective, reports nonprofit
Freedom of expression advocates in Mexico have issued yet another missive in support of the country’s long-suffering journalistic community. The special prosecutor’s office for crimes against journalists, created in 2006 by the Mexican government of then-President Vicente Fox, is ineffective, lacks independence and is poorly funded, according to a report by the international freedom of […]
John D. McHugh – Combat Outpost
John D. McHugh drops us a line to tell us that his latest report from Afghanistan for The Guardian is up on the site. John has been filing multimedia reports from the frontline in Helmand over the past year. As he says in his email, This is without doubt the most difficult and dangerous place […]
Global Voices wins Anvil of Freedom award
Global Voices Online, a site started at Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society with the support of Reuters and for which I’m the Caucasus Regional Editor, was this month honored with the Anvil of Freedom award from Denver University. The site is in its fourth year of operation and seeks to “aggregate, curate, […]
Restrictive religious laws
Although Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official State religion in 301 AD, and despite the role the Armenian Apostolic Church has taken upon itself in terms of shaping national identity, it had not been known for restricting other faiths as much as other post-Soviet republics. Indeed, allowing other religious groups […]
The Lost Boys
Somali born journalist Rageh Omaar and director Paul Sapin made Lost Boys, a 27- minute documentary, in four days. The film explores Somali youth inter-gang violence in London. The murder of 18-year-old Mahir Osman in January 2008 by a Somali gang made Clan Elders realize they had lost touch with the younger generation and violence […]
Violence against journalists continues in Latin America
Attacks on the Press 2008: Carl Bernstein on Self-Censorship of the Press from Meredith Megaw on Vimeo.
Attacks on the Press 2008: Carl Bernstein on Self-Censorship of the Press from Meredith Megaw on Vimeo.
Here in Mexico, we keep our eye on the frequent press-freedom reports that come out, given the high levels of violence against journalists in the country and the culture of impunity that abounds.
Mumbai ‘mesmerised’ the world’s media
Pretty obvious I suppose but there are some interesting bits and pieces in this RAND report into the terrorist attacks on Mumbai back in November 2008. Most of it concerns the implications for security strategy but there’s a few observations about media coverage and its relationship with terrorism. 1. The nature of the media […]
New in My Kitbag
Africa may grow some of the world’s finest coffee beans but getting a decent brew on the road can be problematic. In most places Nescafe is the only thing on offer – just about passable if drunk strong and black. But – and I know this is desperately old hat for readers in places where […]
Saudi journalist on Saudi terror list
The latest addition to a list of terrorist suspects published by the Saudi Interior Ministry, includes a surprising addition according to the English language Arabic daily, Asharq Al-Awsat. Obaida Abdul-Rahman Al Otaibi, a journalist with a degree in journalism from the Imam Mohamed Bin Saud University, is the 50th name on the list of 85 […]
Attacks on the Press
The Committee to protect journalists launched Attacks on the Press 2008 today. The CPJ will be holding a press conference at the United Nations later to publicize the report. You can watch the livestream on the UN website at 9.30am EST Tuesday 10 February. Taking part will be, Joel Simon, CPJ Executive Director, Paul Steiger, […]
Inside Sudan
Have been catching up on my Sudan reading recently for a big Darfur project. Found quite a few books I bought when I first arrived in Nairobi and abandoned after a couple of chapters. Some of them are much more interesting once you recognise the names and already have a bit of a handle on […]
No Colombian journalists killed in 2008
According to the Foundation for Liberty and Freedom of the Press (FLIP), no Colombian journalists were killed in 2008 for the first time in 23 years, A total of 130 journalists were killed in Colombia in the past 30 years. The organisation notes that Colombian journalists are still regularly threatened by terrorist organisations. FLIP reports […]
Death in Madagscar
The Committee to protect journalists (CPJ) requests a probe into the death of Ando Ratovonirina in Madagascar last week. The 26 year old reporter and cameraman was killed while working for Radio Télévision Analamanga at an antigovernment demonstration in the capital, Antananarivo, "We are shocked by the killing of Ando Ratovonirina and extend our condolences […]
Somalia kidnap row
Daud Abdi Daud, the General Secretary of the Somali Journalists Rights Agency (SOJRA), defends the report earlier this week of a possible escape attempt by kidnap victims Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan. The report was quickly dismissed by the Paris-based Reporters without borders, "I think [Reporters without borders] mean somebody in France can be more […]
Video: Carmen Aristegui talks about the reality for journalists in Mexico
Carmen Aristegui, one of Mexico’s most prominent journalists, disappeared from the Mexican radio airwaves last year in a cloud of controversy.
As Reed Johnson reported in January 2008, “Aristegui’s departure from W Radio set off a flurry of op-ed commentary in Mexico City newspapers. Several commentators have denounced the incident as an act of censorship and harassment by media and governmental interests.”
Now Aristegui’s back with a new radio news show –- this time on a different network. The journalist, who continued to host her nightly television news show on CNN Español during her radio hiatus, returns to the Mexican airwaves from 6 – 10 every weekday morning on MVS Radio.
Gaza media coverage – missiles and messages
Last Thursday, I was at Gaza: Missiles and Messages at the Frontline Club. It was a discussion about the media coverage of Gaza and it was standing room only. (You know an event’s popular at the Club when somebody feels it’s necessary to dust down the wooden church pews to augment the seating.) Below I’ll […]
Saving Darfur: The International Criminal Court and the Language of Righting Wrongs
Police wait for President Bashir to arrive in El Fasher last year Fighters of the Lord’s Resistance Army, Uganda’s shadowy rebel cult, have forced more than 130,000 people from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Congolese soldiers joined Ugandan and Southern Sudanese forces in launching an all-out assault on guerilla hide-outs before […]
Somalia kidnap victims tried to escape
There’s an unconfirmed report circulating that kidnapped journalists Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan tried to escape their Somali captors late last month. The allegation comes from a "prominent Somali contact for western journalists" Daud Abdi Daud, Executive Director of Somali Journalists Rights Agency says the pair, in his words, "came close to being killed" on […]
Salam al-Dosaki shot dead in Mosul
Salam al-Dosaki, a journalist with the al-Hadba newspaper in Mosul, Iraq, was shot dead by a policeman on Thursday afternoon, 5 February according to Reuters, Mohammed Yunis Mohammed, a Mosul policeman, had been drinking when he approached the home of neighbour Salam al-Dosaki, a journalist with the local al-Hadba newspaper, police said. An argument ensued […]
