media
Gaza media coverage – BBC bits and bobs
Just a couple of other things I picked up today from the BBC. 1. Here’s Robin Lustig’s blog again, writing from a point of view on Gaza. “You want to know what it’s like in Gaza at the moment? It’s Hell on earth. But that’s nothing new – it’s always Hell on earth here. Since […]
Gaza media coverage – official sources and numbers
Journalists like using ‘official sources’ of information. The theory (take a look at Herbert Gans among others) is that (in a democracy) government spokespeople, the police, officials, press officers etc are more useful to a journalist than other sources. They have access to information, are able to find out data, know people that know people, […]
Gaza media coverage – war 2.0, social media and cyberwar
War 2.0 Adrian Monck assesses Israel’s online propaganda operation. He notes: “Back in January 2008, 26 IDF ‘combat cameramen’ held a fortnight long exercise with US military camera teams, and were “drilled in the use of wireless image transmission technology.” Which is interesting. You can’t help but think that the IDF must have had a […]
Azerbaijan bans foreign broadcasts while preparing for a constitutional referendum
In the last days of 2008, Azerbaijan’s National Council for Television and Radio has banned international radio stations from broadcasting on national frequencies. The decision went effective on the 1st of January removing three radio stations from FM band – VOA, BBC and Azadliq (“Liberty”), RFE/RL’s Azeri service. With another decision, Parliament of Azerbaijan approved […]
Gaza media coverage – BBC and blogs
My research looks at how the BBC reports war and terrorism and specifically whether blogs make any difference to the way they do it. So here’s a rough ‘this-is-what-I’ve-found-first-time-round’ draft of how the BBC is using blogs to report from Gaza. Editors’ blog On the Editors’ blog, James Stephenson has written a post on Reporting […]
Gaza media coverage – alternative voices and blogs
News channels rely on far too few Israeli sources and do not represent the diversity of opinion on the conflict in Gaza, according to Jeff who commented on yesterday’s post: “There seems to be clear inconsistencies regarding the voices from Israel that are often heard on news channels vis-a-vis those which await adequate attention. It […]
Gaza media coverage – the propaganda war
As Israel continues its incursion into the Gaza Strip in response to recent rocket attacks by Hamas, there has already been some interesting discussion about media coverage of the conflict. A few days ago one of my colleagues at King’s posted a piece about the increasing strategic importance of the media in conflict. Citing a […]
Constitutional Court at the focus of controversies
The highest judicial instance in Azerbaijan, the Constitutional Court "is considering amendments that would ban the broadcast or publication of video, audio, or photographs of any person without his or her prior approval, except in yet-to-be defined special cases", reports RFE/RL. According to local media law expert Alasgar Mammadli, if these amendments get approval, the […]
More Twitter conventions would have aided Mumbai coverage
The recent attacks on Mumbai marked a moment when Twitter appeared to reach a critical threshhold. In the UK, various media outlets made use of the 140 character tool to augment their reporting. In fact, a journalist I spoke to today, said: if journalists hadn’t heard of Twitter, then they probably weren’t doing their job […]
Is RICU trying to influence the media?
Recently, Dr Andrew Garner from RICU gave a talk at King’s College London about the government’s counter terrorism strategy. There’s more information and background about RICU in a previous post, but just to reiterate for the purposes of what appears below, this is Garner’s personal view and not that of RICU or the UK Government. […]
Mumbai – twitter, blogging, and social media
I’m collecting a series of links on how Mumbai has been covered by blogs and social media. You can find all the links on my delicious account.
Capturing casualties in Afghanistan
‘The soldier keeps shouting “Sir!” as he deliriously looks around “Don’t take my legs,” he appeals. “Have I got my legs?” He doesn’t believe the doctor who reassures him.’ This is an extract from the diary of artist David Cotterrell who observed the work of British military medical staff at Camp Bastion last year. Published […]
“Happy to work ourselves out of a job”: An insight into the UK Government’s counter terrorism communications unit
This post is long overdue, but I wanted to make sure I had time to write it because it concerns a potentially sensitive subject. At the end of October, Dr Andrew Garner from the UK Government’s Research, Information and Communications Unit (RICU), very kindly gave a talk at King’s College, London. He pointed out that […]
The BBC speaking to the Taleban
Last Thursday, the BBC World Have Your Say radio programme built their show around a discussion with a Taleban spokesperson. Through the BBC’s Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner, and a translator, listeners from around the world could put their questions to the Taleban. There was much debate on the programme and on the World Have Your […]
Blogging journalist ready for Iraq embed
Independent journalist Michael Totten is going back to Baghdad. He’s managed to organise an embed with the US military and will no doubt be blogging his trip here. “So stay tuned for an in-depth tour through Baghdad after the surge. I will learn as much from this adventure as you will. The United States will […]
Telegraph journalist, Nick Meo vs Milbloggers: a summary
One of the ways in which bloggers have acquitted themselves in the media space is by acting as a ‘fifth estate’ – scrutinising what the fourth estate – the mainstream media – do, challenging facts and publishing corrections, clarifications, and rebuttals. A while ago, I collected some links on the way bloggers appeared to influence […]
Media made easy
In yet more film news, War made easy is showing in “select theatres” across the USofA. The Valley Advocate says War made easy makes an easy job of the media, Perhaps more searing than its indictment of the politicians who lead us to war is the film’s unflinching critique of the major media, including once-highly […]
Press freedom
There is no greater threat to free societies than the murder of journalists. If journalists are not free to report, others eventually go blind: governments cannot see what’s going on at home or abroad, global institutions stagger, finance and business wither. Freedom of expression is recognized as essential to democracy and prosperity. However, 2005 was […]