Uncategorised

It's all about content ... again. Now that virtually all the powers-that-be in media, entertainment and telecommunications are fastening themselves to Internet-connected portable video devices and platforms to be part of the take-anything-anywhere explosion, their industries are facing several mega problems. One is the creation of original, innovative content and services customized specifically...

Which are the most problematic countries in the world for journalists and which are the most benign? The new "worldwide press freedom index," published this month by the French-based organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF), suggests that the most restrictive countries in terms of press freedom are North Korea, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Iran and Burma; while the most enlightened are Denmark...

WASHINGTON: As Under Secretary of State Karen Hughes completed her "listening tour" of five Arab and Muslim countries, she acknowledged that her job requires a long-term strategy. A key component of this strategy not frequently discussed is the role of Arab media representation here in the United States. There are about 50 Arab correspondents working in the United States for major Arab media...

NEW YORK: Five new-media leaders explained how their news staffs have sprinted from the technology dark ages to the forefront of innovative journalism -- and how others must follow suit or be relegated to the history books -- at a Columbia University panel discussion Wednesday night titled "The Changing Media Landscape, 2005." The discussion brought together Len Apcar, NYTimes.com editor; Jeff...

One of Singapore's top leaders has defended the lack of journalistic freedom in the country. Former prime minister Goh Chok Tong feels a liberal press is not necessarily good for every country. Goh's statement came in Singapore on Monday during the fifth anniversary dinner of Today, a free tabloid. DARK GLITTER: The RSF World Press Freedom Index said Singapore's low ranking was due to the complete

The United States (US) may have imposed sanctions on Burma (Myanmar), but ironically it is a US company which has indirectly helped the junta in that country to censor the Internet. The OpenNetInitiative (ONI) says a product from Calfornia-based Fortinet Technologies has made it to Burma, and is used to filter sites. In its report, OpenNet said Fortinet's FortiGuard system has made its way to...

Internet connections are very rare in Burma, partly for reasons of poverty but mostly because of the military regime’s harsh crackdown on freedom of expression. As in Cuba and North Korea, the Internet frightens the authorities, who keep it out of the hands of their subjects. So it is growing very slowly, with the opening of only a handful of cybercafés and assignment of a few thousand e-mail...

The main suspect in Orlando Benítez’s murder was never in doubt. Benítez, a lawmaker here in the northwestern province of Córdoba, was preparing to run for mayor of a municipality controlled for years by Diego Murillo Bejarano, a paramilitary chief known as "Don Berna." Murillo, once a close associate of drug lord Pablo Escobar, hadn’t given the campaign his blessing. The local and national press...

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- While most major airlines are unable to convert their record passenger volume into profits, one below-the-radar segment of the industry is turning a handy profit: in-flight magazines. Not only are most airline titles posting strong ad-revenue growth for their publishers, the category is handily outpacing most groups in the still-struggling magazine business. And that...

ONE of the measures of change in the media scenario in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries is their coverage of two wars in the region in about a decade. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, it was days before some of Saudi newspapers reported the event, which they referred to evasively as "tension" in the region. In contrast, since day one, regional newspapers splashed reports on the US-led...