reflections on journalism and activism by @oddletters

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Zimbabwe’s beleaguered independent media won a major victory when an official commission granted publishing licenses to four daily newspapers, including The Daily News, the nation’s leading paper before it was outlawed seven years ago.

Uganda's revising its Press Act to muzzle journalists in advance of oil development. Excellent.

He was 'arrested' after he "took pictures of military men passing near a dead boy". The beating started after he made calls to his bosses. He was reminded that he was under the "detention of military men who only take orders from the president."

Lydia Cacho was offered UN amnesty. She decided to stay in Mexico and keep reporting.

Reuters tells AP to suck it up, be a news agency.

Uganda's Independent newspaper site hacked; hacker posts "MUSEVENI IS DEAD" on front page

the AP's new scheme to protect their news "has no bearing on someone's rights under US copyright law"

great conversation between Ethan Zuckerman & the NYT's Robert Mackey on journalistic responsibility and citizen media

"We face at least three filters in the voices we hear - access, language and bias."

when saving lives trumps open "democracy" online

"What’s really interesting to me is the extent to which news reporters seem to have chosen Twitter as the go-to source for reactions to news events. It makes sense - there’s a premium in the news business on speed, on having a story faster than anyone else does, so the need for the quick quote makes Google hours to slow to help you. And the 140 character limit guarantees that whoever you quote will be pithy and limited to a single soundbite.

This, in turn, also increases the chance that you’ll be wrong."

summer reading.

How did I not know this existed?

"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."

"A number of Web start-up companies are creating so-called hyperlocal news sites that let people zoom in on what is happening closest to them, often without involving traditional journalists."

badass.

"I do not think it is such a terrible thing that your journalism students are entering an uncertain world. It's the kind of world that is ripe for enterprising journalists. It is the kind of world that needs to be reported on and explained."

Hilarious.

wondering why I haven't seen this until now

“To date, traditional religious practices of the Luo are judiac and jewish in origin” the author claims, adding that Luo names like Barak “spelt “Barack” means “blessed” in Hebrew.

The story of man is told in headlines around the world. Eligible headlines must be at least moderately amusing, published online and must start with the word "man."

Nietzsche: “...our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts.”

thoughts on web 2.0 by Mike Welsch, a cultural anthro prof at Kansas State University

day of protest against internet censorship

censorship in Uganda

op-ed on Kenya by the author of The Zanzibar Chest

new favorite web site

86 journalists killed in 2007 - up 244% over five years