Media Highlights – September 18, 2012
Media Highlights – September 18, 2012
About Our Broadcasters
Keep on Tweetin’ – Foreign Policy, September 17, 2012
Michael McFaul, the U.S. ambassador in Moscow, can communicate directly with millions of Russians on social media. Anti-American media can’t block him out or distort what he’s saying, and the fact that the Russians have been chasing Voice of America off their airwaves doesn’t deter him.
Media Citations of BBG Broadcasters
As Sanctions Take A Toll, Debate In Iran Heats Up – NPR, September 17, 2012
One man holds the key — the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His attitude has always been to never compromise because, in his view, concessions signal weakness and invite even more pressure, says Golnaz Esfandiari, an Iran analyst at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Tajikistan: Khorog Residents Want to Talk to President, Complain of Forced Fun – EurasiaNet, September 17, 2012
Access to the president in Tajikistan is strictly stage-managed. When local officials prepare to host Rakhmon, new roads are paved, buildings painted, and streets cleaned. Sometimes the results can seem comical: Last month Radio Free Europe reported that officials in Kulob had banned donkeys with buckets from visiting water wells in the city center so the president, during an upcoming visit, wouldn’t see local poverty – and, by extension, the officials’ lack of attention to basic infrastructure requirements like running water.
Cambodia to Buy Power From Laos’ Xayaburi Dam – OOSKAnews, September 17, 2012
“The Lao government has talked about only the 2,000 people in 10 villages that will be relocated, but there are more than 20,000 people in about 30 villages from the dam site all the way to Luang Prabang who will also be affected,” Radio Free Asia quoted him as saying.
Nigeria: We’ve Killed Abu Qaqa, Others, JTF Claims – AllAFrica, September 18, 2012
The Voice of America (VOA) reported that the JTF intercepted a vehicle in which three Boko Haram members were travelling following a tip-off.
In the foreign language press:
Rayheen Ala Feen? New Egyptian Program on Alhurra – Assabah (Moroccan daily newspaper), September 6, 2012
Alhurra launched its new reality show Rayheen Ala Feen? in a press conference (that was held in Cairo lately). Mohamed Hefzy from Film Clinic and Fran Mires, the program’s Executive Producer, attended the conference. Rayheen Ala Feen? brings to life the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution by developing a television series that follows the lives of five young Egyptians for more than nine months.
Also cited in: Akhbar Elyoum, Al Arab Al Youm, Mujaz, Yahoo Maktoob, and other publications.
Of Interest
New Report: Lack of Institutional Reform Hinders Democratic Progress in the Middle East – Freedom House, September 17, 2012
Nearly two years after a wave of popular uprisings began in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a lack of substantive institutional reform has left states struggling to maintain democratic achievements, according to a new Freedom House report. The findings illuminate reform failures that have contributed to recent violence across the MENA region. Countries at the Crossroads 2012 analyzes the performance of 35 policy-relevant countries that are at a critical juncture between democratic progress and deterioration.
NPR’s Todd Mundt says public radio needs to innovate or die – Nieman Journalism Lab, September 17, 2012
NPR has become a poster child for legacy news organizations’ ability to reinvent themselves for the digital age: Its website and mobile apps are used by millions of people, NPR Music is a runaway hit, office hack days are a model for other newsrooms, and the network’s news apps team is attracting top talent.