Media Highlights – September 13, 2012
About Our Broadcasters
President Nominates NBCU International Chief Jeff Shell to Head BBG - Broadcasting & Cable, September 12, 2012
Jeff Shell, president of NBCUniversal International, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to be chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.
Cuba profile - BBC, September 12, 2012
Cuba is the only country in the Americas not to allow a non-state independent press, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Official media “serve first and foremost to transmit propaganda for the regime”. The US tries hard to reach Cuban audiences. Washington-backed Radio-TV Marti says it provides “balanced, uncensored” news for Cubans.
Lessons in Leadership - Harvard Magazine, September 2012
Adzinbaia got his wish last year, joining dozens of other students from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia in the 10-day-long program held in the Free University of Tbilisi’s Bazaleti Training Center—which once served as the primary Soviet signals intelligence center to block Radio Free Europe and other Western radio broadcasts from reaching citizens of the USSR.
Russia and the US lack trust - Russia Beyond the Headlines, September 12, 2012
“One thing that I believe we can do is have reciprocity. If the United States opens its media environment to RT (Russia Today) – and I have it in my house, right next to Al Jazeera and BBC TV and Deutsche Welle ‒ and we now have radio Voice of Russia broadcasting in English in the United States, then I think an equal amount of time can be given to the Russian public for U.S.-funded stations, like The Voice of America and Radio Liberty.”
Media Citations of BBG Broadcasters
Iran persists in its crackdown against journalists - CPJ, September 12, 2012
One journalist in Evin Prison was flogged in mid-August during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to news reports. Siamak Ghaderi, a freelance reporter who is serving a four-year prison term, told his wife that he and 13 political prisoners had been lashed, according to the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.Innocence Of Muslims: US Opens Investigation Into Chris Stevens’ Death, Libyans Condemn Killing [PHOTOS] - International Business Times, September 12, 2012
“We mourn the loss of a champion of freedom,” said Imam Mohamed Majid, President of the Indiana-based Islamic Society of North America at a gathering of U.S. Muslim leaders at the National Press Club in Washington Wednesday, the Voice of America reported.
US won’t rule out Islamist militant link to attack, sends forces to Libya - NBCNews, September 12, 2012
The Voice of America, meanwhile, cited similar reports that “several dozen gunmen from the Islamist group Ansar al Sharia” may have carried out the attack.
No elections without reforms: Tsvangirai - NewsDay, September 13, 2012
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai (MT) — recently in North Carolina, United States, to attend the Democratic National Convention — sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the Voice of America’s Violet Gonda (VG).
Also in The Zimbabwean
Liberia: GAC – an Enemy or Ally – in View of the Near-Abandoned 78 Audit Reports Released - AllAfrica, September 13, 2012
Morlu told the Voice of America at the time that the Ellen-led government was “three times corrupt than the Gyude-led transitional administration,” out of which most Liberians have become the “Bill Gate” of the time.
Even As Experts, GOP Figures Criticize Romney’s Embassy Statement, Right-Wing Pundits Blame “The Media” - Media Matters, September 12, 2012
VOA: Former Defense Department Official Korb Said He Is “Appalled” By Romney’s Comments. From a September 12 Voice of America article about Romney’s criticism of Obama following the embassy attacks: “The Romney comments also provoked a strong reaction from some foreign policy experts…”
In the foreign-language press
Abdel Maqsoud does not oppose a Christian or Jewish anchor on Egyptian television - Akhbar Elyoum (Egyptian News and information website) September 7, 2012
The Egyptian Minister of Information, Salah Abdel Maqsoud, said in an interview with Alhurra’s Hiwar Cairo program, that he does not oppose a Christian anchor wearing a cross while reading the news on Egyptian television. He added that he would allow a Jewish anchor to appear also, as he allowed a Muslim anchor to appear on air wearing a headscarf, few days ago.
Also cited in Misr El-Gdida, Al-Ahram, Masress and many other publications.
Rayheen Al Feen? and the new Reality - Ahlelbalad (Egyptian online newspaper) September 4, 2012
Fran Mires created Rayheen Al Feen? a television program that reflects the new social and political life in Egypt. The new program starts airing Saturday September 8, on Alhurra. It reflects the “pulse of the Egyptian street” by filming the life of five young adults, who have different social backgrounds, over a nine-month period.
Also cited in Al Wajh Al Falasteeny, Variety Arabia, and other publications.
Of Interest
In These Countries, BlackBerry Is Still King—Of Pop Culture - Wall Street Journal, September 11, 2012
Apple Inc.’s iPhone may be the first choice of the smartphone smart set in much of the developed world—and Wednesday’s expected launch of the iPhone 5 has been feverishly tracked by techies. But the status symbol and pop-culture icon of choice from Johannesburg to Jakarta remains the BlackBerry, whose cheap and dependable BBM still reigns in many emerging economies.
What you need to know about that anti-Islam video that contributed to U.S. embassy attacks - Poynter, September 13, 2012
A roundup of what has been reported about “Innocence of Muslims,” the anti-Islam film that contributed to attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Cairo and now Yemen, killing U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three staffers:
How Human Rights Watch got into the quasi-journalism business - Nieman Journalism Lab, September 12, 2012
Media from nonprofits has boomed in recent years. But that doesn’t just mean the ProPublicas and Texas Tribunes of the world — nonprofit advocacy groups are also inching their way into the media business. Instead of relying on news organizations to transmit their messages to an audience, some are focused on making that connection themselves.
