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According to statistics provided by Arab media, the number of Arab women who do not get married after the age of 25 has been increasing dramatically. "A’nes" is an Arabic word used in reference to a woman who reaches a certain age without getting married. This term has a negative connotation. Women who are labeled as "a’wanes" (plural of A’nes) generally have considerably fewer chances of getting...

THE SOUTHEAST Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) will hold a conference on free expression in Asian cyberspace on April 2006 in Makati City, Manila, INQ7.net learned. A three-day conference titled "Free Expression in Asian Cyberspace: A Conference of Asian Bloggers, Podcasters, and Online News Providers," aims to bring together individuals...

A new free daily newspaper launched in Cardiff on Tuesday could undermine existing papers which have already seen their readership drop, it is claimed. Metro, which is available in 14 other cities, contains UK and overseas news aimed at "young, time-starved" readers. Media expert Prof Kevin Williams said the launch could "undermine the viability of the existing papers." The company has played down...

Rupert Murdoch last night sounded the death knell for the era of the media baron, comparing today's internet pioneers with explorers such as Christopher Columbus and John Cabot and hailing the arrival of a "second great age of discovery". The News Corp media magnate nurtures a long-held distaste for "the establishment" but last night confided to one of the few clubs to which he does belong - The...

Syria's internet has emerged as the vehicle for the bold voice of dissent in Damascus, where the state regularly exercises censorship and stifles domestic criticism. The electronic media has pushed the envelope of what is acceptable but at a heavy price. Savvy cyber rebels who have broadened the political debate could be preyed upon at any time and thrown in jail for proselytising to Syria's...

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico - If there was one characteristic that defined Heriberto Deandar Amador, founder of El Manana newspaper, it was fearlessness. A teenage telegraph operator during the Mexican revolution, Deandar dodged bullets as he wired telegrams. He later founded the daily newspaper, taking on government leaders and powerful Mexican families. When the government retaliated by raising the...

In response to reports that the journalism profession in America, and particularly in academia, failed to help Jewish journalists during the Holocaust, the Newspaper Association of America is trying to make amends. It issued a statement last week regretting that its predecessor organization did not give a full public airing to the issue at the time. The association's board has also agreed to hear...

In his last issue as the editor of Harper's Magazine, Lewis Lapham has left a parting gift for his successor: a firestorm in the media and among AIDS researchers. The source is a 15-page article in the March issue, titled "Out of Control: AIDS and the Corruption of Medical Science," by Celia Farber. Ms. Farber, a longtime magazine journalist, has been a polarizing figure because she has frequently...

A "new paradox of journalism" has emerged in which the number of news outlets continues to grow, yet the number of stories covered and the depth of many reports is decreasing, according to the State of the News Media 2006. THE KATRINA COVERAGE: One of the reasons coverage of Katrina stood out to Americans in 2005 was officials were unable to do that, though some efforts, including one incident of...

The Washington Post Co plans to cut 80 positions – about 9 per cent of the jobs – from the Washington Post's editorial staff as it grapples with a steady decline in circulation, Reuters has reported. The cuts, which are expected to occur within a year, would come through buyouts and attrition, said Rick Weiss, co-chairman of the Washington Post unit of the Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild...