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Blog TalkBlog Posts About Our Work[The opinions and views expressed in these blogs are not necessarily those of Internews.] February 8, 2010 – Committee to Protect JournalistsInternews provides critical news to use in Haiti Every evening, between 9 and 10 p.m., people in areas affected by the January 12 earthquake listen to the program “Nouvel pou nou Konnen” (News to Know). Huddled in tents or sitting in the open air, men and women cling to their transistor radios to get news on the latest decisions of the Haitian government or agencies coordinating international assistance in affected areas. February 5, 2010 – Reboot.fcc.govHelping Haiti: Back from Port-au-Prince I have returned from Haiti and am back at FCC headquarters in Washington, D.C. As I explained previously, our mission to Haiti was at the request of the Haitian telecommunications regulator, Conatel, and in coordination with USAID...To help improve this situation, at the FCC, we are working with U.S. broadcast organizations to facilitate any assistance possible for the Haitian broadcasters – from equipment to programming. There is an organization on the ground in Haiti called the Internews Network. January 29, 2010 – Follow the MediaMore Haiti radio aid - Power at a premium Response to the crisis in earthquake-ravaged Haiti by media development agencies and broadcasters has helped fill the information void. There will be heroes when this story is finally written. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) contracted with Internews, an international media development specialist, to coordinate media relief and monitor humanitarian information. Internews also coordinated local Haitian distribution of the “Hope For Haiti Now” telethon broadcast last week. December 15, 2009 – Another PathSo the Earth Journalism Awards are an attempt by the pioneering press group Internews to raise the profile of these stories and get them out to more people. Go to the website and check some of them out, they are great. One of my favorites is Trash Is Cash by Lilian Tende. It was released on YouTube. Many of the others were web-only productions or pieces of writing. Some of the winners have not made money, and some have not even covered their costs from the projects. December 7, 2009 – University of Colorado at BoulderCU Prof's ‘Covering Climate Change' Course Offered Free Online to Journalists and Others A University of Colorado at Boulder professor has designed a free, online four-hour course for journalists and others who want to learn more about climate change. Tom Yulsman, co-director of CU's Center for Environmental Journalism, worked for five months on the project and collaborated with the Internews Network and the Poynter Institute, on whose Web site the course resides. October 7, 2009 – MediaShift Idea LabThe New Era of Media Development Part I Media development as a field within international development has existed for at least 30 years. Broadly speaking, media development organizations provide financial support, training, and resources to groups in developing countries that want build and sustain media organizations. An active and dynamic media ecosystem, the thinking goes, leads to greater government transparency, a more informed public, and greater civic participation. Some of the major players in the field of media development are:
September 7, 2009 – TreehuggerEnter MTV's Copenhagen Climate Video Challenge They used to play videos but now they air reality shows 24/7 that feature a bunch of rich knuckleheads. But MTV isn't all bad. In fact, they are sponsoring a really cool contest for youth around the climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year. MTV is inviting its viewers to enter the Internews Earth Journalism Awards Competition by entering the MTV Positive Change category of the competition "with your best, most original piece of content on climate change for a chance to pick up your award in Copenhagen." August 15, 2009 – Media Re:public[Persephone Miel, Internews Program Director for Internet Initiatives, wrote on her blog about the Netroots Nation conference, where Miel was part of the "Democracy without Newspapers" panel.] My panel - as usual, I can’t remember a word I said, but I’m sure I was mostly incoherent and didn’t make even half the points I meant to. HOWEVER, I do remember that in a Q&A about business models, I got actual applause for saying we need more public* financing for journalism. So there, journalism purists! June 14, 2009 – Notes from a Native DaughterWell, two years later, Pius has won numerous awards for his features, and is making a comfortable living for himself as a journalist... Yesterday, he finished up a project with the BBC on the fishing industry in Lake Victoria. He's done trainings in Kenya and Tanzania, and he's just a delight to work with. I could tell the reporters were captivated by his stories about how he reported and produced his features. And when he said he owed it all to Internews...well, actually, he said he owed it all to me and the way I taught him....I wanted to cry. June 9, 2009 – Journalism in the Americas (Knight Center)More Training Urged for Haiti's Radio Reporters In addition to its informational role, Haitian radio provides important channels for political activism and community organizing, but reporters would benefit from further training, panelists said at the discussion Media Development in Haiti, hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C. An audio recording of the event, which was co-sponsored by the Internews network, and a summary written by Frances Aunon can be downloaded here. June 5, 2009 – KQED Climate WatchGlobal Call for Climate Change Stories Want a trip to Copenhagen to cover this year's UN climate talks, but not sure how to pay for it? Internews, an international media development organization, today launched The Earth Journalism Awards, a competition for the world's best climate change reporting. Applicants can register and submit stories on the EJA website until September 7, 2009, when 14 winners will be selected to be flown to Copenhagen in December to cover the UN talks for their home countries and local media outlets. June 4, 2009 – My heart's in Accra (Ethan Zuckerman)Beyond Broadcast 2009. Beyond overwhelmed. I’m having a blast at Beyond Broadcast despite fighting off a bad cold. The organizers have done a great job of moving beyond the usual suspects and bringing in people I’m thrilled to listen to, like Nouneh Sarkissian of Internews Armenia, talking about the innovative work her group is doing linking Georgian, Armenian and Azeri youth around media production camps. June 4, 2009 – Ted's TakeRead a nice piece about Internews, a cause I am pleased to support and encourage to grow. Internews supports young journalists from around the world to keep reporting and to bring local important issues to the forefront of a global audience. It was fun to hang out with some good friends and get reacquainted with Bob Edwards, one of the legends of radio broadcasting. Keep these folks in mind if you want to help a charity. They do the Lord’s work. June 3, 2009 – KStreetKateIf you weren't at DLA Piper last Tuesday night (don't worry, you're not the only one who didn't know what that was, but we hope you clicked the link to find out!), you might not know about Internews. We just learned about that one this year, too! June 3, 2009 – The ISN BlogGlobal Media Forum Day 1: First Encounters My first insightful encounter was with the people from U-Media, a Ukranian Internews project. Internews is an NGO fighting for the independence of information by empowering local media. As for U-Media, its goal is to develop a more robust media sector that works to serve the interests of independent media in the Ukraine. April 13, 2009 – Independent Arts & MediaPersephone Miel: What Should PBS Do? Internews Network's PERSEPHONE MIEL, a recent fellow at Harvard's Berkman Center, brings some Internet-era vision for the idea of public media. April 3, 2009 – BBC World Service TrustEvent: when information saves lives At the United Nations headquarters in New York last week one of the debating chambers reverberated with a discussion on how media organisations could best support humanitarian actions. The BBC World Service Trust co-hosted this event with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the media development organisation Internews, the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. March 30, 2009 – Humanitarian.infoCorrecting crowdsourcing in a crisis I hope that Patrick doesn’t feel that this is a hit post, because it isn’t intended to be. However I find it difficult to stay in my seat when I see the words “crowdsourcing” and “humanitarian” in the same sentence. So deep breaths, everybody. Patrick has just put up two posts, entitled Internews, Ushahidi and communication in crisis and Ushahidi: From Croudsourcing to Crowdfeeding. The posts were based on his attendance at a couple of events hosted in New York by InterNews (good organisation, by the way, we like them). March 27, 2009 – iRevolutionInternews, Ushahidi and Communication in Crises I had the pleasure of participating in two Internews sponsored meetings in New York today. Fellow participants included OCHA, Oxfram, Red Cross, Save the Children, World Vision, BBC World Service Trust, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Humanitarian Media Foundation, International Media Support and several others. March 18, 2009 – PenPlusBytesMobile as Media Platform in the Global South Once almost the exclusive domain of rich countries, the mobile revolution has swept through the developing world. This has deep implications for the media, but the change has been so rapid that it has completely overtaken most media outlets - they are struggling to digest its impact. The Promise of Ubiquity was commissioned by Internews Europe in order to help the media to understand the exciting potential, the incredible challenges and the perils of refusing to change. March 8, 2009 – Colin RhinesmithReading the Community Media Sustainability Guide This weekend, I was delighted to discover the “Community Media Sustainability Guide: The Business of Changing Lives” via Persephone Miel, author of one its articles, entitled “Small Towns Find a Voice Online” and speaker at “We Report, We Decide: Civic Media’s Impact on Mainstream News“. March 7, 2009 – GeostrategyThose Most Affected by Climate Change Seen as Unaware of Dangers The issue of climate change has gained prominence in the Western press, but in many developing countries the topic rarely appears in headlines, and citizens remain relatively uninformed about the risks they face from environmental degradation. "Climate change is one of the most pressing problems for reporters to cover in the developing world and is something that is being largely neglected," said Oren Murphy, regional manager for Southeast Asia at the nonprofit Internews Network. February 20, 2009 – Blog Talk RadioA Conversation with Persephone Miel Host, Brian Reich, talks with Persephone Miel about the future of the news industry and how media organizations must re-think not only their operations, but their entire focus. Miel is a former Fellow at the Berkman Institute for Internet & Society at the Harvard Law School and recently authored a report on this subject. March 4, 2009 – Internews Equal ShareEqual Share: "Good,but not good enough" With more than 1000 participants from 45 countries around the world, the 53rd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women is meeting to consider new challenges and opportunities to advance the equal participation of women and men in political and public decision-making and the equal sharing of responsibilities in care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS. Ida Jooste, Country Director for Internews Network in Kenya, is blogging from the conference. March 3, 2009 – Media ShiftThe Promise and Challenges for Mobile Media in the Developing World A new report by Internews, The Promise of Ubiquity, poses this question: Can media organizations in the developing world seize the opportunities that billions of mobile subscribers represent, and will they be able to deliver information services needed all over the world? The report's producer, John West, has some interesting ideas, but does not have all the answers. February 28, 2009 – Global VoicesVideo: Community Radios Fill the Information Gap In a highly globalized and digitalized world, sometimes we may forget that in many regions of the world, not even electricity is available, and the possibility of using internet as an alternative information source is still a distant dream. February 23, 2009 – Media Re:publicI am finally reading The Promise of Ubiquity: Mobile as Media Platform in the Global South, which John West and my colleagues at Internews Europe had the prescience to put out in December and which I hope will get the media development community thinking and talking more about this. February 17, 2009 – The World Bank GroupBuilding Sustainable Media Development Projects You might remember the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, where the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority issued short-term licenses for local radio, and Internews distributed some 10,000 free radios among the populations for people to find out what had happened and where to get help. February 6, 2009 – Keith HopperAn Open Conversation on Hyperlocal News Following a recent post and discussion on hyperlocal news, WBUR was kind enough to let me initiate an open discussion on the topic during their monthly meetup at the station. Around 15 people participated in this discussion, including Lisa Williams from Placeblogger, Ben Terris from Boston.com's Your Town, Adam Weiss of Boston Behind the Scenes, Persephone Miel from Internews Network, and Doc Searls from Harvard's Berkman Center. January 23, 2009 – The Armenian Observer BlogPodcast: Obama inauguration and tech news This 5 minute podcast is produced by Internews Armenia. December 16, 2008 – Committee to Protect JournalistsOne issue that came up during the discussion is whether the whole strategy of using government advertising to manipulate the media will survive as media moves increasingly online. As the advertising base collapses, print media is fading. My colleague Persephone Miel of the media development organization Internews has just written a fascinating paper on future of the topic which I recommend. December 11, 2008 – Resident Public Radio NerdIn case you hadn't guessed it from the title of my blog, I am a huge fan of radio. So when I heard this story on PRI's Living on Earth, I couldn't help but think how much I had taken radio for granted. November 2, 2008 – Ethiopian ReviewRadio Program Diaries of People Living with HIV Reduces Stigma in Ethiopia Betengna, a radio program in Ethiopia that showcases the diaries of ordinary people living with HIV, may contribute to reducing HIV-related stigma, according to the results of a research study disseminated September 24, 2008 in Addis Ababa. Results of the research indicate that listeners of Betengna were found to have lower stigma toward people living with HIV and had greater knowledge about HIV transmission, prevention and management. Betengna is produced in collaboration with the National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office (HAPCO) with technical assistance from Internews Network-Ethiopia. December 18, 2008 – BBC World TrustDuring the week of the riots, Athens was hosting the Global Forum for Media Development where, my colleagues Imogen Wall of the BBC World Service Trust and Mark Frohardt of Internews were, coincidently, raising discussion about the crucial role of information for people affected by disasters (pdf). December 11, 2008 – Zambia - The WatchdogVisa obstacles exlude many from UN climate talks “Surely, this will affect our representation. We want to be there ourselves for all the sessions. Although, as head of the delegation, I have been receiving e-mails about what is happening in Poznan from the summit secretariat, this is not enough. We should have been there from the beginning to make our input and meet with colleagues.“ Ben Donnie’s comments were published on the Climate Change Media Partnership ( CCMP ) website in a news article by Harold Williams, a journalist from Sierra Leone , who also had visa problems. The CCMP was set up by Internews, Panos and IIED to help bridge the information divide that arises from so few journalists from developing nations attending UN climate change conferences. December 10, 2008 – Colours of BohemiaEvery Human Has Rights Media Awards On Saturday 6th December, I found myself in the same room as former Irish president Mary Robinson, former American president Jimmy Carter, business entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, French ambassador for human rights François Zimeray, honorary French ambassador Stéphane Hessel - who was a participant at the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 - and a multitude of other Extremely Important People. December 9, 2008 – Toby's BlogHLS Student Wins Internews “Every Human Has Rights Media Award” Clara Long ‘11 has been working on a web-based documentary project called Border Stories. As she and her partners put it, “Border Stories, a web-based documentary exploring the length of the longest boundary between the developed and developing world, is an effort to promote tolerance by showcasing the humanity behind border issues. December 8, 2008 – NewMediaLabMary Waters school learner, Pamela Matinisi sending her sms. What constitutes the journalism in Citizen Journalism? Once again, this perennial question has cropped up – although this time it made me think a little more clearly than previously. The occasion was the 2nd Global Forum for Media Development. The question was in response to my presentation of the Knight-funded project – “Iindaba Ziyafika” (meaning: “The News is Coming”). December 8, 2008 – Media Re:publicAccess and Voice in New Technology - GFMD08 Chan: you can’t expect market forces alone to give us good journalism in any medium. She mentions the work of Global Network Initiative (which both Internews and Berkman both are part of, along with many other fine organizations) to get corporations to agree to ethical principles about user privacy, freedom of expression, etc. December 5, 2008 – BBC World TrustThe face or voice of a foreign correspondent reporting on a natural disaster from a far-flung destination whilst scenes of destruction and human suffering play in the background is an all-too familiar image for many of us on tuning in to the latest news. The 2004 tsunami, 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and this year’s Sichuan earthquake in China and cyclone Nargis that devastated Burma are only the latest humanitarian emergencies that have prompted powerful news reports, and emergency response appeals But this depressingly familiar image also captures what Mark Harvey of Internews describes as “a double information jeopardy." December 2, 2008 – Free Media Sri LankaJournalist beaten by Eravur police - FMM FMM is outraged that police officers of the Eravur police beat journalists Mohamed Hussein with batons just because he happened to be covering the suddenly imposed dawn to dusk curfew in Batticaloa on 29th November. This assault and harassment of journalist Hussein is not only a violation of Freedom of expression rights but also violation of basic human rights . Journalist Hussein is attached to Kalmunei media house run by Internews. December 1, 2008 - MediaShift Idea LabFreedom Fone had its first public debut at the Association of Women's Rights in Development (AWID) 2008 Forum in Cape Town, 14-17 November. The event was a great opportunity to deploy Freedom Fone -- even in its software prototype state. (Freedom Fone is co-funded by Internews Europe.) November 24, 2008 – Talking UnionNike Human Rights Investigation Up for Human Rights Award A TV news report on the exploitation of Bengla Deshi, Burmese, and Vietnamese workers in Malaysia and Nike’s hypocrisy is up for a prestigious “Every Human Has Rights” Award. During the summer 2008, Internews Europe invited mainstream and citizen journalists from around the world to participate in the competition for the Media Awards by submitting world and current affairs reports and stories illustrating one or several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. November 19, 2008 – Slentrepeneur MagazineSecond Life News: Draxtor Despres Report on”Virtual Gitmo” Wins Award Machinima blogger Draxtor Despres (aka Bernhard Drax) has been awarded the “Every Human Has Rights” media award for his report on the “Virtual Gitmo” build in Second Life. He was invited to Paris by news agency internews to spend a week (December 5th to 11th) taking part in a ceremony with 30 international print, TV and online journalists - including special appearances by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and Archbishop Desmond Tutu on December 6th - celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. November 14, 2008 – American University’s Center for Social JusticeWhere Hostile Governments Meet Public Media How can public media develop in regions where governments are hostile to press freedoms? A look at emerging projects in the South Caucasus—a region of independent former Soviet countries linked both geographically and historically—offers some clues. We have created a list of five notable public media projects: Institute for Reporter’s Freedom and Safety, Caucasus Center of Peacemaking Initiatives, Internews, the South Caucasus blogosphere and lastly everyone’s favorite Facebook. June 9, 2008 – TCA in DCListened to Tole Nyatta, a local radio journalist, of Pamoja FM in the Kibera area of Nairobi, Kenya speak on the role of Kenya media during the recent post-election violence that claimed over 1,000 Kenyan lives earlier this year. |
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