Media Development Society

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2009-06-02T09:25:00.001-07:00

Media-savvy Pope savages media

2008-01-24T21:53:00.001-08:00

POPE Benedict XVI has called on the world's media to avoid becoming ideologically driven sales tools filled with vulgarity and violence.
Speaking on Saint Francis de Sales day, considered by the Catholic Church to be the patron saint of journalists, the Pope said the role played by the media in modern society forms "a crucial challenge for the third millennium''.
Mass media must "avoid becoming the megaphone for economic materialism and ethical relativism, (the) real wounds of our times''.
He spoke of the media's "positive contribution'' towards literacy, the spread of democracy and international dialogue but criticised its use "for ideological objectives, or for selling products through obsessive advertising'' while "resorting to vulgarity and violence''.
He wanted "self-regulation'' to encourage the growth of news ethics similar to that emerging in fields such as biomedical and life sciences.
On a similar theme, he also criticised western secular states as being "more sly'' than Marxist equivalents, in a speech to visiting Slovenian bishops.
Attacking the "frantic pursuit of material wealth'' and "the reduction in birth rates'', he lamented a shrinking of religious congregations along with a "marked'' decline among those entering the priesthood and other religious vocations.
"Depending on which vision of man we choose to follow, the consequences for our society change,'' he said.
He also said he objected to "numerous intellectuals who still find it difficult to accept the fact that reason and faith need each other to express their true nature and fulfill their purpose''.
A row recently erupted over a cancelled speech by the Pope at Rome's La Sapienza university after dozens of professors and students protested his presence at the secular school.

Watchdog slams conditions on Pakistan TV channel's return

2008-01-22T22:36:00.001-08:00

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — A global media watchdog Tuesday "deplored" what it said was the Pakistani government's insistence that a top television channel should drop key programmes to secure its return to the airwaves.
Geo News and Geo Sports came back on cable on Monday night, two and a half months after transmission of the popular Urdu-language stations was blocked by President Pervez Musharraf under a state of emergency.
Viewers had only been able to watch them on satellite or the Internet, despite the fact that Musharraf had lifted the emergency -- and restrictions on other broadcasters -- in mid-December.
But Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said that while it welcomed the stations' return, it "deplores the fact that President Pervez Musharraf made it conditional on the suppression of some its programmes."
The watchdog said the agreement between Geo's owners and the government was conditional on the suppression of two key news programmes presented by veteran journalists Hamid Mir and Shahid Masood.
"It is regrettable that the government insisted on the withdrawal of certain programmes," the group said, adding that the two journalists had been allowed to continue working for the station.
"This constitutes yet further evidence that censorship is unfortunately still the rule just a few weeks before the parliamentary elections scheduled for 18 February," the organisation said.
Geo -- whose employees led a noisy protest campaign during much of the station's time off-air -- refused to comment on the two programmes that the watchdog said were suppressed.
"I shall not offer any comment on the issue," Geo President Imran Aslam told AFP. "What I can say is that slowly but surely, things will come back to normal."
He described the government's decision to lift the ban ahead of elections as "wise".
"We have been keen to be the part of the whole election process," he said.
Aslam said that certain "issues" still need to be resolved between the Geo management and the government but would not give further details.

My Life In Media: Richard Quest

2008-01-20T21:15:00.000-08:00

Richard Quest, 45, is one of the faces of CNN. The British reporter has become one of the network's highest profile presenters with his own hour-long feature programme, Quest. He also covers breaking news and business stories, including last week's crash landing at Heathrow.
As a business travel specialist, Quest has become a voice of authority on subjects such as the launch of the Airbus A380; as a news correspondent he travelled across the US to gauge public feeling in the build-up to the 2004 presidential election and also anchored CNN's coverage of the funeral of Pope John Paul II, live from Rome. He will lead CNN International's coverage from the World Economic Forum in Davos from tomorrow until Sunday. He was born in Liverpool, and lives in central London.
What inspired you to embark on a media career?
I have always loved broadcasting – as a child in Liverpool I would wake up and listen to Morning Merseyside on BBC Radio Merseyside and wonder, "how do they do that?" Then, living in Leeds, I joined St James's Hospital radio. There is something magical about the whole idea of sound being carried over the air, even though St James's fired me when I was only 15 for scandalising the older volunteers with my youthful banter. As most in the media will recognise, there's always a running conflict between the old dears and the youthful wannabees!
When you were 15 years old, which newspaper did your family get, and did you read it?
We were a Daily Express family in the days of the old broadsheet and I read it religiously. I loved reading Jean Rook, the "First Lady of Fleet Street". Once I met her and I remember that raspy voice saying that what she wrote may end up wrapping fish and chips, but it was the best thing you could wrap them in! After it became tabloid, we moved to The Daily Telegraph.
And what were your favourite TV and radio programmes?
On radio I loved Noel Edmonds's Radio 1 breakfast show – and Tony Blackburn. I can still hear those bloody jingles deep in my brain. On telly, Crown Court, remember that? If you skived off school, you could watch another leading case from the Fulchester courtroom. Also, The Champions and The Saint. And there was that Friday-night drama slot at 9pm on ITV with programmes like Within These Walls, Justice and Hadleigh.
Describe your job?
Find something interesting or important in the world and go and tell the rest of the world about it and why it matters. Simple. I love it.
What's the first media you turn to in the mornings?
It depends where I am in the world. Obviously, my own network, CNN, to see what we are leading on. Then on to the opposition to see if they are, too....
Do you consult any media sources during the day?
Of course, I am a journalist. Usually CNN.com on my PDA and, when I can, all the major sites and news networks. I may believe we are the best, but I am not arrogant enough to believe we are the only one!
What is the best thing about your job?
Telling people something they don't know. Journalists are authoritative gossips – "Psst, have you heard? Since you went to bed this has happened. Well, let me tell you..."
And the worst?
When nothing has happened and you have to keep broadcasting about it, when you have to keep the story going until something does actually happen and, in the meantime, you have to make it sound interesting.
How do you feel you influence the media?
Working for CNN you help set the agenda for decision makers and industry leaders simply by doing your job. What the network covers and how we cover it affects people. I am not naive enough to believe I work in some "pure" news vacuum.
What's the proudest achievement in your working life?
The first time I heard a Radio 4 newsreader say "...as Richard Quest now reports" on air. Unfortunately, because I was unknown to her, she said it with that "and who is this oik?" tone that only those in the business can discern.
And what's your most embarrassing moment?
Starting a live interview with someone and realising they were the wrong guest for the wrong segment and having to work out – live – why I was interviewing them. There is no easy way to do that! Oh, and nearly trying to "vox pop" the Queen Mother.
What is your Sunday paper? And do you have a favourite magazine?
I don't like the Sunday newspapers – I read them because I have to. Sunday Times, Telegraph, Independent on Sunday – I find them heavy and too much! I prefer The Economist.
Name the one career ambition you want to realise before you retire?
To get a chance to interview a president – any president – of the United States in the Oval Office.
What would you do if you didn't work in the media?
Be a flight attendant. To work with those magical flying machines every day and see the world.
Who in the media do you most admire and why?
David Dimbleby. For sheer broadcasting elegance and ability he cannot be beaten. I listen to his interviews and watch his live election presentation in awe.
The CV
1985 Joins the BBC as a news trainee, focusing on business journalism.
1987 Becomes part of the BBC's financial unit, later appointed to North America business correspondent.
2001 Joins CNN International to front the network's live business programming, co-anchoring Business International. Reports on many of the major news events of recent years, including the Iraq war and the death of Yasser Arafat.
2004 Travels across the USA to hear what voters think about impending presidential election.
2005 Becomes the face of Quest, CNN's monthly feature programme which sees him travel the globe on a "quest" to find out more about a specific topic. Quest also fronts CNN Business Traveller.

Waterproofing Your Digital Camera

2008-01-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

The CES show in Las Vegas takes place in a high-tech oasis surrounded by a desert. As I wander the aisles with my camera, I can't help but wonder about the one that got away. For me, the one that got away is a camera, lost at sea. Two summers ago, while kayaking in Quebec, my wonderful Panasonic Lumix TZ10 camera, almost new at the time, slipped off the deck of my kayak and slid into the water. It was only beneath shallow water for seconds, but it was a fatal dip into the cold, salty, camera-hostile St. Lawrence Seaway.

The problem with cameras and waterproof bags are twofold. Either they are rigid boxes like the ones from OtterBox or they are bags that don't allow you to take a photo without removing the bag. But at CES my eye caught the DiCAPac booth, displaying a bathtub full of cameras, each housed in a protective waterproof case. Unlike the bulky and expensive hard plastic underwater cases that are designed for a specific type of camera or the bags you can't photograph through, the DiCAPac pouches are refreshingly generic and surprisingly inexpensive and useful. The pouch is clear plastic, modeled after the dry bags that canoeists and kayakers have used for years. The big addition is a polycarbonate lens opening that lets you take pictures even when the camera is in the pouch.

The camera controls are a bit hard to operate through the case, so you need to get most things set up ahead of time. For example, pressing the power switch or shutter is easy, but rotating a mode dial is pretty hard. These aren't really intended for serious scuba divers as the rated depth is only 5 meters, but they should be OK for some surface snorkeling or for use as protection against heavy rain or an accidental spill. And yes, if you drop the pouch into the sea, the camera will float. These waterproof pouches will work great or not so well, depending on your camera and needs.

The pouches that are in production now are in three sizes and shapes that will work for most point-and-shoot cameras and cost around $30. At that price, just get it because you'll need it if you want to photograph that rainy soccer game or you want to safely take the camera on a boat or kayak. They also were showing a pouch that would work for most SLR cameras, although it's not quite ready for sale, won't be available for a few months, and is at a higher price point (above $100). And slightly later they will have a pouch for a camera like my Canon Powershot Pro1, which is a sort of pro/am hybrid, larger than a point-and-shoot but not the size of most SLRs. I'll be visiting www.dicapac.com often, waiting for the announcement.

Media sans morality in Pakistan

2008-01-18T07:54:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, The era of President Pervez Musharaff has witnessed a mushrooming of media channels and newspapers in Pakistan. Such growth in the media industry was never seen before in the country.
Initially, print media mavens in Pakistan stretched their legs to venture into electronic media, where they became real success stories. The Pakistani people welcomed the move with enthusiasm, as this new phenomenon gave them a breath of fresh air.
The openness of the media under Musharaff was a polar opposite to the controlling policies of the former president, Gen. Zia al-Haq. The public and media experienced full freedom of speech; they could counter and criticize the government as is done in the United States and other Western countries. This policy on the part of the military government was really appreciated in a state like Pakistan, where in the 1980s journalists were often harassed, abducted and tortured.
Unfortunately, soon after they were given the right to publish and transmit freely, these media empires were taken over by commercial interests or by anti-government factions who started a trend of government bashing. The media indulged in criticism for the sake of criticism and began to spread despondency among the masses.
Considering media the fastest money-making industry, a number of industrial giants jumped into this business as well. Instead of setting up new cement or glass factories they preferred opening up a new TV channel or a newspaper to add to their business conglomerates. This trend brought money into the media industry, but took away the real spirit of this profession, which is based on creativity and dedication to truthfulness and precision. Corporate world mindsets simply don't fit with the criteria of professional journalism.
Another phenomenon also emerged in Pakistani media companies -- the exploitation of women within the hierarchical company structure. One young woman who was in dire need of a job joined a media network in the capital as a reporter. She was physically assaulted by her chief and threatened with dismissal if she refused to obey him. Her situation is not unique. It is ironic that media mavens in Pakistan are crying out for freedom of speech, yet have not learned to respect the basic human rights of their employees.
Gory stories of journalists being held, detained and abducted in Pakistan are proudly reported on international forums like Reporters sans Frontiers, but unfortunately people tend to turn a blind eye toward the harassment of media personnel the world over. Pakistan has an uneven record in this regard, but it is not alone. It is publicly acknowledged that some news networks do their utmost to paint a bleak picture of emerging events, and of moves by the government, as a means of marketing their content.
The media has contributed positively to society in some situations. One such case was when a major earthquake jolted the region on Oct. 8, 2005. Journalists travelled to the most far-flung areas of the country and reported about the conditions of the victims, as well as their need for medical help and food.
A critical balance must be struck between protecting the rights of the media and maintaining the integrity of the profession. Pakistani citizens want to hear and see truthful reports, not news that has been distorted or misshapen. They do not always want negative, anti-government reports. They want their voices to be heard, but not through media that present a single viewpoint and represent a particular class or group.
Another new phenomenon that undermines the quality of Pakistan's commercial broadcast media is the induction of anchorpersons on various channels that are not appropriately trained for the job, especially on current affairs programs. Young women with insufficient knowledge about public affairs are given such jobs on the basis of their appearance, and then allowed to comment on serious issues such as Pakistan's nuclear weapons and terrorism.
These positions require responsibility and credibility. For those who accept such roles, there is a very thin line between performing journalistic duties and being bought off by groups with vested interests.
--
(Mehwish Hassan Sara is a research fellow at the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad. She is a regular contributor to research journals as well as popular media in Pakistan. She has a master's degree in international relations from the National University of Modern Languages in Islamabad. ©Copyright Mehwish Hassan Sara.)

'State-run media must be inclusive'

2008-01-16T03:06:00.000-08:00

KATHMANDU, Jan. 15: Various speakers stressed that the proportional representation of all castes and groups should be ensured while appointing journalists and other staffs in government controlled national media at a time when the country has adopted the inclusive policy. They also complained that the government has failed to follow the principle of proportional representation in political appointment, however there are many legal and procedural complications.Participating speakers concerned underlined the need of translating principle of proportional representation in to practice since there was nominal representation of women, dalits and nationalities in the government medias according to a research carried out with the support of Freedom Forum on 'current situation of inclusion in government medias'. The study carried out in Gorkhapatra, Rastriya Samachar Samiti, Radio Nepal and Nepal Television revealed that there has been least representation of people belonging to madhesi, women, dalit and nationalities among board of directors and employees in government medias. Nepali Congress Parliamentarians and RSS former Chairman Mitharam Biswokarma said that the government has remained mute to implement the principle of proportional representation and also provided government with the recommendation to strike balance between words and deeds.Mohan Nepali noted that the current legal and other structure would need to be changed if the nominal presence of marginalized people in some posts and position is taken as representation.Nepal Federation of Indigenous People and Nationalities (NFIN) Advisor and Indigenous Movement leader Dr. Om Gurung opined that there should be the representation of indigenous people and nationalities at bottom to policy level in the government medias to give adequate space to the issues of the these groups. Member of Interim Constitution-2006 Draft Committee Min Bahadur Biswokarma underscored the need of increasing the participation of dalits in the government run medias at a time when the marginalized sections of society are lagging behind and the State has adopted the principle of representation.

Has effective media been replaced by efficient media?

2008-01-16T03:04:00.000-08:00

By: Claudelle Naidoo
A million minds have a zillion different ways in which to interpret effective media versus efficient media or vice versa. Gone are the days when advertisers planned focused campaigns to invest in the market and create long term awareness!When one plans a campaign based on efficiency, the entire strategy can have negative blow in that most budget constraints fall short of the actual plan. Putting together an efficient campaign is one of the concerning factors in any marketer's mind, hence the pressure to create immediate awareness among consumers can sometimes be a hard task to accomplish.Our main focus today should be to “manage change” in society and grow with the market, not against it. We need to become effective and sell the idea of effective campaigns to top management; then and only then will we be able to dig deep within the roots of our consumers and buy into their souls. It might cost a fortune, but when the brain tells us to create a strategy that will sell, let your imagination run wild and enjoy the benefits of reaching your ideal target.A great misconception when marketing is to plan based on what other advertisers are doing; rather lead and let them follow. Be creative, enthusiastic, different, and you will open a new and effective door to the wonderful world of advertising!After examining the relevant factors that influence purchasing decisions, I feel that as advertisers we can come up with customised and effective solutions rather than ponder on working efficiently. So the question still at hand is do we all feel the same?
ABOUT THE AUTHORClaudelle Naidoo is a marketing and media intelligence analyst with a great passion for media and an avid interest in understanding consumer needs. She writes in her own personal capacity. Contact her at claudellenaidoo@hotmail.com.

Critics slam CRTC cross-media ownership policy

2008-01-16T02:56:00.000-08:00

RITA TRICHUR BUSINESS REPORTER
Critics have slammed the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's new cross-media ownership policy, saying the revamped rules will have no impact on Canada's highly concentrated media industry.
The much-anticipated rules released yesterday result from the federal broadcast regulator's "diversity of voices" hearings last fall, called in the wake of a slew of media mega-mergers in recent years.
The decision has several facets, but the main change is that a person or business will now be limited to owning only two types of media in the same market, such as a local radio station, television station or newspaper.
The new rules, however, are not retroactive and have no impact on the blockbuster deals the commission has already approved.
Lise Lareau, president of the Canadian Media Guild, said the decision merely cements the status quo.
The commission "is preserving the current unacceptable levels of concentration and is not even adopting meaningful measures to stop it from getting worse."
Lareau said this ruling, coupled with the commission's approval of recent deals, means that a parliamentary review is now in order.
"Maybe we either need to re-examine what the CRTC is doing or issue a new set of guidelines for what the CRTC does."
Peter Murdoch, vice-president of media with the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union, said the decision "allows the big players to become bigger, and does very little if anything to limit media concentration in Canada."
Stephen Waddell, ACTRA's national executive director, seemed wistful.
"Some rules are better than no rules with respect to ensuring that there's not monopolies created in this country."
The broadcast regulator held public hearings last September to assess media ownership concentration and the diversity of voices in Canadian broadcasting after a wave of industry consolidation. Arguably the most contentious of those deals was the $2.3 billion acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. by CanWest Global Communications Corp. and United States investment bank Goldman Sachs & Co.
Other notable transactions included CTVglobemedia Inc.'s $1.4 billion takeover of CHUM Ltd. and a subsequent deal under which Rogers Media Inc. bought five Citytv television stations from CTVglobemedia for $375 million. Astral Media, meanwhile, bought Standard Radio Inc. for $1.2 billion.
Chief watchdog Konrad von Finckenstein said the new policies provide a "clear approach" to assess future transactions. He added: "It is an approach that will preserve the plurality of editorial voices and the diversity of programming available to Canadians, both locally and nationally, while allowing for a strong and competitive industry."
The new rules apply only to private broadcasters. The commission plans to hold separate proceedings on the CBC.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which represents private broadcasters, did not immediately comment. The group has argued that new restrictions on media cross-ownership were unnecessary and that consolidation was a "survival strategy" for players in the 21st century media landscape.
The commission also took two further steps to address criticisms that consolidation is hurting the diversity of local, regional and national content. Those measures include new limits on the ownership of broadcasting licences to ensure that one party would not control more than 45 per cent of the total television audience share as a result of a merger or acquisition.
It is also banning transactions between cable or satellite companies that would result in one party effectively controlling the delivery of television programming in a single market.

German experts crack Mona Lisa smile

2008-01-15T07:37:00.000-08:00

BERLIN (Reuters) - German academics believe they have solved the centuries-old mystery behind the identity of the "Mona Lisa" in Leonardo da Vinci's famous portrait.
Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a wealthy Florentine merchant, Francesco del Giocondo, has long been seen as the most likely model for the sixteenth-century painting.

But art historians have often wondered whether the smiling woman may actually have been da Vinci's lover, his mother or the artist himself.

Now experts at the Heidelberg University library say dated notes scribbled in the margins of a book by its owner in October 1503 confirm once and for all that Lisa del Giocondo was indeed the model for one of the most famous portraits in the world.

"All doubts about the identity of the Mona Lisa have been eliminated by a discovery by Dr. Armin Schlechter," a manuscript expert, the library said in a statement on Monday.

Until then, only "scant evidence" from sixteenth-century documents had been available. "This left lots of room for interpretation and there were many different identities put forward," the library said.

The notes were made by a Florentine city official Agostino Vespucci, an acquaintance of the artist, in a collection of letters by the Roman orator Cicero.

The comments compare Leonardo to the ancient Greek artist Apelles and say he was working on three paintings at the time, one of them a portrait of Lisa del Giocondo.

Art experts, who have already dated the painting to this time, say the Heidelberg discovery is a breakthrough and the earliest mention linking the merchant's wife to the portrait.

"There is no reason for any lingering doubts that this is another woman," Leipzig University art historian Frank Zoellner told German radio. "One could even say that books written about all this in the past few years were unnecessary, had we known."

The woman was first linked to the painting in around 1550 by Italian official Giorgio Vasari, the library said, but added there had been doubts about Vasari's reliability and had made the comments five decades after the portrait had been painted.

The Heidelberg notes were actually discovered over two years ago in the library by Schlechter, a spokeswoman said.

Although the findings had been printed in the library's public catalogue they had not been widely publicized and had received little attention until a German broadcaster decided to do some recording at the library, she said.

The painting, which hangs in the Louvre in Paris, is also known as "La Gioconda" meaning the happy or joyful woman in Italian, a title which also suggests the woman's married name.

Kenyan media appeal to politicians to end crisis

2008-01-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

By Daniel Wallis

NAIROBI, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Kenyan media called on feuding politicians on Saturday to end a crisis that has killed 500 people since President Mwai Kibaki's disputed re-election, forecasting dark days ahead.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is due to lead a new push for peace in east Africa's biggest economy. But the opposition, which accuses Kibaki of rigging the Dec. 27 polls, is planning new protests after African Union talks collapsed.

"Recalling the lives lost and destruction visited on this country, both sides should pause a little and consider whether they want to be responsible for any chain of events that could wreck Kenya," the Daily Nation newspaper said in an editorial.

"Anyone who thinks the government can merely sit tight and wait for things to calm down would be deluding himself."

The unrest in once-stable Kenya has badly dented the nation's democratic credentials, worried world powers and damaged its previously booming economy.

Around the country, the United Nations estimates that 500,000 Kenyans will need emergency aid including food handouts following two weeks of riots and ethnic bloodletting.

Fears have grown of further violence after Raila Odinga's opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) vowed to hold three days of protests beginning with a mass demonstration in Nairobi on Wednesday. Police have banned all political rallies.

"Given the government's intransigence and ODM's unrelenting demand for justice, the days ahead are bound to be the most difficult ... there is a dark, ominous cloud hovering above us," the Standard newspaper said.

"COMPLETE ANARCHY"

Parliament, where Odinga's party won 99 seats to 43 for Kibaki's Party of National Unity, is due to resume business on Tuesday and that is likely to prove another flashpoint.

Since being sworn-in after a ballot that foreign monitors said fell short of democratic standards, Kibaki has looked to entrench himself by leading state functions, recalling legislators and naming most of a new cabinet.

On Friday, the Orange Democratic Movement called for international sanctions on his team. But analysts say protests appear to be the only way for Odinga to maintain pressure.

The prospect of more turmoil has dismayed many Kenyans, already enduring one of the worst episodes in four and a half decades since independence from Britain. More than 250,000 Kenyans have been made homeless.

Annan is expected in Kenya in the coming week to try to mediate after AU chief and Ghanaian President John Kufuor failed to broker a deal.

But the Nation newspaper warned that he might have little to work with if more violence erupts.

"A cycle of attack and counter-attack could lead to complete anarchy," it said, urging Kibaki and Odinga to realise that millions of Kenyans were looking to them.

"If this country goes down the drain, history will not record the hardliners in their respective entourages, but the principals who will bear personal responsibility."

Media restrictions could affect election coverage in Pakistan - Reporters Without Borders

2008-01-10T21:32:00.000-08:00

Restrictions on the broadcast media in Pakistan may block information surrounding the upcoming legislative elections, Reporters Without Borders said today. In Pakistan, where a large majority of the population is illiterate, television is the sole means of access to news and information for many people.
RWB is particularly concerned with the government’s ban on Geo News, which it calls “the freest and most popular of Pakistan’s TV broadcasters.” This only adds to the environment of fear within which Pakistani journalists are operating, as they must be hyperaware of the threats of imprisonment, violence, fines and other security risks. RWB lists five key problems for media coverage of the legislative elections next month:
Media ordinances issued by the government that legalize censorship
The ban on Geo News
Violence and intimidation tactics by police
Lack of guaranteed safety for journalists
Bias in reporting on PTV, the government TV station
To learn more about RWB recommendations for attaining press freedom in Pakistan, please visit http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24976.

Pakistan tops killing of journalists in South Asia in 2007: SAMC

2008-01-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

* 25 journalists were killed in SA in 2007 * Sri Lanka second with six deaths* Afghanistan on number three with five killings * In India three were burnt to deathLAHORE: Twenty-one journalists and four media workers were killed in South Asia in 2007. Pakistan topped the list with seven deaths followed by Sri Lanka with six and Afghanistan with five killings, said an annual report launched by the South Asian Media Commission (SAMC) on Monday simultaneously from Pakistan, India Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan.The report said three journalists were killed in Nepal and three media workers lost their lives in India. “Freedom of the media will remain wishful thinking without ensuring the supremacy of the constitution, the independence of the judiciary and the restoration of democracy in Pakistan,” said South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) secretary general Imtiaz Alam.He said the SAMC had been set up to monitor attacks on journalists, media organisations and violation of media freedom in South Asia. Talking about the curbs on the media in the wake of the imposition of emergency on November 3, he said journalists from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Bangladesh had expressed solidarity with the Pakistani media. He said journalists had protested against the curbs imposed on the Pakistani media in their respective countries from the platform of SAFMA. He thanked the civil society members who stood hand in hand with the journalists. He urged the media bodies to formulate their own codes of conduct rather than following the one set by the government to control the media, so that the government would not be able to intervene in their professional activities. He slammed the government for banning private TV channels to announce results in the upcoming general elections. He said such a restriction could raise doubts in the minds of the people over the credibility of the elections. SAMC Pakistan-chapter president IA Rehman said the overall situation regarding freedom of media had remained dismal in Pakistan. He said several journalists had been victimised, tortured and persecuted in 2007. He said the government had banned many FM radio stations in the country, which followed the government’s code of conduct. On the other hand, he said, the government had not banned several illegal FM stations, which were disseminating anti-state propaganda among the masses. He said the government had imposed curbs on the media when the country’s situation had worsened. He said the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) was devised to ‘strangulate’ the press freedom, by the government, in the country. He said Pakistani journalists had met the expectations of the people in the country by reporting in the volley of bullets in 2007. He urged the journalists and media organisations to stand united when the government was hell-bent on subjugating them. He hoped that the Pakistani journalists would sacrifice for the freedom of the media. He said the journalists were morally and professionally obliged to communicate the truth to the people. SAMC regional coordinator Hussain Naqi said the lives of the journalists should be protected and ensured by the media organisations. He said the journalists had been doing their job in precarious conditions. He said SAFMA had played a significant role in the struggle of freedom of the media in Pakistan after the imposition of emergency on November 3. He said SAFMA had invited all media organisations, journalists’ unions and other stakeholders to formulate a policy for ensuring freedom of the media in Pakistan. AFGHANISTAN: Five journalists were killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Rahman Qul, editor of government-run magazine Andkhoy, was shot dead in Faryab province. Ajmal Naqshbandi, a freelance journalist, was slain by his Taliban captors in Helmand province. Female journalist Zakia Zaki, Sada-i-Sulh, was killed in Parwan province and television news presenter Shokiba Sanga Amaaj was murdered in her home in Kabul. Abdul Munir, a producer and presenter of Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA), was killed in Jawzjan province.BANGLADESH: There were several attacks on the media by political militants and gangs. Threats, attacks and abusive legal action were all used by the influential people in a bid to silence the media. BHUTAN: Media freedom has been restricted by the government. Private broadcasters are opening their outlets, but cable television is said to be thriving with rival operators offering dozens of channels. INDIA: Amid debate on sting operations and foreign investment in Indian media, attacks on media freedom by official agencies and non-state actors made the news. Three media workers died when protesters set the daily Dinakaran’s office on fire, in the town of Madurai. In Hyderabad, the activists of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen attacked the chief editor and owner of an Urdu daily, Siasat. In Guwahati, the United Liberation Front of Assam threatened a city-based satellite news channel with closure. In Mumbai, members of Hindu Rashtriya Sena attacked the Star News headquarters, because the channel had ‘glorified’ the eloping of a Hindu girl with a Muslim boy. MALDIVES: In 2007, the Maldivian journalists, like Fahala Saeed and Aminath Najeeb, continued to face the government’s wrath at the hands of the police. Phillip Wellman, a journalist for the Minivan News website and a US citizen, was expelled again from the country just five days after returning to the Maldives on January 15, 2007. NEPAL: The abduction and killing of three journalists in 2007 sealed the blotch of stigma on press freedom and security in Nepal. The editor and publisher of the Ajako Samachar Dainik and the vice-president of the Kanchanpur chapter of Federation of Nepalese Journalists, Prakash Thakuri, Birendra Shah of Nepal FM, Shankar Panthi, Naya Satta were murdered. PAKISTAN: The security of journalists remained a major issue here. Highlighting the many risks journalists in Pakistan now face, Mehboob Khan, a freelancer, Noor Hakim Khan of Daily Pakistan, Javed Khan of Markaz and DM Digital TV, Muhammad Arif of ARY One World, Zubair Ahmed Mujahid of Jang, Nisar Ahmed Solangi, who worked for a Sindhi daily, and Syed Kamil Mashadi, working for a private TV channel, were killed. SRI LANKA: Six journalists were killed, kidnapped, arrested, assaulted and threatened in conflict-stricken zones in the north and east. Subash Chandraboas of Nilam, Selvarajah Rajeewarnam of Uthayan and Isaivizhi Chempiyan, Suresh Linbiyo and T Tharmalingam of Voice of Tigers, and Sahadevan Nilakshan of Chaalaram were killed. staff report

Govt Spokesman rejects ICG report

2008-01-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4 (APP): Pakistan has rejected the ICG’s report released on Friday, terming it patently biased and reflective of a complete lack of understanding and appreciation of the environment and ground realities in the country. Commenting on the Brussels-based NGO, International Crisis Group’s (ICG) report, the government spokesman regretted that sitting thousands of miles away from Pakistan and trenched in the European environment, ICG was attempting to meddle in the democratic process of Pakistan.
ICG, he said, “neither has the credentials, nor the credibility and lacks representational standing specially on Pakistan’s national affairs.”
“It badly lacks appreciation and knowledge of the environment and conditions prevailing in Pakistan,” the Spokesman said.
“Urging the President of Pakistan to quit and the United States to encourage Pakistan Military leadership to persuade the President of Pakistan to resign, tantamount to propagate seditious views against the laws of the country,” he said and added that under the Constitution of Pakistan, the President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of Pakistan and such comments as released to the media by ICG report, amounts to promoting sedition.
The Spokesman hoped that the media in Pakistan would exercise its own editorial judgement in handling such seditious material as contained in the ICG report.

MEDIA-THAILAND: Interference Mars Community Radio

2008-01-10T21:26:00.001-08:00

By Lynette Lee Corporal
- Asia Media ForumBANGKOK, Jan 11 (IPS) - Pride evident in his voice, Weerapol Charoenthum expressed his satisfaction with ‘Maung Loei’, a community radio station run by the youth of the north-eastern Thai province of Loei. The station is among about a dozen that are part of Loei Community Networks, whose concept entails using radio as a means to teach children how to be responsible citizens and gives adults a way to "listen to what the children have to say" about different issues, explains Weeraphol, coordinator of the networks. "Community radio has opened up communication channels for people and although we continue to face problems such as lack of funds, we are quite happy with what we have done so far," Weerapol said in a lecture on community radio this week at Chulalongkorn University here. "There is no question about the desire of local communities to express themselves through small media. It is a global phenomenon. But this is complicated by challenges coming from different sides, including changes in technology, that we don't see the future clearly," explained Prof Drew McDaniel, director for international studies of Ohio University. Flourishing in the years following the media reforms provided in Thailand's 1997 constitution, community radio became quite popular during ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's administration. Years later, these local stations continue to experience birthing pains brought about by challenges posed by licensing, funding, programming goals -- and freedom of expression. In the months after Thaksin’s ouster in September 2006, the military and the government it installed frowned on community radio stations in the north-east, known for giving popular support to the ousted leader, and clamped down on some that were seen to be opposed to military rule or sympathetic to the Thaksin government. "Like in the Philippines, community radio in Thailand is more development-oriented, focusing on such issues as agriculture, for instance. Those located in troubled areas, on the other hand, naturally would have a more political nature," Thai scholar and activist Prof Ubonrat Siriyuvasat said in an interview. Unfortunately, Prof Chalisa Magpanthong added, many local stations remain unclear about their goals. "Because a lot of them get their funding to operate from foreign donors, people tend to misuse it. They would do as they please and have no fixed programming," said Chalisa, whose doctoral dissertation at Ohio University was on community radio in Sakon Nakhon province in the north-east, Lamphun in the north, and Pattani in the south. Another problem that comes with outside funding, she continued, is the propagation of vested economic or political interests. "We've heard cases of people using the radio to bash each other on air," said Chalisa. What's more, in places like Sakon Nakhon where a hierarchy exists among different minority groups, problems of discrimination also abound and result in 'lesser' minorities being overlooked and ignored. In Pattani, located in the restive south where there is separatist sentiment and a history of bombings over the last few years, community radio tends to avoid political issues because they are afraid of being shut down by the authorities, added Chalisa. "There are cases when the radio programmes just air Public Relations Department news items and don't talk about the real issues and problems affecting them," added Ubonrat. According to Chiang Mai University lecturer Jiraporn Witayasakpan, only 150 among the 3,000 or so radio stations across the country can be considered authentic community-based ones, meaning they were set up and are being managed by the people themselves. "Forty-five of them are in the northern region and 10 are in Chiang Mai province," Jiraporn stated, quoting a survey done by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Citing ethnic and linguistic diversities in the United States, McDaniel said that one of the major reasons why a community wants to put up its own radio station is "to be able to broadcast in its own language". While the United States can pride itself in giving more leeway to such goals, the same could be a bit more tricky in Thailand, where the use of dialects or other languages are 'discouraged' by the government, experts explained. "In Pattani, for example, locals used to broadcast in their local language (Yawi). Citing national security threats following the unrest in the south, the government began monitoring these programmes and tried to control the use of local language," said Chalisa. This, she added, conflicts with the concept of participatory communication, which involves the freedom to determine local language, content and location of stations. Media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong said: "People --Thais and non-Thais -- should be allowed to freely express their views and discuss their problems. It's funny how government sees other languages, Burmese for instance, as a threat to national security." More than a million Burmese migrant workers, many of them undocumented, are estimated to be living in Thailand. Limited frequencies are another problem for community radio proponents, because most are 'occupied' by a few state-owned and private media corporations. The trouble stems from the fact that the National Broadcasting Commission, tasked to allocate frequencies and oversee operations of broadcast networks, has not been formed yet. Yet a law was passed in 2000 to create the Radio Frequencies Allocation and Regulatory Body. "One problem that we see from this law is that the criteria for allocation of frequencies is very wide and if we're not careful, these frequencies could be dominated by powerful groups and edge out smaller community radio that does not have the same resources," said Supinya. Nonetheless, proponents of a stronger public-oriented media are adopting a wait-and-see attitude, especially in the wake of the December 2007 election that was held more than a year after the military-led coup that led to closer supervision of community media. "While community radio has not exactly flourished as much as we'd like it to, the people are excited with the concept and are looking forward to see its development," said Chalisa.

Private Media Group and Mobile Streams Launch State of the Art 'Off-Portal'; Mobile Site

2008-01-10T21:25:00.001-08:00

BARCELONA, Spain, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Private Media Group, Inc , a global leader in high quality adult entertainment, and Mobile Streams, the premier global music and media provider, today announced the European launch of Private's mobile portal site http://www.private.mobi, the first stage in the development of their strategic global partnership.
Private.mobi is exclusively focused on the rapidly growing "off-portal", direct to consumer mobile content market. It utilizes Mobile Streams' Vuesia solution, which includes advanced strategic integration with major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, and the search results offer a uniquely tailored "one-click-to-the-correct-content" response for the user. The site will be aggressively marketed both on and offline. This includes the vast array of media platforms that Private is distributed on such as internet, broadcasting channels, DVDs and magazines.
Peter Cohen, COO of Private Media Group stated: "Private is the most distributed global adult brand in the mobile business. We are currently available 'on-portal' on over 800 million handsets in 35 countries via 83 operators and we are very focused on maximizing our mobile content distribution as 'off-portal' content delivery is projected to exponentially grow in the next few years. With this new delivery method we are anticipating significant incremental growth in contribution to operating profit from our mobile division."
"The direct to consumer channel is growing strongly", stated Simon Buckingham, CEO of Mobile Streams. "Private owns the largest high quality adult content library in the world. As users search more widely for content that fits their individual interests, Private's brand quality and depth of product offerings utilizing Mobile Streams technology platform will present them with an exciting and fulfilling mobile internet experience."
About Mobile Streams
Mobile Streams is a leading provider of music, comedy, sport and entertainment content to handsets and other wireless devices, whose mobile expertise and distribution platform, "Vuesia," is used globally by some of the world's largest media groups and mobile phone networks including Vodafone, and 3 in the UK, America Movil, Movistar & TIM in Latin America, Fido & Rogers in Canada and Dobson in the US. "Vuesia" is Mobile Streams' full service enterprise mobile media management solution. "Vuesia" facilitates content ingestion, management, delivery, billing and reporting.
The Company creates, licenses and delivers quality content to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and consumers in the form of ring tones, graphics, video clips and other products. It has developed relationships with both content owners and MNOs which enable it to act as an intermediary, providing an end-to-end service encompassing a broad range of elements from content licensing to content production, account management and channel management.
Mobile Streams has subsidiaries in Germany, the US, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Sydney and Singapore and has approximately 100 employees.
For more information, please go to http://www.mobilestreams.com.
About Private Media Group
With its 40 year track record, NASDAQ listed Private Media Group is a brand-driven world leader in adult entertainment and distributes premium quality content globally via a wide range of platforms including more than 800 million mobile telephone handsets, IPTV/VOD, broadband Internet, television broadcasting, DVDs and magazines. Private Media Group owns the worldwide rights to its extensive archive of high-quality content, and also licenses its Private and "Silver Girls" trademarks internationally for a select range of luxury consumer products.
Disclaimer
This release contains, in addition to historical information, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which reflect the Company's current judgments of those issues. However, because those statements are forward-looking and apply to future events, they are subject to such risks and uncertainties, which could lead to results materially different than anticipated by the Company.

President Mbeki appoints new MDDA board

2008-01-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

A new board was elected for the government-partnered Media Development and Diversity Agency, the agency said today. President Thabo Mbeki appointed five new board members for a three-year term, after the previous board's term of office expired, said agency CEO Lumko Mtimde.The chairperson, Gugu Msibi, was elected for a five-year period. Msibi is a former SABC political journalist and senior producer for current affairs programme AM/PM Live on SAFM.She has also been a strategy and media advisor to Mvela Group chairperson Tokyo Sexwale, the SABC, the Land Bank, Gauteng Shared Services (GSSC), Parliament, Transnet and the Department of Home Affairs.The other board members are:Nomonde Gongxeka - a former actress from Yizo Yizo and Soul City and current Funding and Partnerships Executive at SABC's Business Development Unit.Siviwe Minyi - a founding member of Western Cape community radio station Bush Radio and trainer in the Men and Masculinities programme for the Gender Education and Training Network.Guy Berger - a media lecturer and researcher, Mail and Guardian online columnist and winner of the SA National Editors Forum 2006 Nat Nakasa award for media integrity.Baby Tyawa - founder member of the Congress of SA Students, registered psychologist and deputy CEO of strategy and content management at the Government Communication and Information System.The board's appointments took effect as of January 1 2008. Mtimde said the MDDA was "set up as a partnership between the South African Government and major print and broadcasting companies to assist in developing community and small commercial media in South Africa."He said the agency hoped newly licensed broadcasting services including Telkom Media, Multichoice Africa, On Digital Media, E-Sat, Walking on Water TV, Capricorn FM, M-Power Radio and Radio North West would join hands with them to create "diverse, vibrant and creative media" which reflected the needs of all South Africans. - Sapa

2008: Media development or media distraction?

2008-01-10T21:20:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a year of media development for me. That is, if the political people don't throw too many press-freedom threats into the works. December brought the news that I've been appointed to the board of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) -- the statutory body set up to promote grassroots media growth. This is no token appointment -- there are meetings galore lined up already. Coincidentally, December also saw me join a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) process to set up an index to measure a country's state of "media development". Such an index can help gauge a country's ability to be a player in the global information age. An advanced media system does not necessarily mean that a nation can count itself to be a knowledge society. For example, the United States has an enormous number of media, but no one would describe Americans in general as deeply knowledgeable about the rest of the world.Still, a high media density is at least a precondition for information flows. These in turn are essential for spreading knowledge that can drive democracy and development.The Unesco process kicked off with a paper by former Index on Censorship leader Andrew Puddephat, who identified more than 26 systems for measuring media health around the world. My contribution to the discussion is that "media" and "development" need to be defined before you can properly say what counts as a relevant indicator. For instance, if you define "media" only in narrow terms, then it's not relevant to look at the penetration of cellphones. But while cellphones are not (yet) being used to spread journalism, we need to keep our eyes open to changes here. Another point is deciding if "media development" encompasses not just the quantity of media, but also developing the quality. If so, then it becomes important to assess the calibre and reach of public-service content within any given media system.These matters are particularly important for South Africa, where arguably our media ought to be doing journalism that helps compensate for our failed schools, and which promotes HIV/Aids education, deepens democracy and so on. The availability of journalism to all sectors of society is also critical. It would be myopic to say that we have a developed media system if South Africans do not enjoy access to robust news journalism about local issues.In this context, the MDDA exists as a non-market mechanism to promote news for communities where a lack of skills, finance and advertising serves to limit the evolution of quality local media.One constraint facing the agency, however, is limited finance. It had a mere R20-million to disperse last year. When you consider that major media company Avusa was last year offered R6-billion by would-be buyers, you can see the limited scale in terms of which the MDDA currently can be effective.Media development, once you define it, depends on an optimum configuration of money, skills, advertising and attention to quality journalism -- mobilised at all levels of society.It also hangs on a progressive legal and political environment. At minimum, media development means that politicians should get out of the way; at maximum, institutions like the MDDA need really serious support.Although politics as news pulls in audiences for media in South Africa, the politics of messing with media freedom distracts everyone's energies from a focus on media development.This year will likely see a much tougher economy than 2007. That means that media growth and development, and me, will have enough to deal with, without having to also fend off political pressures. Certainly a shrinking of media freedom in 2008 would not see South Africa score very well on the Unesco media-development index. The African Editors' Forum had hoped to get the African Union to declare 2008 "the year of African media". Such a fillip for media development might still come in 2009. In the meantime, it's important to maintain focus on growing the size and role of the media sector.

Iqbal: pioneer of the concept of Muslim nationalism

2008-01-05T00:13:00.000-08:00

By Prof Sharif al Mujahid
Shaikh Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) was a man of great many ideas-sublime and serene, dynamic and romantic, provocative and profound. He was both a great poet and a serious thinker at the same time but in his poetic works lies enshrined most of his thoughts. By his very vocation a poet is, first, a man of moods, enjoying a sort of poetic license, which is, of course, scrupulously denied to a prose-writer. Second, he is usually extremely sensitive to his environment and happenings around him, which are ever in a stat of flux, and these largely shape his sensitivities and thinking. Third, his utterances and outpourings are more spontaneous than deliberate, and usually charged with a measure to emotion, dominant at the time. After all, bereft of a modicum of emotional dimension, they would hardly belong to the poetic genre. Along with these attributes of a poet, a blend of eternal verities and topical themes constitutes the fourth dimension. And all of them serve as constraints when it comes to funding consistency and compatibility in his utterances and ideas over a period of time. Such was the case with Iqbal as well. During his poetic career, spanning some four decades, Iqbal had imbibed, approved, applauded and commended a great many ideas--ideas which occupy various positions along the spectrum at three different levels, the philosophic, social and political. Thus, at one time or another, he commended or denounced nationalism, propagated pan-Islamism and advocated multi-nationalism in Islam, admired the West for its ceaseless and wide-ranging activities, energy and initiative but was disenchanted by its materialism, cut-throat competition and values, condemned capitalism, while preaching a kind of vague socialism and applauded the East, its spiritualism and its concern for the soul but upbraided it for its docility, passivity, resignation and lack of vision. While advocating "the freedom of ijtihad with a view to rebuild the law of Shariah in the light of modern thought and experience" and even attempting somewhat to reformulate the doctrines of Islam in the light of twentieth century requirements of Indian Islam on some counts. Though "inescapably entangled in the net of Sufi thought", he yet considered popular mysticism or "the kind of mysticism which blinked actualities, enervated the people and kept them steeped in all kinds of superstitions as among the primary causes of Muslim decline and downfall. Prior to the paradigmatic shift Iqbal had undergone during his sojourn in Europe (1905-08) his thought and poetic outpourings, beginning with his maiden presentation of Nala-i-Yatim to an attentive Lahore audience at the Anjuman-i- Himayat-i-Islam's annual moot in 1899, were dominated by the triad philosophies of mysticism, romanticism and nationalism. This early phase was characterised by three categories of poems - (i) Ghazals and lyrics (e. g, Gul-i-Pashmurdah); (ii) romanticist and nature poems (e.g "The Himalayas", "Kashmir" and "On the Bank of Ravi") and patriotic and nationalistic poems.It was, however, the last set of poems that had made Iqbal famous. Propagandistic in nature for the large part, they were meant to arouse and inspire his fellow countrymen of all denominations. To this category belongs Hindustan Hamara. Hindustani Bachoon Ka Qaumi Geet, Naya Shiwala, and Taswir-i-Dard. To Iqbal Singh, a renowned biographer of Iqbal, Hindustan Hamara remains to this day [1947] the best patriotic poem written by an Indian poet in modern times."More important, the shift from Ghazal to nationalistic poetry was not merely a change of subject it represented a radical shift in Iqbal's tone and tenor. From an obsessive pre-occupation with subjective feelings, he had moved on to a wider horizon. This shift from the poet's individual mood to the collective mood of the people enlisted Urdu poetry to perform a higher function -- such as the criticism of the people's life-style and a critical dissection of their idea and myths that had brought them to such a sorry pass. To an abrupt end, however, did this nature-lover and nationalist phase come during Iqbal's watershed European sojourn.During his sojourn Iqbal had pursued his studies seriously, specialising in philosophy and law, earning a degree in philosophy from Cambridge, a doctorate from Heidelberg, and a law degree from Lincoln's Inn in 1908.There was, of course, nothing unusual about it because students from the subcontinent had gone to England and earned degrees, both before and after Iqbal. But what puts him in an altogether different category was that unlike other students and visitors, he refused to be overwhelmed by the overpowering glitter and awe-inspiring grandeur of the West. Unlike others, he went beyond and behind its facade. His sensitivity as a poet for keen observation and his grounding in Western philosophy enabled him to study the west, its pros and cons aspects, rather seriously and critically. In particular, he was struck by three things, which were at the heart of European life, and thought and civilisation. First, he realised the vast potentialities of science whose mastery had given Europe its eminence and mastery over the world, and led it to a fruitful life of ceaseless effort and progress. Second, he was immensely impressed by the Europeans' restless activity, relentless energy, unparalleled initiatives, their immense capabilities for innovation and invention, and their resolute will to work for the cultural enrichment and economic progress of the society as a whole. Third, he found the Western life infected with the credo of capitalism and nationalism, both individually and collectively, leading to incorrigible cutthroat competition between man and man, nation and nation. While he admired and applauded the first two aspects, he was irretrievably dismayed by the third one. This came to be compounded when he found that racial prejudice was, historically and culturally, a dominant feature of European life. In any case, Iqbal's live contact with Western life, his grounding in Western philosophy, and his initiation into modern Western thought served as a catalyst, enabling him to perceive things in a wider perspective and in more critical terms. From the vantage point of a European base, he could easily see that the onward march of nationalism had bred racialism in several Muslim countries. Under the impact of nationalism and in order to build up their own separate nationalistic altars, the Turks, the Egyptians, the Iranians and the Arabs had tended to emphasise their particular racial origins and strains, and worse, their racial separation from one another. This, in turn, had ravened the Islamic Ummah concept, enfeebled the Muslim world, and had laid it all the more open to Western aggression, exploitation and designs. And this, above all, disillusioned Iqbal with the nationalist credo beyond repair. Not only the political misfortunes of the Muslim peoples, but also their civilisation decline goaded his thinking towards pan-Islam. In this ideal did Iqbal see the salvation of the Muslim world, even as Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani (1839-1896) had a few decades earlier. Thus Iqbal who had left India as a nationalist returned to it in 1908 as a firm believer in Islam and in an integrated Ummah. And, for now, Iqbal's world was the Muslim world--the vast swathes of territory, stretching from Mauritania to Indonesia, and inhabited by scores of peoples and races, but spiritually linked with each other, with a distinct Weltanschauung. He, thus, stepped onto the threshold of pan-Islamism, the enchanting and enthralling concept which the Muslims the world over had aspired to actualise and enthrone, especially since the decline of the enfeebled Ottoman Empire/Caliphate for over a century and more. And this Iqbal himself would eloquently and passionately preach for the next two decades. Despite his advocacy of pan-Islamism, Iqbal was a keen and insightful observer of Muslim affairs. Hence he could not escape perceiving the harsh fact that his panacea of pan-Islam in its idealistic and classical form was not propitious or relevant to his own age ie in the 1920s. For one thing, several Muslim countries had opted for nationalism, and were pre-occupied with raising nationalist altars, to base their nationhood and politics on sheer asabiyat-ie racial and/or linguistic unity. For another, they were seeking nationalist solutions to their respective problems within the parameters of a nation-state. Indeed, nationalism was a fact of life, a harsh fact indeed, in almost all the Muslim countries. Iqbal could not have possibly ignored all this and much more. "True statesmanship", he told his audience at the Allahbad (1930) League session, "cannot ignore facts, however unpleasant they may be. The only practical course is not to assume the existence of a state of things which does not exist, but to recognise facts as they are, and to exploit them to our greatest advantage".Hence it seems but logical that deeply concerned as Iqbal was to see the Muslim people remain firmly anchored to their printing Islamic legacy and heritage, he tried to resolve the conflict between nationalism, the fact of life, and pan-Islamism, the ideal towards which he would like to see Muslims strive. Thus, Iqbal like Jamal al-Din Al-Afghani, arrived at the concept of "Islamic" but, more accurately, Muslim - nationalism.Iqbal, the ideologue, who had diagnosed the malaise of the Muslim world in his famous Reconstruction (1930), finally came to the conclusion that 'For the present every Muslim nation must sink into her own deeper self, temporarily focus her vision on herself alone, until all are strong and powerful to form a living family of republics. A true and living unity, according to the nationalist thinkers, is not so easy as to be achieved by a merely symbolical over lordship. It is truly manifested in a multiplicity of free independent units whose racial rivalries are adjusted and harmonised by the unifying bond of a common spiritual aspiration. It seems to me that Islam is neither Nationalism nor Imperialism but a League of Nations which recognises artificial boundaries and racial distinctions for facility of reference only, and not for restricting the social horizon of its members."To conclude then. In adroitly adjusting his position vis-a-vis nationalism and pan-Islamism, in seeking to resolve the conflict between them in the world of Islam, he evolved a synthetic concept of Muslim nationalism thereby giving nationalism an inherently Islamic direction, and opting for multi-nationalism in Islam, a concept which Musttapha Kemal Pasha (1881-1938) had first propounded in a message to the Central Khilafat Committee, Bombay, on March 10, 1922. And in opting for this concept, Iqbal had traversed a good deal of ground on the pan-Islam-nationalism continuum. He had gone in for a paradigmatic shift--from a universal, indivisible caliphate to a multi-national neo-pan-Islamis. In any case, in doing all this and much more, Iqbal personified pragmatism, statesmanship, and above, all, creativity of the highest order. Iqbal is often called an idealist, but he was an idealist that tempered his idealism in the dull fire of experience. Hence, he could come up with a viable concept like Muslim nationalism. --The writer was Founder-Director of the Quaid-i-Azam Academy (1967 -89), and authored Jinnah: Studies in Interpretation (1981), the only work to qualify for the President's Award for Best Books on Quaid-i-Azam)

Allama Iqbal

2008-01-05T00:06:00.000-08:00

Sir Allama Mohammad Iqbal (1877–1938)Poet, philosopher, and political leader

Allama Iqbal was born at Silkot on November 9, 1877 and studied at Government College, Lahore, Cambridge, and the Univ. of Munich, and then he taught philosophy at Government College and practiced law. He was elected (1927) to the Punjab provincial legislature and served (1930) as president of the Muslim League. A staunch advocate of Indian nationalism, he became a supporter of an independent homeland for India's Muslims and he is regarded as the spiritual founder of Pakistan, and the anniversary of his death (Apr. 21) is a national holiday. Iqbal was the foremost Muslim thinker of his period, and in his many volumes of poetry (written in Urdu and Persian) and essays, he urged a regeneration of Islam through the love of God and the active development of the self. He was a firm believer in freedom and the creative force that freedom can exert on men. He was knighted in 1922. His works include The Secrets of the Self (1915, tr. 1940), and Javid-nama (1934, tr. 1966).

Muhammad Ali Jinnah

2008-01-04T23:56:00.000-08:00

Quid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948)Politician and the founder of Pakistan

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born at Karachi on December 25, 1876. He was a lawyer and politician who fought for the cause of India's independence from Britain, then moved on to found a Muslim state in Pakistan in 1947. Jinnah entered politics in India in 1905 and by 1917 his charisma and diplomacy had made him a national leader and the most visible supporter of Hindu-Muslim unity. His strong belief in gradual and peaceful change was in contrast to the civil disobedience strategies of Mohandas Gandhi, and in the '30s Jinnah broke from the Indian National Congress to focus on an independent Muslim state. In 1940 he demanded a separate nation in Pakistan and by 1947 he somehow managed to get it from the British and India. Through civil wars, a rotten economy and millions of displaced refugees, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah ("the great leader") pretty much built a country from scratch.

Media Group: 134 Reporters Killed in '07

2007-12-31T23:17:00.000-08:00

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — At least 134 media workers were killed on assignment in 2007, most of them in Iraq, which has become the most dangerous place for journalists since the start of the U.S.-led war there, a media group said Monday.
The Middle East was by far the deadliest region with 68 killings, followed by Somalia with eight killed, Pakistan with seven, Mexico and Sri Lanka each with six, and the Philippines with five, according to the International Federation of Journalists.
"Violence against journalists remained at extremely high levels for the third year in a row," IFJ President Jim Boumelha said. "Our colleagues have been targeted because of their work, or killed covering dangerous stories, often in the rush to cover breaking news."
In addition to the 134 killings in 2007, 37 media workers died accidentally on the job, bringing the total number of deaths for the year to 171, the Brussels-based organization said.
The numbers represented a slight decrease from 2006, when at least 177 deaths were reported worldwide.
"The threats of targeting, particularly in combat zones like Iraq, continue unabated," the group said.
Iraq has been the most dangerous country for journalists since the U.S.-led military operation started in 2003, with at least 65 journalists and other media staff killed in the country in 2007, the IFJ said — three fewer than in 2006. Of those who died, the group said it believed all but one was an Iraqi national.
Coverage of drug traffickers led to six confirmed deaths in Mexico, while throughout Latin America journalists were killed for reporting on criminal gangs, drug trafficking and shady politics, said the federation, which represents 600,000 journalists from 120 countries.
In the vast majority of the 2007 killings, the media workers targeted were working for national or regional media and were killed in their own communities, the IFJ said.
The deaths "highlight the problem of impunity that continues to plague the media sector. Many of this year's crimes are unsolved and will remain so," it said.
The IFJ counts among the deaths all people who were employed by media organizations and died performing their duties, be they journalists, photographers, interpreters or drivers.
Another group defending journalists' interests, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, put the number of media workers killed in 2007 at 106.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, another group using stricter definitions, said earlier this month 64 journalists in 17 countries were killed in 2007, 31 of them in Iraq.

Choosing DVD Burning Media

2007-12-26T00:28:00.000-08:00

There are many reasons why it's particularly important that we get to choose the most ideal type and, most of all, best DVD there is, especially if you're considering DVD burning. Low quality media can freeze or skip and may even not be recognized at all. Cyclic redundancy errors or “I/O” errors are also prevalent with these types of DVD media. These errors may mean that you are dealing with a dirty disco or that your DVD burner is not accepting the low quality media. Another error that you can face is a "power calibration error." This type of error can also often be due to low quality media. What you could try to help is shut down the DVD software, eject the disc, and restart the program while re-inserting freshly cleaned media. If you are trying to save up, cheap media can be fine for text or data sheets, even .jpg or .gif pictures but it’s not recommended for your DVD backups. What you can do is download an identifier for your DVD in order to figure out what quality it is. What you want and what you are after here is prime quality media for your DVD backups. Any type of media which may make use of superior dye and dye application paired with a quality composite disc are perfect for DVD backups. Gambling your DVD backups on lower quality media can very well waste your time and effort in DVD burning. Starting with good quality media will ensure you of quality results. Remember, low quality media refers to the composite the manufacturer uses. This includes the dye method application and quality control of manufacturing. This does not necessarily refer directly to the price! Aiming for the best burn! When you are trying to get the best DVD burn, you may opt to decrease burn speed to 4x. Using a new 16x DL burner you could try burning at 6x. But 8x or over may result in coasters even while utilizing good quality media. Backup life of a cheap disc You may believe that data on a DVD backup may very well last forever, but make sure that you do not throw your originals down the drain. Frankly, you may end up needing them sooner than you think. Low quality discs can break down, some even within a year from burning. This is why quality is a key component in any type of DVD burning. Keep in mind that quality is an important factor in choosing all elements involved in DVD burning.

Create An Expert Showcase Website The Media Will Love

2007-12-26T00:25:00.000-08:00

If you are a book author, expert or wish to brand yourself to the media and are in pursuit of media placements Annie Jennings PR recommends you develop a media site, or author/expert showcase site developed especially for the media. Choose a website name that is easy to type and does not have any unusual spelling in it. You want to keep the site simple and easy to use plus limit or eliminate any challenges the media might have so the first step is the name the site in a way that makes it easy and obvious. A great example of the name of your media website is www.YourName.com or www.YourNameCredentials.com (www.yournamePHD.com) Or if www.yourname.com is not available buy the .TV extension meaning you would buy the www.yourname.tv By naming your website after yourself the media assumes they are going to the site to find out about you, the expert or author, and of course, they are right. It is certainly OK to have more than one website in fact, I recommend it. Each site should have a specific strategy that is, what do you want the visitor to do? This is also called a conversion strategy. With a media site, you want the media to be able to get all the info they need to book you for the media opportunity. With a business site, you want the visitor to find out all about your business and hire your business. And with an e-commerce site you want the visitor to find out all about your products or services and buy them. So you see, all three types of sites have a unique strategy and the media website should not be combined with any other type of site especially with an e-commerce or sales site as it seems odd that you would want the media to buy your products or services, right? CONTACT INFO Each page should have a header area containing the essential info about you. This should include a short list of topics or a broad category name such as "Relationships" and your contact info. I advise against using email as the only way to get in touch with you. Why? It is not instant and does not leave the media with certainty that you will respond. How do they know you will even get the email? So they must continue their search for the perfect expert and you will most likely lose the media placement. Certainly, never use info@ as that seems like it goes to an unmanned inbox but you can use your real email address as that might sound a little more convincing and be sure the email goes directly to your blackberry. You can even let the media know that the email goes directly to your blackberry and you will respond shortly. But ALWAYS give out a telephone number if you want media placements. You can use a cell phone or even an answering service that contacts you the second the media calls them. The best choice is the most direct route to you! YOUR BIO PAGE If you have credentials let the media know right away. The more credentials and accomplishments you have in your area of expertise the better your chances are of being chosen by the media for the placement. Also include all of the topics you can discuss as well. Be sure to lead with a great color picture of you – one that is engaging, well-groomed and offers the viewers a glimpse of your personality. Do not use your driver's license picture! Your bio page should be conversational in nature and not a copy and paste of your C.V. or resume. The idea is that you want you bio to tell a story about you, your expertise, who you are and in the end, answer the one question the media has,which is, are you the perfect expert for them? YOUR MEDIA APPEARANCES PAGE A Demo: Short video of previous author or expert media appearances. Sending your demo DVD overnight just takes too long! No kidding. Create a short DVD as a starter demo with clips of your BEST MOMENTS. Don't have the long version of each segment as the first demo the media sees. They can always look at the rest if they like the first starter demo enough to want to know more about you. An Audio Clip: Let the media hear you in action but first be sure to map out what they are going to hear. Start fast, engage fast and deliver some awesome talking points. I highly recommend hiring a pro to help you develop and record a high-powered, blockbuster short audio especially for the media packed with what they need to hear to choose you from a great engaging personality to an action-packed pace to lots of great information. Your Print And Online Placements: Include a list of your most prestigious placements including the month and issue date of the article. If the original article is online then by all means link to the article. Your Topics & Areas Of Expertise Page Your topic page should include a list of the topics you can discuss along with titles of tips sheets or links to tips sheets or articles you have written. The reason why you want to actually link to tips sheets and articles (such as Ten Smart Career Moves or Why You Should Never Ask Your Boss For A Raise On A Business Trip) is because this gives you the chance to showcase your knowledge in a variety of areas. The idea is to present yourself and your experience in the most powerful way possible creating certainty for the media that they are making an excellent choice in choosing you!

URNetwork Alliance Meeting, Alameda Writer's Group Meeting, MIFED, BET Hip-Hop Awards, Global Gaming Expo, World Music Awards,

2007-12-26T00:24:00.002-08:00

American Film Institute extravaganza going on now through November 12 in Hollywood has nightly red carpet gala premieres and showcases from the film masters. The Seventh Annual Latin Grammy Awards goes live November 2 in New York, and preceding the Awards show telecast, Univision will present exclusive "Noche de Estrellas" (Night of the Stars) coverage of the celebrity arrivals. Hollywood based URNetwork Alliance at http://www.urnetworkalliance.com/3.html continues its weekly networking and support group meetings featuring November 2: Hal Landon, actor and coach at South Coast Rep Theater; November 6: Jody Hart Casting Director; agent tba from ID Talent in Brentwood; November 13: Casting Director tba. They discuss new projects, share leads and motivate serious actors, writers, and filmmakers. Meetings happen in various locations are situated in and around Brentwood in West Los Angeles Contact: urnetworkalliance@urnetworkalliance.com for more info. Former actress and theater director Christina Hamlett is a writer and script consultant. Author Kerry Madden has written for children and adults, including her award winning children’s book "Gentle's Holler." Together they speak at November 4 program of the Alameda Writer's Group Meeting in Glendale. Legendary BMI Songwriters Boudleaux and Felice Bryant ("Wake Up, Little Susie") are among inaugural inductees into the Music City Walk of Fame, happening in a November 5 ceremony in Nashville. The Santa Monica College Academy of Entertainment & Technology presents guest speaker Joel Stein, commentator, TV writer and LA Times columnist on November 6. The Asia Pacific Entertainment and Media Summit will be an outlet for entertainment news from Asia, bringing together worldwide production and distribution decision makers for two days, November 6 & 7, meeting in Los Angeles. The 73rd Annual MIFED, focused on the international multimedia market, overlaps this year with IBTS - Crossmedia Marketplace when it runs from November 7-11 in Piazzale Giulio Cesare in Milan. The Third Annual New York Comedy Festival features performers Queen Latifah, Denis Leary and Howie Mandel, and sports a new format, "Hot Seat Live," a Q&A session based on the widely read column in Time Out New York, when it runs November 7-12 in New York City. Rock musician and actress Courtney Love appears at a signing for her new book "Dirty Blonde" baring intimate details of her life, in Pasadena on November 8. An 80th birthday celebration and tribute to crooner Tony Bennett, hosted in part by George Clooney, Billy Crystal, Quincy Jones and others, is on November 9 in Hollywood. ASCAP's Rhythm and Soul Team presents a panel, free to the public, on creating hit songs November 9 in Hollywood. BET presents its Hip-Hop Awards November 12, hosted by comedian Katt Williams with Snoop Dog, Ludacris, Young Jeezy and more, and taped at Atlanta's Fox Theatre to air on BET November 15. Strategies for engaging audiences across multiple screens - traditional tv, cable, computers and laptops, mobile phones, video iPod - are addressed at the 18th Annual EPM Marketing Conference, opening November 13 & 14 in Universal City. The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard put together the fifth annual conference addressing the role of music in film and television, November 14 & 15, in Beverly Hills. G2E: The Global Gaming Expo is set for November 14-16 in Las Vegas and will feature a Diversity Exhibitor Program which promotes diversity across all aspects of the gaming industry. The World Music Awards, the annual show business awards - this year held in London November 15 - that selects winners based on the strength of their worldwide record sales, will be hosted by Lindsay Lohan and an appearance by Michael Jackson. Black tie festivities at the Multicultural Motion Picture Association 14th Annual Diversity Awards, in Los Angeles, November 19, honor the creative accomplishments and contributions to diversity in film and television. The two day Film Finance and Distribution Summit: Where Wall Street Meets Tinseltown, opening November 27 in Los Angeles, is being produced and hosted by the Strategic Research Institute. The Sixth Annual Whistler Film Festival, in Whistler, BC, features over 80 films besides offering "cool parties" and networking both on and off the ski slopes, taking place November 30 through December 3. The above events are only a sampling of what is listed. Many of the events above have a submission process for indie and/or performing artists to take part in. Complete details are on the "Media, Entertainment and Performing Arts Industry News and Events" page at http://www.actorschecklist.com/news.html. Experience the newly relaunched message board on The Actor's Checklist which now permits user profiles and private messaging which you can find at http://actorschecklist.com/phpBB2/.

Mediation Losing Its Effectiveness: Lack of Diverse Mediators

2007-12-26T00:24:00.001-08:00

Diversity happens when it has a positive impact on the bottom line. This was the overall consensus of representative corporations and law firms this past year at an ABA Dispute Resolution Section Diversity Forum. Mediation is losing its effectiveness because mediation panels are not diverse and do not reflect the gender and race of their employees. The corporate panel, who was represented by corporate counsel from Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile and employee internal dispute resolution directors from Coca Cola Enterprises and Shell, agreed that awareness needs to be raised and that the profession needs to become more diverse. The lack of diversity is problematic in the employment arena. Corporations are finding that mediation is losing its effectiveness and they are losing their credibility with employees when they can only offer a homogenous group of neutrals to resolve workplace disputes. Corporations have an immediate need for Diverse ADR neutrals and the national ADR providers they use are not delivering a diverse panel. Shell, which has an employee internal dispute resolution program 'RESOLVE', is not comfortable with just raising awareness. Shell is taking affirmative steps to make sure that it can choose neutrals from a diverse ADR panel. Shell is committed to the economic development of minority and women owned suppliers and actively engages in efforts to provide for inclusion by partnering with certified firms. Several years ago, Shell Oil Company was one of the first corporations to carry the torch and ask its majority law firms to demonstrate a commitment to diversity. Many firms can attest to the fact that a failure to demonstrate a commitment to diversity would jeopardize their relationship with Shell. Once again Shell has come to the forefront by introducing supplier diversity to the ADR profession and announced that Shell will extend business opportunities to certified minority and women ADR neutrals. These efforts, coined as "second tier" allow Shell to influence prime or majority ADR firms, with whom they do business, to also contract with minority and women owned ADR firms within the business community. Shell's message is driven by contract language and sharing information on benefits of engaging a more representative group of suppliers. In the upcoming months Shell will be targeting prime firms that provide ADR services to participate in second tier efforts. Shell astutely recognizes that by embracing the concept of inclusion, the company will rise to a higher level, reflecting its belief that it "will benefit from diversity through better relationships with customers, suppliers, partners, employees, government and other stakeholders, with positive impact on the bottom line." Law firms agreed that law firm Diversity initiatives did not gain any momentum until corporations made demands that law firms commit to diversity or they would lose the corporation as a client. Diversity in the ADR profession needs to take place, but that it is the economic motivation that will move Diversity forward in the ADR profession. If corporations make demands that law firms use ADR providers that are diverse in mediating or arbitrating their cases, or risk losing business, they will use diverse ADR panels. Unless it affects the bottom line, entities will not be motivated to move forward and embrace diversity in ADR. Shell Oil has taken the step to carry the bottom line torch which will ignite the Diversity fire in the ADR profession.

How to Build a Mediation Presentation That Will Make an Insurance Adjuster’s Sphincter Tighten

2007-12-26T00:22:00.001-08:00

I arrived to help my client prepare for his upcoming mediation. The first thing he did was show me all the wonderful family photos he had of his client and her husband, the decedent. “My guy was the perfect plaintiff,” the attorney began. “Spent tons of time with his kids. He was the one who took them to school most every morning, he coached all their teams. An elder in his church. Loved by his neighbors. A consummate professional. His wife is a great witness. And this,” he said pointing to the autopsy photos, “is what happened to him. We’re going to ring the bell on this one.” I viewed the photos silently, but all I was thinking was, “So what?” So what? CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE Yes, so what? These photos, the stories, the personification of the deceased all have their place in a trial. In a mediation, it’s slightly different. We’re not playing to jurors. We’re playing to the person who holds the purse strings. The insurance adjuster. Does an insurance adjuster care that your young client was Phi Beta Kappa? Not likely. Is an insurance adjuster emotionally affected because your client’s legs were burned off him while he sat half in and half out of the SUV that had just rolled over on him? Doubtful. Insurance adjusters have seen the worst of the worst. They see horrific injuries every day. They see “perfect” plaintiffs every day. It doesn’t move them. What do insurance adjusters care about? Insurance adjusters care about one thing more than anything in the world, even more than money. Risk. When an insurance adjuster is listening to and watching a mediation presentation by a plaintiff, she is asking herself, “What is my downside here? What is my risk level?” And she is constantly weighing the risks of going to trial versus the costs of settling with money that the insurance company would prefer to hold on to for a little longer. YOUR OBJECTIVE: COMMUNICATE THE RISK When you start putting together your mediation presentation, instead of asking, “What’s great about my case?” ask yourself, “If I were the adjuster, what about this case would freak me out?” THE ELEMENTS OF THE SPHINCTER-TIGHTENING PRESENTATION Their Witnesses and Documents The first answer is bad defense witnesses. Since lawyers in general—and busy defense firms in particular—tend to do a terrible job of prepping witnesses before deposition, it is imperative that you videotape all key defense witnesses: company witnesses, doctors and even experts. If you are in the habit of videotaping everything, good for you. If not, now is a good time to get in that habit. As much as possible, tell the story using defense witnesses. Pull out the parts of depositions that show blazing incompetence, indifference or best yet, bad motive. As much as possible, include documents generated by the defense to bolster your case. Adjusters don’t typically see witness testimony before trial. If they’ve got some awful witnesses, make the adjuster painfully aware of it. Start and end with their horrible witnesses. The Timeline Sure, a timeline is always helpful for audience comprehension. But in the mediation presentation, you want to use the timeline to highlight points in the process at which the defendants could have made different choices that would have spared the plaintiff his fate. Did they hire against policy? Fail to train? Decide not to inform the customer base of a potentially fatal flaw in the safety product? Put it in the timeline. WHAT ABOUT MY PLAINTIFF? Of course your plaintiff needs to be included in the presentation. Doing so serves two purposes: 1) it shows the other side that either your client is a gem (or perhaps that in this venue it won’t matter if he isn’t); and 2) it’s good client relations. But the plaintiff should be a coda, just a quick notice to the defense that they won’t be able to score big on “your guy.” The big dollars don’t lie in the beauty of your plaintiff’s life and the tragedy of his loss. The big dollars lie in the adjuster’s uneasiness about the risk. And if you can get the adjuster’s sphincter to tighten, her hands may well loosen.

Media in Society

2007-12-26T00:21:00.000-08:00

Last night I saw a debate on television about what role the media is to play in our society. I found one speaker to be somewhat appalling. This person argued against the involvement of media in our societal discussion on issues that matter. Well sir, you are dead wrong... Now if you happen to be on the right you’d be saying, "Well there is an obvious liberal bias in most of the media we receive and hear." I agree with you to a certain extent. Media in its purest form was designed as a tool people can use to provide a forum or platform for the issues we publicly debate. This would be an admirable role in a perfect society, but what it does not take into consideration is the human element. Our ability to modify the perceptions of others through the media in order to achieve political gain has hit the liberal bias peak. The inevitable backlash on the media monopoly I sense is coming to an end. The market of information is efficient and fair only when there are alternatives for people to chose. Can we blame Democrats who using the tools at hand to the fullest extent? Of course not. It was inevitable. Democratic candidates and leaders obtained the urban vote where media centers are controlled in most part by the majority of left-leaning civilians who work and live among its domain. Yes. This was the fate, seduction, and role media was to play on behalf of the Democratic Party for many decades. However, imbalances eventually lead to balance. The old truths and myths of a liberal media are rapidly declining. Sure there has been a recent surge in popularity among the left media, but it is only because the country was fed up with a Republican held congress and presidency that failed to serve the interests of the public. In the long-term, I expect an equal following to build and continue amongst the supporters of the right media to provide the balance and difference in opinion that our country needs. It pushes elected officials to compromise and allow people to digest information from both sides in order to make effective electoral decisions based on their beliefs. Now, take a step back and look try to imagine the big picture. Most would agree that media needs balance, but why? Let’s view this angle from the perspective of polarization and nationalism. In my estimation, media needs to ask tough questions, report on unethical behavior, and to provide an independent voice that serves as a check and balance to government. However, if media were to play the role of polarization and bias too well, then our nation would drift apart and stoke a fire of bitterness toward each other. Sure we have our differences, but in reality we share much more in common with each other. So, how can we work together with those that we have a hatred for? For example, how long must we see the election map showing red states and blue states when we are in fact a sea of purple swayed by moderate group of independent voters? Political parties must have a way to differentiate themselves, but occasionally the media does push the envelope, resulting in uncomfortable ramifications. On the other hand, media also must be a spirit free of government control. If media casts its opinion with the government without any checks, it is likely that an unhealthy state of nationalism may take hold and shortly thereafter promote imperialistic tendencies. I can only imagine a state made op of a single-minded society where group think suffocates the ability of people to think freely. Would those of an opposing view be subjected to secrecy and casted away from society? Would new ideas be lost forever? Would an opposing political party have a voice or even cease to exist? It is certainly possible. Think of a scenario where the media was used to promote the activities of government in a negative way. I believe this is the descriptive label for propaganda. A tool used to control and persuade the masses for better or worse. World War II is a perfect example. The good and honest people of Germany were lead to believe that their ideas and opinions should be forced on the rest of the world because the propaganda machine said they were a superior race. The civilian population for the most part bought into these lies. This is the absolute opposite end of the spectrum in the role that media has to play in society and we must be careful to learn the lessons that history has to teach us. Media does have a role to play, but I would suggest that it strive to create balance and avoid extreme nationalistic and polarized political outlooks. What of the present and future of media? Some say the internet is the next layer catalyst for fair and balanced opinions, news, and research. I couldn’t agree more. It is the wild card that few saw coming in the early 1990s and has proved to be a tidal wave of new found power that gives back to the people. Bloggers all over the United States and the world are spreading ideas and providing a balance of opinion far greater than anyone could have imagined. The blog world is the champion of the individual and protector of free speech. It will not eliminate old media, but instead provide an added channel or source of information and empower the individual like never before.

Be Sociable: Increasing Online Traffic Through Social Media Marketing

2007-12-26T00:19:00.001-08:00

So what do we mean by social media? As the Internet has evolved increasing numbers of people have taken to sharing ideas, opinions and experiences through a combination of text, blogs, audio, video and message boards etc. More recently RSS and podcasts have also captured the imagination of many in their lust to get their message out to a wide audience. Social media has lead to a revolution in the way many people now interact and learn about world events. The repercussions are that the views of media giants are no longer taken for granted. Now almost anyone can put forward their perspective on any issue they wish. Some organisations have been quick to catch on and realise how their products or services can be promoted by this phenomenon, a kind of social marketing mix unlike anything which as gone before. One of the simplest ways to begin social media marketing is by creating your own MySpace page. MySpace offers anyone the option to build a free web page where you can share your ideas or express your views in a particular topic. By inviting friends who share similar interests it's possible to quickly build a cult like community while covertly linking them to your own website. The social web revolves around sharing opinions…..be they good or bad. With this in mind, websites that are packed full of content can lever recommendations from readers in the form of bookmarking. Bookmarking has become popular with some web users who'll share their lists with others who have a common interest. Assuming your website has some decent content, bookmarking sites such as Digg, Technorati, Del.icio.us and Reddit provide downloadable code and links etc that'll soon get you stated. A wise alternative is to link up to AddThis.com, which will then save you alienating those with a bookmarking preference by giving access to numerous bookmarking sites in one go. A great method of keeping users up to date with your content is to set up a RSS feed. Otherwise known as Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Syndication, RSS provides a notification to users that new content has been added to your site thereby keeping your visitors up to speed with new developments or product launches and so on. Enabling people to communicate directly through your website is at the core of social media and forums can be a great way of providing just that. The best forums are well managed but not overly censored. Both good and bad comments should be encouraged. While it's easy to assume that bad comments are best filtered out, leaving them in gives the forum greater credibility. A well managed forum provides an excellent, not to mention free, means of gathering customer feedback and carrying out market research etc. To give a forum momentum you may need to regularly stimulate discussion by starting new topics and by spending some regular time weeding out the spam and nonsense. Showing your expertise through video is a clever way of grabbing an audience. Sometimes the only real way to demonstrate something is in a visual form. If you are dealing with something computerised it could be worth considering using screen capture software where you can easily take people through a lifelike demo. Video can be downloaded from your own website or posted on sites like YouTube for instance. Its always good to stamp your video with you website address so people know where it originated from. If your video impresses people they may want to seek you out. In much the same way still photographs, graphics and audio can be posted to websites; again not forgetting some kind of link back to your own website. Lastly but by no means least you can get social media savvy by creating a blog. In essence blogs are little more than short articles often centred on current affairs, similar to writing a column for a newspaper. If you set up a blog it requires regular updating. Much like running a forum people expect blogs to evolve preferably on a daily basis. The biggest no no is to be lame on updates as any audience you've gained will soon be lost. This article is free to republish provided the resource information remains intact

Send a Media Release to Stand Out and Shine

2007-12-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

Do you want to stand out from the crowd in your business or personal life? Does the idea of free publicity appeal to you? One way to gain recognition and exposure for your business or your personal achievements is to distribute a media release. The media are always looking for stories of interest to fill their newspapers, magazines, TV and radio shows. If you can offer them something that is newsworthy, topical, interesting or entertaining then you have a good chance of your story being used. Sending relevant media releases often ensures you stay "top of mind" with your database of media contacts and is great public relations for you or your business when your story is run. Here are some good reasons to send a media release any time you have something interesting to say. 1. Continuous brand building. Anytime you get a media "hit" and your name is mentioned it will add to the public's awareness of your brand and what you have to offer. 2. Credibility of your message. An editorial story is a lot more likely to be read and recognised than an advertisement. Seeing a story on the TV news or reading about it in the paper gives your product or message a lot more credibility. 3. Cheap. Certainly cheaper than advertising and free if you write and issue your media release yourself. You could end of with thousands of dollars worth of free editorial coverage. 4. Clients and customers kept informed. You need to find ways to continually keep in front of customers and clients. Perhaps they will see your story in the newspaper. But why not call and alert them to your story or send a clipping of your article to keep in touch. Better still include comments or quotes from your clients in the media release. 5. Clarity. Writing a media release will help you get clear on what your message is by being succinct and concise with the words you choose. Clients will gain more understanding of your products or services also. 6. Communicating who you are, what you do and how you make a difference is what public relations is all about. Getting into the habit of communicating your successes and achievements by sending media releases will aid in raising your profile. 7. Celebrity status. Gaining publicity in the media will help you become known as the expert in your area and will enhance your image and reputation.
About The Author
Sue Currie, the director of Shine Communications Consultancy and author of Apprentice to Business Ace - your inside-out guide to personal branding, is a business educator and speaker on personal branding through image and media. Sign up for free monthly tips at http://www.shinecomms.com.au/contactmanager/default.cfm To learn more about how you can achieve recognition, enhance your image and shine, visit http://www.shinecomms.com.au

Can the News Media Ever be Responsible to Society?

2007-12-26T00:17:00.002-08:00

Managing stress of society. Can the news media ever be responsible to society? Reporting the news is the function of the news media. And that can be done responsibly or it can be done irresponsibly to society. In fact, every news program ought to have a responsibility rating--say between zero to ten. If the manner in which the news is being presented is totally responsible to society it receives a rating of ten. If it unnecessarily ads stress to society and it totally irresponsible, the program should be ranked a zero. Fact is we're at war with terrorism--nothing new there. The news can take on the role of being informative or it can take on the role of Tokyo Rose during World War II. Usually I write about managing stress using biofeedback, hypnosis, nutrition... for the individual to aid in one managing physical reactions to stress or getting rid of unwanted habits such as smoking, overeating... Just as stress affects an individual, stress also affects society and sometimes with lynch mob results. Now if you were a terrorist, what would you like to hear? Firstly we know that terrorists want to kill all infidels--they deem everyone other than those who have their beliefs (including those of their own race and religion) as infidels. Their goal is to disrupt our lives physically and mentally: Physically by killing us and mentally by reeking havoc with fear. The bigger their slaughter the more successful they are. But it doesn't stop there. The more mental terror evoked, the more successful they are--they win on two fronts. What does a terrorist want? The terrorist wants to raise the stress level and fear of infidels. He also wants creative ideas such as garbage can bombs at airports, civic centers, shopping malls--ideas he might not have thought of on his own. It's ironic, thousands of humans can be slaughtered by genocide in Somalia or some other part of the world and we hear little of it, yet, a car bomb in England can be thwarted and we hear it on all the news media regurgitated for days followed up by the garbage can bomb idea. Let's spread more fear for the terrorist to gloat. Reporting the thwarted car bombs should be no different than reporting the score of a football game--basic facts without regurgitation of interviewing a dozen experts who less than those investigating the incident. Now if I were a terrorist, I'd give the news media a ten for publishing my cause, a ten for instilling fear in the hearts of millions, and another ten for the garbage can bomb idea. The cumulative stress on society has gone off the wall. The news media did everything I could possibly want. They've taken my bomb and magnified it ten fold--a great moral victory--and made us afraid of garbage cans too boot. And aren't many wars won on moral victories? The ten score for the terrorist is a zero score for the news' responsibility to society. Now, I'm not for the war in Iraq--never have been, but we're there and it seems to me that the news media provides far more moral victories to the enemy than it does for our society. They may argue that they are only reporting the news, but I doubt that any group of new casters have had a meeting to discuss what can be done to be less supportive of the terrorist. Is it possible that how the deeds of terrorists are reported actually can morally support their goals? Or do we think that they are ignorant of the news?
About The Author
Richard Kuhns B.S. Ch. E., NGH certified operated a stress management clinic for 17 years, educator and seminar leader for various corporations, and is the author behind the best selling stress management hypnosis self help cds at http://www.DStressDoc.com and new treatment for anxiety panic attack using wakened hypnosis at http://www.PanicBusters.com

Social Media Optimization is a method to optimize your site

2007-12-26T00:17:00.001-08:00

Every other day we come across various changes in technology with latest and updated techniques. Social media optimization is a development process to optimize a website so that it amalgamates with an online community or to a community website easily. Well, it can also be said that it is a method of modifying a website so that the promotion of website gets easily done through social mediums or through online communities. The users or the visitors do help in making the business popular. The web users or visitors visit the website and come to know about its relevance and its use for themselves. In this way the website gets promoted by an easily and effective medium and many people get connected through this social medium. The optimization of website is also done due to the high demand in the market. The web owner modifies in the site to make itself much familiar and useful for the online visitors. Social media optimization serves as a marketing tool for any business whether it is a new business or an old one. You must design your website keeping in mind the importance and meaning of your business. This will definitely help you to get a fast growth in your business. Today the web has huge response and it can easily reach anyone and anywhere around the world. The success behind social media optimization is that it caters to many users needs. People visit such websites and become member of social media websites to get connected to millions of people globally. And in other way the business promotion also gets executed through social media optimization. Online marketing methods have become so easier that many businesses are tempting towards it. The icons or the links on a social media site are the perfect example of social media optimization that comes across to the online users. The web visitors click on the link or icons if they feel it will be helpful for them. This concept is sprouting with a fast pace ever since it came into being and many business is getting towards. It has really made many business or firm quite popular. The internet marketers are looking for the many other social media tactics to influence with pioneering ideas and concepts for its clients and businesses. You get so much affected by the social website that you feel something missing if you are not able to visit the social site. Here you find many of your relatives and friends staying in any corner of globe. This has happened due to globalization which had made everything easily accessible and in everyone’s reach. Use of latest and highly advanced technology has made everything in our reach. So you need to make such strategies that makes your business truly successful. Along with this you have to make your site link available on other reputed websites where you can expect maximum viewing. You can also exchange links with other websites so that you are not left with any option to make your business popular. Social media websites are quite popular among many users and many other are joining the community everday.Social media optimization serves an effective business tool that can make your business boom with such techniques.

A Right Media Mix Can Make The Difference

2007-12-26T00:16:00.000-08:00

Branding is no longer simply about visual appeal (or the cherry in the apple pie example, as given in my earlier article). Unfortunately, many graphic design firms who position themselves as advertising agencies believe that branding your corporate identity is all about developing great looking visual solutions. However, there is much much more to branding than just looking good. Particularly in this web 2.0 era, where a powerful web presence has become a vital ingredient of your branding strategy, developing the right media mix holds the key to building a powerful brand equity. In other words, a right media mix would mean: • Creative design solutions (the design, color, and content of your ads, marketing collateral and website enhance your brand equity, attract customers, and generate sales) • • Web development (every product/service worth its name has a web presence these days, some have truly interactive, animated sites encouraging customer involvement). • Viral marketing (vitally important in today’s age of social networking, tagging, podcasting, blogs, forums, wikis and what have you) • Television commercial production, print media advertising (traditional media cannot be overlooked) • Strategic films (have become necessary elements of roadshows, exibhitions and other promotional campaigns) • Corporate video production (a very important tool for branding your corporate identity) • Direct marketing (marketing collaterals need to be just as effective and resonant with the overall branding scheme as the communicate directly with the customer) • Outdoor advertising (hoardings, roadshows, participations in business fairs, exhibitions, etc) There are some interactive advertising agencies that have recognized the need of the hour - developing creative design solutions that employ user-centric investigation and involve critical and systematic thinking. User-centric means understanding of needs and priorities of end user; the clients' customers, their channel partners, users, and brand communities. So if you want to register your brand as one that is synonymous with customer loyalty, you must develop a complete package, keeping the customer as the prime objective and organizing product stories around the way they prefer to learn about, compare, select and confirm purchases, connecting brands and their experiences.

Social Media – Who’s In Control?

2007-12-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

Social media allows individuals to connect by means of identifying common interests and forged cyber-based friendships. If there are negative aspects to social media they may be offset by potential marketing possibilities. Please remember this article is intended to demonstrate the marketing potential for social media for online business owners. I understand some have concerns about social media as it relates to children, but this article remains focused exclusively on the on marketing possibilities associated with social media. That being said, one negative related to social media for some online business owners is the addictive nature of participating in social networking. Time spent on the site corresponding with other ‘friends’ could chip away at the time you may really need for other business related activities. If you have spent any amount of time on social media then you know it is possible to post a blog entry and be alerted to new posts to your blog whenever a new post is made. You may find yourself heading back to your social media page to read updated comments several times a day. This will probably lead to the desire to thank the individual for their comment. Of course all of this is done under the notion that you are working to market your business through social media, but the truth is there comes a point where you can spend an inordinate amount of time corresponding with people you don’t really know for one small facet of marketing potential. When you’re having fun online the balance between work and play gets a little blurry. Another negative that may sound somewhat similar is that social media can keep you from face-to-face contacts that may benefit your business. The face-to-face contacts may be in the form of business-to-business networking or meeting affiliates, but social media can, and sometimes does, minimize time for events that are often of equal or greater importance. One of the keys to effective online marketing is attempting to keep things balanced. Obviously it can take some time to develop your social media page and it may be hard to fully determine what your goals are in relation to social media, but then you may want to commit to only a certain amount of time each day to the social networking and resist coming back to the page repeatedly throughout the day. You may even want to configure your email box to send all emails from the social media site to a special folder that you can easily review on a daily basis without the need to revisit your page multiple times each day. You may even want to turn the feature off that alerts you to new posts and messages if the distraction becomes too pronounced. Remember, your social media page is there to help you market your business and connect with prospects while directing them to your primary site, but far too often individuals come to view the social media page with something akin to an addiction. Allow social media to be useful without coming to a place where it is using you.

Teleseminar How-to Guide: The T-Profit System. A Review

2007-12-26T00:08:00.000-08:00

Teleseminars seem to be all the rage these days, and for good reason. They're a great way to build lists and make money, both for the organizers and their guests. They're also really great for creating a connection between audience and expert, a connection that has two-way benefits. If you've been wondering how you could possibly get in on the action, wonder no more: Filmmaker Andy Duncan (of "I Need Cash Now" fame) and his business partner Steve Roye have put together the T-Profit System, the ultimate step-by-step how-to guide for putting together a teleseminar series that delivers the goods, for the audience, your JV-partners, and yourself. You may have thought you could never do that. You may not think of yourself as an expert. You don't think you're very witty. Heck, you may be shy! But Andy and Steve will quickly reassure you that neither exceptional wit nor fame or even expertise is required. Even better, teleseminar are among the easiest and most inexpensive products to produce. What's not to like? The T-Profit system consists of a total of eight MP3s, along with PDF transcripts, plus live Q&A sessions. First, there are the four instructional MP3s, in which Andy and Steve present the basic formula. They give some background and how they themselves got started. They talk about the reason why teleseminars work as well as they do. And then they launch into the details of exactly how you can go about putting together your own. BTW, "instructional" may not be quite the right word for those MP3s. Yes, you'll learn a ton - as promised. But they are so much fun you sure won't feel like you're studying terribly hard. Just in case you're still intimidated, they provide you with three examples of teleseminars with experts who themselves were new to the teleseminar genre. For two of them, that very teleseminar you'll be hearing was their very first. And yet, they sound like old pros! As mentioned above, the MP3s also come with transcripts, and many of them have outlines as well. A bonus seminar, produced as a bonus for one of the example seminars, is included as well. It's a terrific introduction to affiliate marketing by Erik Stafford, also known as the Faster Webmaster. Here's yet another thing that makes T-Profit System special: included in the price are three bonus coaching calls in monthly intervals (actually, there was a fourth one that took place right after the system was launched, for all the early bird sign-ups), where Steve and Andy will answer any questions that come up. And I really mean ANY questions. Andy and Steve are incredibly gracious and helpful. I've asked a few really basic questions, and Steve walked me patiently through all of my challenges. He did the same for other callers. They didn't even laugh! I bought T-Profit System the minute it came out. Why? I loved Andy's "I Need Cash Now" program, and also did Andy and Steve's 4 week coaching program. I got so much out of the two programs, I felt the T-Profit system was a complete no-brainer. And that even though I believed that I already knew enough about teleseminars from the coaching program (and I did know a lot!), this program actually delivered even more details and step-by-step guidelines, thereby greatly reducing the intimidation factor, and greatly increasing the potential for success. I also find that I learn best when I get the same info presented several different ways. Considering that I was a total web newbie about 6 months ago, I keep finding myself absolutely astonished by how far I've come. I have multiple websites, blogs, I've already come up with a concept for a series of teleseminars, and I have even done (and uploaded!) my first interview. Look for more on all that in the near future. For right now though, you may want to check out the T-Profit System, so you'll get in on the live coaching calls while they last.

What Is “The Secret” To Finding Real Wealth?

2007-12-26T00:02:00.000-08:00

Did you know that less than one percent of the people currently living on this planet account for almost twenty-five percent of ALL the wealth? These powerful people certainly don’t want you to know this...they want you to stay as mindless drones whose sole objective is to keep THEM wealthy. What is the secret this small fraction of the population knows that the rest do not? If you haven't seen the movie "The Secret", I implore you to watch it! The Secret is the most powerful law in the universe! If you have already seen it, watch it again. To watch "The Secret" online, copy and paste this url into your browser; http://www.thesecret.tv/home.html Or you can watch "The Secret" On Demand via cable and satellite for audiences in the United States and Canada. This small minority of people who are currently pulling the strings on world politics and world economics have mastered The Secret. These are the same people who want The Secret banned like it was once banned hundreds of years ago. Now The Secret has been un-earthed for all to discover its tremendous power once again! There also have been great leaders who have mastered The Secret and made positive contributions to all of humanity. Leaders like Albert Einstein, Abe Lincoln, and Mother Teresa to name a few. We are now living in an exciting new age of technology where humanity can do incredible things. The brick and mortar corporations who once ruled our economy unequivocally over the little guy are slowly losing their death grip due to the astonishing power of the internet! So what is this secret you ask? In a sentence; "The Secret Is The Law Of Attraction". Simply stated, you get what you wish for...or your thoughts dictate what you get in life. Your health is dictated by your thoughts as well as your wealth. Think of your thoughts as little tiny magnets...the intensity of these tiny magnets or thoughts are in direct proportion to the emotions you attach to it. The stronger the magnet, the stronger the attraction. This explains why a lot of people don't get what they wish for. They have not attached a strong enough emotion to their dream. Or they feel they don’t deserve their dream so they don’t bother pursuing it. Let me give you an example of how the law of attraction works in a negative way. Think of the days when you got started off the wrong foot, then said to yourself "this is gonna be a long and terrible day". What happened? A long and terrible day...you got what you wished for! The degree of how terrible your day turned out was proportional to the intensity of the negative emotion you attached to the thought, right? So how do these little "magnets" or thoughts attract what we want or don't want in our lives you ask? Well, and this is based on quantum physics that scientists have just learned in the last 10 or 15 years. There is an invisible universal mind if you will that contains all the dreams and thoughts of everyone who has ever lived or will live...past...present...future. This is quite the paradox you may think, how can this be? The "time" element in this universal mind has been negated or altered. Quantum physics has recently shown us that a single electron can occupy two different spaces in an electro-magnetic field at the same exact point in time, once thought impossible. This goes against the laws of physics unless time has been negated or altered some how, the only possible explanation. So you may be able to connect with the dreams of someone who hasn't been born yet. Are you getting excited yet? The Universal Mind is a sort of collective consciousness. The place where dreams are born. These dreams are invisible and waiting to take physical form. How do you convert your dreams from the universal mind to the physical realm? By constantly thinking about your dreams with strong emotions and just as importantly - taking action! I am NOT talking about wishful thinking here...you must take action on your dreams! It helps to have pictures of your dreams and look at them every day. Write your dreams down. Formulate a plan that is specific and with deadlines that will bring your dreams to fruition...and stay the course! “Don’t die with your dreams still inside you” as Dr. Wayne Dyer likes to say. That is why I firmly believe you should pursue ventures you have a passion for...then you will find it easier to attach strong positive emotions to your thoughts and dreams. This is the most powerful law in the universe, use it wisely my liege... Good Luck and Stay the Course!