Iraq Reporters

Hey, this is Arianna Barrett and I'm not the lead blogger at this point but I thought this article was very interesting. It's explaining the hard trials and tribulations that Iraqi' reporters go through just to do their job and report.


Iraq media in 'business of death'
By Hugh Sykes BBC News, Baghdad

There are reports of an escalation in attacks on Iraqi media in recent weeksNearly 300 people have died in Iraq since the 2003 invasion simply because they worked for the media.
Of that total, 135 were news gatherers - reporters, photographers, camera operators or field producers.
And while foreign journalists have been killed here, the overwhelming majority of the dead were Iraqi.
The editor of the Baghdad daily paper al Sabaah, Falah al Mashal, told me: "Journalism all over the world is known as the business of trouble. In Iraq, it is the business of death."
At al Sabaah, 22 people have been killed because they worked there.
The editorial offices and the printing house are surrounded by a concrete anti-blast wall. There is a checkpoint at the main entrance.
But two car bombs managed to get in. In one of the explosions, two people died when part of a wall fell on them.
Journalists in Iraq don't work in this business just to make a living - they want to reveal the truth and that's why we are targeted
Falal al Mashal, editor of al Sabaah
In the English translation department, Murtala Salah was sitting at his desk a few steps away from a room which collapsed when one of the car bombs exploded.
"It is our fate," he told me.
I wondered why he carried on working in such a dangerous atmosphere.
"Journalists have only their pens. We tell the truth. This is dangerous for terrorists - because it turns them into criminals in the eyes of the people."
'Objectivity training'
Falah al Mashal added: "Journalists in Iraq don't work in this business just to make a living. They want to reveal the truth, and that's why we are targeted."
His paper al Sabaah - it means The Morning - is owned by the government. But he insists it is independent, and would never support a particular party. "Independence is essential," he emphasised.
But many newspapers and TV stations here are partisan - owned by political parties or religious groups. The London-based Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) are opening a Baghdad branch later this year. They will offer courses on reporting in hostile environments and objectivity training.

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting is setting up in Baghdad
The IWPR's Iraq director, Hiwa Osman, says you have to read six or seven Iraqi papers to get a complete picture.
"We urgently need to train journalists here to give the full picture - away from political, religious or sectarian bias," he said, as decorators applied new paint to the lecture hall and the training studio.
He believes a lot of the killing here has been inspired by propaganda in the papers and on television.
'Nine lives'
A Baghdad reporter, Salaam Jihad, told me he had received "many threats, many things have happened to me, I have been chased by militants".
He laughed nervously after adding: "My friends say I am a cat with nine lives. I think I have lost five. So I have four left."
The Iraqi Media Protection Group reports an escalation in attacks on the media in the past few weeks.
Three journalists and a driver working for al Sharqiya TV were kidnapped and shot dead in Mosul.
There have been bomb attacks on three newspaper offices in Baghdad. One journalist died.
And a bomb exploded outside the headquarters of the national journalists' union in Baghdad - severely injuring its president, Muaid al Laimi.
In February this year, his predecessor at the union, Shihab al Tamimi, was shot and fatally wounded. He died four days after being taken to hospital.

HBO Canada Is Here Ay

WHILE SOMETIMES WE TEND TO FORGET ABOUT OUR NEIGHBORS FROM THE NORTH, HBO IS COMING TO CANADA. HBO CANADA IS BEING OFFERED THROUGH ASTRAL MEDIA'S MOVIE NETWORK AND CORUS ENTERTAINMENT'S MOVIE CENTRAL AT THE END OF OCTOBER AT NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE.

The Wait is Over... HBO Canada Is Here
September 22, 2008

Astral Media's The Movie Network and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central Launch HBO Canada on October 30, 2008

Toronto, Canada – Astral Media's (ACM.A/ACM.B) The Movie Network (Eastern Canada) and Corus Entertainment's (CJR.B/CJR) Movie Central (Western Canada) today announced the launch of HBO Canada, a channel that will deliver a full slate of HBO's award-winning, boundary-pushing, genre-defining series, films, comedies and live events. Launching on Thursday, October 30, 2008, HBO Canada is a multiplex channel that will be offered at no additional charge to customers who subscribe to The Movie Network or Movie Central.

“HBO is one of the most successful and sought-after entertainment brands in the world and we are thrilled to be expanding upon our long-standing relationship to launch this unique new service,” said John Riley, President, Astral Television Networks. “For years, HBO's dramatic programming has been available on The Movie Network and Movie Central. But even with all of the HBO titles we offered, Canadians still wanted more. They wanted the comedy series, the live specials, the sporting events and the behind-the-scenes content that went into the HBO viewing experience. In launching HBO Canada we will be in a position to offer Canadians this additional content, together with the current signature series that HBO produces, to create an entertainment and value proposition that promises to set a new standard for premium television viewing in Canada.”

With its launch in October, HBO Canada will be home to new and returning marquee series such as True Blood, Entourage, Big Love, Flight of the Conchords and In Treatment, airing day-and-date with HBO in the U.S. The service will also offer more than 200 hours of library titles and first-run HBO original films, comedy specials, documentaries, live concerts and sporting events which were previously unavailable in Canada, including Real Time with Bill Maher, Def Comedy Jam and Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger. Library titles available on HBO Canada include such series as OZ and Da Ali G Show; original movies Gia, The Late Shift and If These Walls Could Talk; acclaimed miniseries From the Earth to the Moon and Angels in America; and comedy specials from the likes of Dane Cook, Tracey Ullman and Ellen Degeneres. HBO Canada will round out its offering with Canadian films and series including The Movie Network and Movie Central's award-winning original series such as Durham County and Terminal City.

“We are thrilled that HBO Canada is going to be available to our subscribers this fall,” said Paul Robertson, President, Television, Corus Entertainment. “Canadians see great value in HBO's distinctive brand and compelling programming and we have responded to this with a channel that offers a full complement of HBO programming that meets our audience's demand for world-class entertainment – delivered in standard definition, high definition and on demand.”

HBO Canada will include a standard definition and high definition offering. HBO Canada programming will also be offered on demand through The Movie Network OnDemand and Movie Central On Demand where available by service provider.

Astral Media and Corus Entertainment have expanded on the long-standing programming output deal that each has with HBO in order to launch HBO Canada. HBO will not hold an ownership stake in HBO Canada.

“Canadian audiences have a great appreciation for the quality entertainment for which HBO is known,” said Charles Schreger, President of Programming Sales, HBO. “Working with Astral Media's The Movie Network and Corus Entertainment's Movie Central to create HBO Canada is a great evolution in our relationship and it is very exciting to be able to deliver a robust inventory of HBO programming under an HBO branded destination.”

Hey, it's Beth Dockery, and I'm one of the lead bloggers this week. I found an article about Metaboli, a French video game distributor, becoming a partner with GameTap. GameTap is currently owned by Turner Broadcasting System and is an online video game company. It has a combination of both free and subscription games. The company hasn't been doing well so TBS was looking to sell it. Pierre Gaudet's comments on buying GameTap relate to our class discussion on InBev's aquistion of Anheuser-Busch, which I found interesting.

Paris firm buys into GameTap

Partnering for global online gaming network

By David Ward

Sept 24, 2008, 06:10 PM ET

SAN DIEGO -- Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting has found a partner for its money-losing GameTap service, announcing a deal with Paris-based Metaboli to create a global online gaming network.

Under the deal, Atlanta-based GameTap initially will continue to provide arcade, console and PC games to U.S. broadband users under its own brand, while Metaboli -- whose on-demand games service is offered by more than 50 partners, including MSN and Virgin -- will operate under its own brand in Europe.

Metaboli will assume direct management in early 2009 of the GameTap business and brand, with Turner becoming an equity investor in the combined entity going forward.

"The addition of GameTap provides us a foothold in the U.S. market, valuable content and an established brand that integrate well with our existing operations and a partner with whom we are honored to be in business," Metaboli CEO Pierre Gaudet said.

Launched as a subscription-based service in 2005, GameTap struggled to find an audience and profitability amid the sheer number of online sites offering free game-related news and game play. Eventually GameTap shifted to a hybrid revenue model with some ad-supported free games, titles available for purchase and download and a premium subscription service offering unlimited access to more than 130 games.

Last month, Turner said it would take an $18 million charge on GameTap as it looked to sell the service.

Saudi Judge Rules Out Satellite TV Obscenity

Hi, this is Mike, lead blogger for this week. I found this article about Saudi Arabia’s highest ranking judiciary official granting permission to kill the owners of satellite networks who broadcasts what he (Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan) deems as obscene content. This content that’s considered unacceptable come from networks that show movies, music videos, etc (outside influence). Satellite in Saudi Arabia, from my understanding, was once prohibited (even though it was managed to be smuggled in slowly) until other Arabic nations grasped this technology, prompting Saudi Arabia to finally embrace it. I thought it would be interesting to see how this will play out in their (Saudi Arabia) approach of what seems to be fear tactics in order to gain/maintain control of the people of Saudi Arabia.

Arabs Denounce Cleric's Edict to Kill Satellite TV Station Owners

Friday, September 19, 2008

AP

Sept. 16: A Saudi man drinks coffee as he watches Satellite TV at his home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Arabs across the ideological spectrum, from secular-minded liberals to Muslim hard-liners, are denouncing a top Saudi cleric's edict that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content.

Many expressed worry the recent comments by Sheik Saleh al-Lihedan — chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Judiciary Council — would fuel terrorism, encouraging attacks on station employees and owners.

The edict, or fatwa, has also focused the spotlight on Saudi Arabia's legal system because of al-Lihedan's senior position in the judiciary. The system is run by Islamic cleric-judges, many of them hard-liners, and has increasingly been criticized by some Saudis because of the wide discretion judges have in punishing criminals and the perception that many judges are out of touch with the realities of the world.

Even conservative clerics who agree that Arab satellite networks show too many "indecent" programs said al-Lihedan had gone too far.

"Our religion prevents Muslims from watching films that provide seduction, obscenity and vulgarity," said Sheik Hazim Awad, an Iraqi cleric, who, like al-Lihedan, is Sunni Muslim.

But "the real Muslim can just cancel (subscriptions to) these channels," he said.

Many conservatives frown on the Arab world's numerous satellite networks for airing music videos — often with scantily clad women singers — or Western movies and TV shows like "Sex and the City," from which nude scenes are sometimes but not always cut.

Obscenity isn't the only thing that disturbs some. On Tuesday, another Saudi cleric, Sheik Mohammed Munajjid, said the cartoon character Mickey Mouse should be killed. Munajjid said in an interview with a religious Web site that under Islamic law, rats and mice are considered "repulsive" and as "soldiers of Satan."

"For children they've become something great and beloved. Like this Mickey Mouse, who is seen as a great figure, even though under Islamic law, Mickey Mouse should be killed," said Munajjid, who is a well-known cleric but does not hold a government position.

The controversy over al-Lihedan's fatwa began a week ago, when the cleric was answering questions from callers to the daily "Light in the Path" religious program on Saudi state radio. One caller asked about Islam's view of the owners of satellite TV channels that show "bad programs" during the holy month of Ramadan, which began more than two weeks ago.

"I want to advise the owners of these channels, who broadcast calls for such indecency and impudence ... and I warn them of the consequences," al-Lihedan said in the program. "Those calling for corrupt beliefs, certainly it's permissible to kill them."

The remarks were especially surprising because many of the most popular Arab satellite networks are owned by Saudi princes and well-connected Saudi and Gulf businessmen.

On Sunday, reportedly under pressure from senior government figures, al-Lihedan appeared on Saudi state TV to explain his comments, apparently to prevent vigilante killings. He said owners should first be brought to trial and then sentenced to death if other penalties don't deter them.

He said his "advice" was aimed at owners who broadcast witchcraft, indecent programs, shows mocking Islamic scholars or religious police and comedies inappropriate for Ramadan.

The edict chilled managers of satellite networks. Several channels based in Dubai declined comment. One network representative said the staff was taking the fatwa very seriously, but he did not want his name or channel revealed. "Why select yourself as a target by commenting on it?" he said.

Saudi Arabia's judiciary is a bastion of hard-line clerics implementing Islamic law under the strict Wahhabi interpretation. Judges are appointed by the king on the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council and have complete discretion to set sentences, except in cases where Islamic law outlines a punishment, such as capital crimes.

King Abdullah has said reforming the legal system is one of his priorities, but so far few changes have been announced — a sign of wariness in confronting the powerful clerics.

One Saudi cleric challenged al-Lihedan, telling the Saudi Al-Jazirah newspaper that the new edict would "lend support to terrorism."

Militants will "recruit our youths to take lives and blow up stations and the properties of the owners of the stations, all based on (al-Lihedan's) grave response," said Sheik Abdul-Mohsen al-Obaikan, an adviser at the Justice Ministry and a member of the appointed Consultative Council, which acts like a parliament.

In Jordan, hard-line cleric Ibrahim Zeid Kailani said although the networks are spreading "decay" among the youth, it's the responsibility of the government and not individuals to deal with the issue.

"Such edicts, which call for killing people, instigate sedition," said Kailani, who heads the Islamic Action Front's Scholars Committee, a hawkish group. "They could transform the countries into internal battlefields."

Around the Arab world, many said el-Lihedan was out of line.

"He shouldn't give such a judgment because he's not God," said Noora Baker, a 27-year-old folkloric dancer from the Palestinian city of Ramallah. "I am against religion interfering with the matters of society."

Beaten up journalist in Bulgaria, collegues protest

This story comes from Bulgaria and shows that even in democratic countries, like Bulgaria is (also a member of European Union), journalists are coping with taugh violations of press freedom and freedom of speech. Beaten up journalist, Ognyan Stevanov, is reporting about relationships between some Bulgarian government leaders and business and mafia.

Bulgarian Reporters Rally in Support of Beaten up Colleague

About 100 reporters from numerous media gathered Thursday in downtown Sofia to rally in support of the editor-in-chief of "Frog News" website, Ognyan Stefanov, who was severely beaten up few days ago.

The protesters prepared and read a declaration to be sent to the international journalistic organizations.

"The barbaric attack against Ognyan Stefanov was not an attempted intimidation but a punishing action against the people, who have a different way of thinking, as well as against the freedom of speech and democracy," the document reads.

Stefanov was beaten unconscious by three masked attackers Monday evening in Sofia as he exited his favorite restaurant.

Before launching the severe battery on the 54-year old journalist, the three men declared that they were policemen.

Stefanov's colleagues adamantly refused to name the two individuals, who had dinner with the editor-in-chief just before the attack, citing the need of preserving the investigation's secrecy.

The team further appealed to different media organizations in the world to extend their assistance and voiced the opinion that the incident has been an assassination attempt.

The "Frog News" reporters stated that the interest towards their site has increased significantly in the last couple of days, making access difficult at times.

Burmese Government starts "cyber war"

Once again we are presented with an example of how far Authoritarian Military governments will go to stop opposition. Websites criticizing the Burmese Military crackdown on Monks were overloaded by the Government.


September 22, 2008
Dissident websites crippled by Burma on anniversary of revolt
Kenneth Denby in Mandalay

A year after e-mailed images of its brutal crackdown against democracy demonstrations were transmitted across the world, Burma has launched a ferocious “cyber-war” against dissidents who use the internet.
In the past few days anti-government online magazines run by exiled Burmese have been inundated by massive volumes of artificially generated traffic that have forced the news websites to shut down. The attacks coincided with the first anniversary of the “saffron uprising” — ten days of mass demonstrations by Buddhist monks and student activists that culminated in a crackdown in which dozens were killed and thousands arrested.
The concerted attacks - which appear to originate in China, Russia and Europe as well as Burma — can only be the work of agents of the Burmese Government and may be an effort to compensate for its failure last year to stem the flow of images showing vast columns of unarmed demonstrators and their eventual dispersal under a rain of bullets and truncheons.
Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy magazine and news website, based in the Thai city of Chiang Mai, said: “This attack is revenge. Last year the people beat the Government in the cyber-wars by getting lots of images and live news reporting out. Now the Government is saying, ‘We're much more advanced than before and we can cripple you'.”

The attacks began last Wednesday when three websites — The Irrawaddy, the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma and the New Era in Bangkok — became inaccessible. Within hours, the internet service providers for The Irrawaddy's main site and its back-up site were forced to shut them down.
The attacks were of the type known as distributed denial-of-service, which use automated programs to simulate thousands of users accessing the site simultaneously, overloading it.
The attacks eased over the weekend but Mr Aung Zaw said he feared that they would resume this week in the build-up to the anniversary of September 26, 2007, when the Government imposed a curfew and began its attacks and arrests on demonstrators.
Although only three websites have been affected they have a disproportionately large influence in reporting in a country where domestic media are strictly censored and foreign journalists can work only clandestinely.
The Irrawaddy, the most popular of the news services, has correspondents working undercover in Burma and on the Thai border. The print version has only 400 subscriptions but its website has 25 million hits and 100,000 unique visitors a month, including diplomats, journalists and activists following Burma.
A year ago the junta was shamed by the images of the saffron uprising and seemed helpless to prevent them. Eventually it shut down the internet for four days but by that time pictures had been broadcast across the world, including the notorious film of Kenji Nagai, the Japanese photographer, shot dead by a Burmese soldier.
The latest cyber-retaliation suggests that General Than Shwe, the junta's septuagenarian leader, has learnt lessons and is prepared to go on the offensive. Mr Aung Zaw said: “It's easy to see the generals as dinosaurs but they are not stupid. They have a lot of sophisticated, well-trained people - although you wouldn't think it to look at Than Shwe.”

The Future of Papers??

I found this article while browsing through the technology section of BBC News. Bill Thompson talks about the relevancy and application of "ebooks" in everyday life. He talks about the significance of paper and what it means to us. He also how the electronic age is quickly taking over, providing easier access to things like books, music, and, of course, the internet. I particularly thought that a large step was being able to buy a book from Amazon through a wireless connection to a mobile internet device.
Are Paper's Days Numbered?