2005-2014

25 December 2005

Ethiopia tightens noose around critics, journalists

International organisations have expressed concern at the state of affairs in Ethiopia where 131 opponents of the government, including journalists, have been detained and are to be tried for with crimes ranging from genocide to treason. MY REGIME, MY REGIMEN: Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said in November that the imprisoned opposition members and journalists were charged with treason, which

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25 December 2005

Moment of truth for KRT chief

The day after Hurricane Katrina wrecked the Gulf Coast, Tony Ridder headed for Mississippi, where one of his newspapers was confronting the biggest story in its history without power, telephones or running water. The chairman and chief executive of San Jose-based Knight Ridder Inc. reached the scene before most of the staff of the Biloxi Sun Herald had made it back to the newsroom. He brought in...

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25 December 2005

Why one paper did not buy in to buyouts

CHICAGO This is the story of how one newspaper fought layoffs or buyouts, one half-day at a time. In 2000, the Daily Herald in Chicago's northwestern and western suburbs was on top of the world. Illinois' third-largest daily was also its fastest growing. E&P had named it to its inaugural list of "10 That Do it Right." Revenues were the highest in its history, making Paddock Publishing Co. a $101...

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25 December 2005

Mexican journalist threatened after reports on police-crime nexus

Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) has called on Mexican federal authorities to take charge of investigating attempts to intimidate crime reporter Claudia Padilla Pacheco of the local daily Correo in Celaya (in the central state of Guanajuato) after she wrote two investigative reports about the alleged implication of local police in criminal activity. AT THE CORREO: Correo's Caludia Padilla exposed a...

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25 December 2005

For US newspapers and networks, upheaval was the story of the year

It was a year of goodbyes -- some noble, some less so -- as journalism's old guard departed from the spotlight. And it was a year when some of media's biggest institutions started thinking, in earnest, about reinvention. Dan Rather took his colorful metaphors and erratic temperament from CBS in March, his reputation marred by a flawed report about President Bush and the National Guard. Peter...

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25 December 2005

Afghan editor apologises for un-Islamic articles, released by court

An Afghan magazine editor jailed for publishing anti-Islamic articles was freed on December 24. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, editor of monthly Haqooq-e-Zan (Women's Rights), was arrested in October and sentenced to jail after complaints about his articles. He had been convicted on October 22 and sentenced to two years of hard labour. SHADOWED: The sun shines over the photo of Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the editor...

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24 December 2005

Indian newspaper delivers a bonus to Independent News

Independent News & Media's €33m (£22.5m) investment in Jagran Prakashan Ltd, the Indian newspaper publisher, is expected to be valued at three to four times the initial investment made last June when JPL raises fresh capital in 2006. Independent News acquired 26 per cent of JPL, which is the publisher of the Dainik Jagran – that translates as The Truth – India's largest Hindi language newspaper...

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24 December 2005

Canadian news by government decree

It was January 8, 2005--I was in Sri Lanka, shooting footage for a documentary on the Canadian DART group, sent to help the people after a 32-foot wave, traveling 500 miles an hour hit the fragile houses and people of the Ampara district. Prior to leaving, the politicians in Ottawa had spoon-fed the Canadian news outlets. So, Canadian Press reported of the DART: "the wrong people, the wrong place...

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24 December 2005

Book Review: The Gang that Couldn't Write Straight

The 1960s was the "anything goes" decade; a time when LSD, hippies, rock 'n' roll and free love were youth's reactions to the assassinations of its leaders and a war in Vietnam. It was a time when a few journalists wanted to be hip and cover the cultural revolution from the inside. They believed that the standard method of reporting -- "get the facts, get both sides, and keep your opinions to...

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24 December 2005

Google founders named FT’s men of the year

LONDON: The founders of Internet search engine Google have been named the Financial Times men of the year, the newspaper announced yesterday. Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both 32, were given the accolade for the effect the company they founded seven years ago, has had in the last year on Internet users and the worlds of business and technology, the FT said. It also noted Google's rising stock...

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