Media Highlights – September 21, 2012
Media Highlights – September 21, 2012
About Our Broadcasters
Citizen journalist killed in Syria ‘Bermuda Triangle’ – AFP, September 20, 2012
RSF has previously condemned the killing of 10 professional media workers and 31 citizen journalists. On Thursday, it denounced the continued disappearance of two journalists working for US-funded Al-Hurra TV, who went missing in the northern city of Aleppo a month ago. “Syria’s cities have become a ‘Bermuda Triangle’ for journalists,” RSF said. “Telling lies in wartime is not new … but this is like getting facts from a black hole.”
Turkish TV channels call on al-Assad to free journalists – Hurriyet Daily News, September 21, 2012
Seventeen Turkish TV channels made simultaneous broadcasts at 8:03 a.m. this morning, calling on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to free two journalists held captive by the Syrian army. Turkish reporter Cüneyt Ünal and journalist Bashar Fahmi, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, have been in captivity for 33 days.
Profiles in Nuance – Wall Street Journal, September 20, 2012
Free-lance journalist Alec Ash profiles his friend Tashi, a Tibetan he meets while teaching English in Qinghai province, home to a large Tibetan population. The 20-something is ambitious but can’t hold down a job, loves his girlfriend but cheats on her, and bemoans Chinese rule while he also takes up the opportunities it presents. Hardly the spiritual Tibetan of Western stereotypes, Mr. Tashi (not his real name) was married off at 15 and divorced before the age of 20. He is both political and prosaic. At one point, Mr. Ash teaches him how to circumvent the Great Firewall. First, Mr. Tashi looks up Radio Free Asia for coverage of the 2008 Tibetan uprising. Next he Googles “American girl sex.” Such intimate, funny and touching portrayals are what give this book its bite. They also help accomplish what the book sets out to do. “Chinese Characters” sidesteps hackneyed generalizations of China as a country of either great promise or perilous menace. It is at its most nuanced when the characters simply speak for themselves.
Media Citations of BBG Broadcasters
Aung Min says he is ‘proud’ of Suu Kyi’s award – Mizzima News, September 21, 2012
He told the Voice of America Burmese Service that the Burmese government would make good on pledges to end ongoing skirmishes, especially in Kachin state. “Yes,” he said. “The president already promised there would not be offensives apart from some defensive actions. I also tell you the army is strictly following the orders. There will be no open season offensive. I guarantee it.” He told Radio Free Asia that Burma is “one step” away from striking a peace deal with ethnic Kachin rebels, who have been engaged in a running conflict with the government for the past year.
‘Cover Your Eyes,’ Iranian Woman Tells Chastising Cleric Before Beating Him Up – NPR, September 20, 2012
On Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty‘s Persian Letters blog, Golnaz Esfandiari writes about why a woman in Iran might do such a thing: “I’m not a supporter of violence, but as a woman who grew up in Iran and was harassed many times for appearing in public in a way that was deemed un-Islamic, I understand the frustration that woman in Semnan must have felt and why she lashed out at the cleric.”
Philanthropic Tibet businessman disappeared, his home demolished – Tibetan Review, September 21, 2012
A Tibetan businessman known for his philanthropy and generous support for Tibetan culture in Yulshul town of Yulshul Prefecture, Qinghai Province, has disappeared while his home and business establishment have been demolished by the Chinese authorities on Sep 12, reported Radio Free Asia (Washington) Sep 19.
In the foreign-language press
17 Turkish TV channels made simultaneous broadcast, calling on al-Assad to free Bashar Fahmi – Elnashra (Lebanese news and information site) September 21, 2012
The United Press International reported that seventeen Turkish TV channels made simultaneous broadcasts at 8:03 a.m. this morning, calling on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to free two journalists held captive in Syria. Alhurra’s Bashar Fahmi and Cüneyt Ünal have been in captivity for 33 days. Turkish TV channels displayed pictures of the two journalists with the sentence “They are only journalists” superimposed on the image, calling on al-Assad to set them free
NK flood victims received help from UK NGO – MBN (South Korean TV, 9/19/12)
UK NGO ‘Shelter Box’ provides emergency packaged kits to NK people hit hard by floods and typhoons, Radio Free Asia reported on 9/19/12.
Passenger cars made in Japan is hardly seen in NK – Joongang Ilbo (South Korean newspaper, 9/18/12).
Japanese passenger cars and small buses in NK have been scrapped according to NK’s policy to eliminate cars made in Japan, Radio Free Asia reported on 9/17/12.
Union City N.J. a Cuban City – Diario de Cuba, September 18th 2012
One of the most Cuban places in the United States is Union City N.J.. Some call it Cuba on the Hudson. The first Cubans came to this area in the late 40’s to work in the embroidery industry. After the Cuban revolution another group immigrated to the same area. In the 1980’s came the Mariel boatlift and a third migration of Cubans began to call the small town home. Diario de Cuba rebroadcasts a TV Marti report.
Of Interest
The New York Times bans quote approval – Poynter, September 21, 2012
Quote approval became a hotly-debated topic in July when Times reporter Jeremy Peters wrote a story about it: “Quote approval is standard practice for the Obama campaign, used by many top strategists and almost all midlevel aides in Chicago and at the White House — almost anyone other than spokesmen who are paid to be quoted. (And sometimes it applies even to them.) It is also commonplace throughout Washington and on the campaign trail.” At the time, Poynter reported that the Huffington Post acknowledged allowing sources to edit quotes on a case-by-case basis, while the Associated Press said it did not. McClatchy and National Journal banned the practice. After talking with reporters on staff, John Harris expressed confidence it wasn’t “being abused” at Politico, where he is editor in chief.
Viral Video Gets Propaganda Treatment – New York Times, September 20, 2012
Ordinarily, a star turn on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” teaching Britney Spears his dance might be one of the surest signs that a performer has made it. But this week, Park Jae-sang, the South Korean phenomenon behind a dance video called Gangnam Style, got an even clearer sign of success. North Korea — so cut off from the world that satellite shots show most of the country plunged in darkness at night — parodied the video.