MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST MAY 16: LONELY PLANET HITS BACK; VIETNAMESE MEDIA PUBLIC OUTCRY
May 16th 2008 02:02
THAILAND’S MCOT EXPECTS SUBSTANTIAL REVENUE INCREASE IN SECOND QUARTER FLOWING BELOW-TARGET FIRST QUARTER FIGURES
Thailand’s listed broadcaster, MCOT Plc, said it expects its second-quarter revenues to increase substantially.
MCOT, the operator of Modern Nine TV (Channel 9) reported a 10 percent increase in year-on-year revenue.
But this was six percent lower than the target, due mainly to marginal radio growth of only one percent, 18 percent below target.
Net profit was up one percent from the first quarter last year.
The Bangkok Post reported that MCOT also postponed radio marketing activity in the January-March period to mourn the late Princess Galyani Vadhana.
The company also postponed the Seed Awards and Thai country music events last quarter and expects to increase revenue when it runs them this quarter.
CHINESE JOURNALIST GETS FOUR YEARS PRISON, OSTENSIBLY FOR FRAUD AND EXTORTION
A court in Tengzhou, in the eastern province of Shandong, imposed a four-year prison sentence on journalist Qi Chonghuai on May 13 on charges fraud and extorting money. Qi, who spent 11 months in pre-trial detention, used to work for Fazhi Zaobao (Legal Rule Morning Post), a newspaper owned by the justice ministry.
One of his lawyers, Li Xiongbing, who pleaded for his acquittal in court, said that this decision violates press freedom.
"Coming just a few months before the Olympic Games, this sentence is yet another example of the Chinese government's lack of tolerance for critical writers and journalists."
Aged 42, Qi had worked for 13 years as a journalist for Fazhi Zaobao and other media outlets, and often wrote about corruption in political and financial circles. He was arrested on June 25 last year after posting an article about Communist Party corruption in Tengzhou on a forum on Xinhuanet, the website of the official news agency. He was formally charged with "fraud and extorting money" on August 2.
Nine days before Qi's arrest, a friend of his, freelance photographer Ma Shiping, was arrested for the same reason, but it was claimed he had posted a photo of an official building online without being officially accredited as a photographer.
A member of the staff at Tengzhou Daily, which used to employ Ma, said: "He dared to say what the accredited reporters did not dare write. He dared to say the truth."
One of Qi's former colleagues at Fazhi Zaobao, journalist He Yanjie, was given a two-year prison sentence by the same court in connection with his work for the newspaper. Both journalists are being held in Tengzhou prison.
ACQUITTAL OF VATICAN RADIO OFFICIALS OVERTURNED BY ITALIAN APPEALS COURT
AFP reports that Italy’s top appeals court reversed the acquittal of two Vatican Radio officials implicated in alleged electromagnetic pollution emanating from the station’s transmitters.
The Court of Cassation announced its decision late on Tuesday evening to put both the former director and president of the radio station back on trial, after they were acquitted in June 2007 by Rome’s court of appeal.
Vatican Radio said Wednesday it was disappointed with this latest decision. In 2001, residents from Cesano, north of Rome, took Vatican Radio to court, alleging its nearby high-power transmitters caused leukaemia and other serious health problems in the community.
Investigators from the Italian Environment Ministry at the time found levels of electromagnetic fields that largely surpassed the legal limit of six volts per metre.
A damning report from the public health agency for Latium, the region surrounding Rome, followed.
BBC WORLD NEWS EXPECTS INCREASED ASIAN GROWTH WITH ITS NEW-MEDIA PLATFORMS
The BBC World News expects its healthy growth in Asia-region advertising sales and viewer numbers to continue as its new-media platforms gain traction.
The British broadcasting has now completed its "tri-media" business platforms which will see all BBC World News content delivered on TV, online and mobile phones.
BBC World News also unveiled its new look and direction this week.
In the past year BBC World News sales have increased 20 percent in Asia and Sian Kevill, editorial director BBC World News, said its cross-platform strategy will be a key growth platform for the news organisation.
UNPRECEDENTED PUBLIC OUTCRY IN VIETNAM OVER JAILING OF JOURNALIST WHO COVERED A GAMBLING AND BRIBERY SCANDAL
The arrests of two Vietnamese reporters for their coverage of a bribery, gambling and corruption scandal have led to a highly unusual confrontation between Vietnam's Communist government and the country's state-controlled newspapers.
ABC News reported that this week's arrests unleashed a torrent of protests from journalists and bloggers, who said the detentions would discourage aggressive reporting on corruption, one of Vietnam's most urgent problems.
Sparking their outrage were the arrests Monday of Nguyen Viet Chien of Thanh Nien and Nguyen Van Hai of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, as reported in MediaBlab earlier this week.
Authorities also arrested one police investigator and interrogated another on accusations of providing false information to the journalists.
The reporters are accused of ‘abuse of authority’ for allegedly inaccurate reporting on a major corruption scandal that led to the resignation of the transportation minister in 2006.
Tuoi Tre published a story on Wednesday saying it was inundated by phone calls, e-mails and letters from angry citizens protesting the government's move — the most it had received in 33 years of publication.
LONELY PLANET FOUNDER’S ACID RESPONSE TO BAD TRIP AUTHOR REVELATIONS
Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler didn’t hold back from attacking guide book author Thomas Kohnstamm in an interview in the Bangkok Post yesterday.
The Lonely Planet guidebook empire is reeling from claims by Kohnstamm that he plagiarised and made up large sections of his books and dealt drugs to make up for poor pay.
He also claims in a new book that he accepted free travel, in contravention of the company's policy.
Kohnstamm, whose book is titled Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?, said he had worked on more than a dozen books for Lonely Planet, including its titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile and South America.
In one case, he said he had not even visited the country he wrote about.
"They didn't pay me enough to go Colombia. I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating, an intern in the Colombian Consulate. They don't pay enough for what they expect the authors to do.''
But Tony Wheeler savaged Kohnstamm in the Bangkok Post, saying, “I’m not surprised he didn’t do a good job because he was spending all his time partying and taking drugs. However, we double checked what he write and found no problems.”
As for Kohnstamm’s allegations that wrote about Colombia without even going to the country, Wheeler said, “He made this silly comment that we didn’t pay him enough to go to Colombia. The fact is that he was never paid to go to Colombia in the first place because someone else was researching the book.
“He has a degree in Latin studies, and so we asked him to write the history chapter. But that didn’t mean we wanted him to write in Colombia itself; he could have written it anywhere.
“He retracted his comments later and said that he’d been taken out of context. I don’t know what got into him.
“Anyhow, he has written his last guide book for anyone. Nobody would trust him again. A reputation takes a long time to build up but you can lose it very easily.”
POLISH PUBLISHER BUYS INTERNET PORTAL TRADER. CO FROM TURKISH COMPANY
Thomson Financial reports that Polish publisher Agora will buy internet portal Trader.com for US$54.4 million from Turkish media company Hurriyet.
Trader.com runs classified ads websites as well as property and auto advertising magazines.
Agora, which publishes Poland's second-largest daily Gazeta Wyborcza, said earlier this year it wants to make internet and niche TV channels its main sources of revenue within three years.
SOCIOLOGY STUDY SHOWS THAT ‘EMBEDDED’ JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENTED THE PENTAGON VIEW
Editor and Publishers in the US reports, “Debate over the ‘embedded journalist’ program run by the Pentagon since the weeks before the Iraq invasion in 2003 has long raged, with some claiming that it gave reporters valuable close access to action while others saying that the journalists were severely compromised within it.”
Sociologist Andrew M. Lindner, writing in the American Sociological Association's Context magazine now describes what is possibly the only sociological study of the substantive content of media coverage during the first six weeks of the Iraq war.
Lindner found that journalists embedded with American troops emphasised military successes more often than they covered consequences for Iraqi citizens.
“The embedded program proved to be a Pentagon victory because it kept reporters focused on the horrors facing the troops, not the horrors of the civilian war experience. The end result: a communications victory for an administration that hoped to build support for the war by depicting it as a successful mission with limited cost.”
Lindner's conclusions are the result of a content analysis of 742 news articles written by 156 English-language print reporters in Iraq during the first six weeks of the war.
HONK KONG BROADCASTER TVB LISTED ON HONG KONG EXCHANGE AGAIN BUT SALE RUMOURS STILL NOT QUELLED
AsiaMedia reports that shares in broadcaster TVB resumed trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday morning, after a suspension the day before triggered by speculation over merger talks.
In a series of notices, TVB pointed out it is “not aware of any negotiation in relation to a possible sale of shares in the company”.
But it added that Shaw Holdings, a substantial shareholder of TVB via Shaw Brothers, is in discussion with representatives of interested parties regarding a possible sale of the shares in Shaw Brothers.
AsiaMedia said a Shaw Brothers notice added that Shaw Holdings is in discussions with interested parties regarding a possible purchase.
Marketing Magazine further reported that TVB acknowledged that its controlling partner Shaw Brothers is in talks to sell its 26 percent stake.
"The board of directors of the company has made enquiries and is informed that Shaw Holdings Inc is currently in discussions with representatives of interested parties regarding such possible purchase," the statement said.
"Shaw Holdings Inc has confirmed to the company that no agreement has been entered into in respect of any such possible purchase."
BRITISH REGIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER SELLS 20 PERCENT OF THE BUSINESS TO MALAYSIAN BILLIONAIRE
Another example of European publishers turning to Asia for investments funds: Followthemedia reports that Johnston Press, publisher of more than 300 UK regional and local newspapers, has agreed to 42.7 million British pounds (A$89 million) for 20 percent of the company from Ananda Krisnan.
Krisnan is Malaysia’s second richest billionaire and rated the world’s 116th richest man in Forbes Magazine’s rich list.
Followthemedia says the deal is via his Usaha Targas investment company that specializes in media and communications sectors.
FRENCH PRESIDENT SARKOZY NOW ACCUSED OF TRYING TO INTIMIDATE THE MEDIA
Editors Weblog reports that the French socialist party has accused president Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to intimidate the media.
Interestingly, similar complaints have been flying around Bangkok about the new prime minister and his aggressive relationship with the media.
Last week in France Sarkozy condemned five media, including the international news agency Agence France-Presse, for showing bias against him by failing to sufficiently highlight a court ruling against his former rival in the presidential race, Segolene Royal.
The issue has since become more heated, with other members of Sarkozy's UMP party hurling accusations of bias.
The French left sees the latest polemic on the press as nothing but a "smokescreen aimed at obscuring the government's errors and Sarkozy's record low popularity," said Socialist spokesman Faouzi Lamdaoui in a statement.
UMP spokesman Frederic Lefebvre maintained, however, all the ruling party wanted was a "neutral" press.
But AFP rejected claims that its neutrality was compromised, saying that nowhere was it written that the press must relay every governmental communication. According to the AFP, the last press release brought no new information to the case.
"Being a journalist requires you to make choices, and decide what's news and what isn't," said AFP president Pierre Louette.
Which does seem rather fundamental to MediaBlab.
The controversy also coincides with the agency's financial negotiations with the French state, which partially assures the continued solvency of AFP. Editor’s Weblog says, “Although constituted to be an independent agency, the reality is that the government's is AFP's biggest customer. The agency is currently asking for an additional 20 million euros in order to add multimedia offerings to its repertoire.”
MIXED REPORT CARD ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT MOVES TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The Australian newspaper reports that the local media industry's Right to Know coalition has issued a “mixed report card” on the efforts of state and federal governments to protect freedom of speech.
The coalition says its report last year listing dozens of restrictions on the media was followed by a series of positive initiatives by state and federal governments.
While these moves deserved ticks, it said other developments deserved crosses.
The report card has been issued on the first anniversary of the coalition, which consists of 12 leading media organisations.
They include News Ltd, Fairfax Media, the ABC, and commercial television and radio broadcasters, SBS and Sky News.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, News Ltd chairman and chief executive John Hartigan said the group applauded Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's commitment to make his government more open and accountable.
"The signs are encouraging but it is vital that they translate into substantial and meaningful reform over the next 12 months," he said.
REPORT CARD
TICKS: * Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's promise to revamp the commonwealth's freedom of information laws and practices
* Rudd's promise to improve whistleblower protection
* Queensland Government's inquiry into its Freedom of Information (FOI) laws
* NSW Ombudsman's decision to examine FOI practice
* The commitment by the state and commonwealth attorneys-general to a national register for suppression orders
* The support at the 2020 Summit for more open government
CROSSES:
* Last month's police raid on The Sunday Times newsroom
* Treasury's denial of access under FOI to documents showing how proposed industrial relations changes would affect inflation
* The failure of all states to accept the need to protect journalists who legitimately refuse to reveal their confidential sources
LEGENDARY ANTIPODEAN WAR CORRESPONDENT’S ASHES SCATTERED 37 YEARS AFTER SHE READ ABOUT HER OWN DEATH
The ashes of a New-Zealand born war correspondent were scattered in Wellington this week, 37 years after she first read about her death in newspapers from around the world.
The remarkable Kate Webb died in Australia last year aged 64.
Her family originally held a memorial service for her in 1971 after death notices appeared in newspapers following her capture by North Vietnamese troops in Cambodia.
Her obituary was published after reports came in that a white woman’s body with bullet wounds had been found in a shallow grave.
But Webb miraculously emerged from the jungle after 23 days captivity. allbeit with a dose of malaria.
She continued to report from trouble spots throughout Asia until fer retirement in 2001.
AFGHAN AUTHORITIES CALLED TO CO-OPERATE WITH LAWYER FOR JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH
Reporters Without Borders calls on the Afghan authorities to cooperate with the lawyer of Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a young journalist under sentence of death, to allow him to submit his client's appeal.
Nearly two months have gone by since the case was transferred to Kabul, but his lawyer has still not been given the case file, which is preventing him from preparing the appeal.
The authorities finally acceded to the calls for Kambakhsh's transfer to Kabul on March 27. Since then, he has been held in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, in the eastern part of the capital. His brother, fellow journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, told Reporters Without Borders "the case has still not been sent to the lawyer to prepare his defence and no date has yet been set for the appeal hearing."
A journalism student who wrote for the newspaper Jahan-e Naw (New World), Kambakhsh was arrested on October 27 and was sentenced to death by a court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif at the end of a summary trial on 22 January in which he was not defended by a lawyer. A dozen lawyers were approached by his family but they refused to represent him for fear of reprisals.
Jawed Ahmad, a young Afghan journalist who works for the Canadian television network CTV, has been held without trial by the US military at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, since November 2. The Americans accuse him of being an "enemy combatant" because of his alleged contacts with the Taliban.
The US military recently freed two other journalists after holding them for several years. They were Sami Al-Haj, a Sudanese cameraman employed by the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera, who was freed from Guantanamo on May 1, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who was freed in Baghdad on April 6.
Ahmad is the only journalist still being held by the US military.
MYANMAR MILITARY CONTINUES TO KEEP FOREIGN JOURNALISTS OFF ITS PATCH
AsiaMedia reports on how the Myanmar military junta continue to limit foreign aid and news coverage of post-Cyclone Nargis devastation.
AsiaMedia said, “BBC journalist Andrew Harding was deported from Myanmar last week after attempting to report about the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
“According to an Agence France-Presse report, state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar first covered the story, saying Harding was deported due to visa violations. He attempted to enter Myanmar with a tourist visa rather than an official journalist visa. Harding had done this twice before and was blacklisted from entering the country.”
New Light of Myanmar accused Western journalists of illegally entering Myanmar and writing falsehoods with the aid of anti-government groups within the country. Foreign journalists have been denied access to the country, and in the case of CNN reporter Dan Rivers, have resorted to sneaking inside it – only to be hunted by the government.
Local journalists face harassment and imprisonment for reporting on stories that may offend the ruling junta.
Nonetheless, images and reports of the post-cyclone devastation have reached the rest of the world. Myanmar's state-run television station said the death toll has reached more than 34,000 after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 3, 2008 and estimated that nearly 28,000 people are missing. The US charge d'affaires in Yangon, Shari Villarosa, however, estimated the death toll is over 100,000.
FINALISTS FOR THE 2008 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
2008 Magazine of the Year Awards – Finalists
General Interest / News:
New Idea (Pacific Magazines)
Australia & New Zealand Reader’s Digest (Reader’s Digest)
OK! (Northern & Shell Pacific)
Take 5 (ACP Magazines)
Lifestyle:
Zoo Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Vogue Australia (News Magazines)
Madison (ACP Magazines)
Shop Til you Drop (SHOP) (ACP Magazines)
Home & Food:
real living (ACP Magazines)
delicious (News Magazines)
Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
Better Homes and Gardens (Pacific Magazines)
Special Interest:
Weight Watchers Magazine (Text Pacific)
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines)
K-Zone (Pacific Magazines)
Australasian Dirt Bike (ACP Magazines)
Launch/Relaunch of the Year:
Healthsmart (Reader’s Digest)
Woman’s Health (Pacific Magazines)
Best Use of Digital Media:
marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Zoo Weekly online (ACP Magazines)
Editor of the Year:
Sarah Nicholson, delicious (News Magazines)
Paul Merrill, Zoo Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Donna Hay, donna hay magazine (News Magazines)
Kim Wilson, OK! (Northern & Shell Pacific)
Feature Writer of the Year:
Larry Writer, The Australian Women’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Michael Sheather, The Australian Woman’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Felicity Robinson, marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Wendy Squires, Madison (ACP Magazines)
Columnist of the Year:
Alex May, Australian House & Garden (ACP Magazines)
Adrian Gill, Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
John Carey, Wheels (ACP Magazines)
Story of the Year:
Australian Geographic (ACP Magazines) – Trial by Tasman
TIME Magazines (TIME South Pacific) – Culture of Violence
TIME Magazines (TIME South Pacific) – Visions of the Night
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Aboriginal Child Abuse Crisis
Editorial Initiative of the Year:
Girlfriend (Pacific Magazines) – Girlfriend Goes Green
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines) – I Can Make A Difference
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Push It, Paid Maternity Leave
New Idea (Pacific Magazines) – White Ribbon Campaign
Designer of the Year
Jamie Fawdray, K-Zone (Pacific Magazines)
Sarah Kavanagh, donna hay magazine (News Magazines)
David Ashford, Men’s Health (Pacific Magazines)
Huw Reynolds, Belle (ACP Magazines)
Best Use of Photography/ Photographic Feature:
Vogue Australia (News Magazines)
Vogue Entertaining & Travel (News Magazines)
Harpers BAZAAR (ACP Magazines)
Australian Woman’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Belle (ACP Magazines)
Cover of the Year:
Street Machine (ACP Magazines)
Australian Good Taste (News Magazines)
Vogue Living (News Magazines)
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines)
Better Homes and Gardens (Pacific Magazines)
Ad Trade Marketing Campaign of the Year:
TIME Magazine (TIME South Pacific) – The Test of TIME
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines) – The Home Beautiful Product of the Year Awards
ACP Magazines – 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty
Consumer Marketing Campaign of the Year
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines) – Australian Style
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines) – Best Bestie Award
Women’s Health (Pacific Magazines) – It’s Good To Be You
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Integrated Fashion Campaign
Best Use of the Magazine Environment for Advertising:
Notebook (News Magazines) – V6 Toyota Tarago
WHO (Pacific Magazines) - FLING
TIME Magazine (TIME South Pacific) – My Australia Campaign
News Magazines – Sara Lee Sundays
DOLLY (ACP Magazines) - Norsca
real living (ACP Magazines) – real living website launch
Best Use of Special Execution:
Inside Out (News Magazines)
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines)
marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
Thailand’s listed broadcaster, MCOT Plc, said it expects its second-quarter revenues to increase substantially.
MCOT, the operator of Modern Nine TV (Channel 9) reported a 10 percent increase in year-on-year revenue.
But this was six percent lower than the target, due mainly to marginal radio growth of only one percent, 18 percent below target.
Net profit was up one percent from the first quarter last year.
The Bangkok Post reported that MCOT also postponed radio marketing activity in the January-March period to mourn the late Princess Galyani Vadhana.
CHINESE JOURNALIST GETS FOUR YEARS PRISON, OSTENSIBLY FOR FRAUD AND EXTORTION
A court in Tengzhou, in the eastern province of Shandong, imposed a four-year prison sentence on journalist Qi Chonghuai on May 13 on charges fraud and extorting money. Qi, who spent 11 months in pre-trial detention, used to work for Fazhi Zaobao (Legal Rule Morning Post), a newspaper owned by the justice ministry.
One of his lawyers, Li Xiongbing, who pleaded for his acquittal in court, said that this decision violates press freedom.
"Coming just a few months before the Olympic Games, this sentence is yet another example of the Chinese government's lack of tolerance for critical writers and journalists."
Aged 42, Qi had worked for 13 years as a journalist for Fazhi Zaobao and other media outlets, and often wrote about corruption in political and financial circles. He was arrested on June 25 last year after posting an article about Communist Party corruption in Tengzhou on a forum on Xinhuanet, the website of the official news agency. He was formally charged with "fraud and extorting money" on August 2.
A member of the staff at Tengzhou Daily, which used to employ Ma, said: "He dared to say what the accredited reporters did not dare write. He dared to say the truth."
One of Qi's former colleagues at Fazhi Zaobao, journalist He Yanjie, was given a two-year prison sentence by the same court in connection with his work for the newspaper. Both journalists are being held in Tengzhou prison.
ACQUITTAL OF VATICAN RADIO OFFICIALS OVERTURNED BY ITALIAN APPEALS COURT
AFP reports that Italy’s top appeals court reversed the acquittal of two Vatican Radio officials implicated in alleged electromagnetic pollution emanating from the station’s transmitters.
The Court of Cassation announced its decision late on Tuesday evening to put both the former director and president of the radio station back on trial, after they were acquitted in June 2007 by Rome’s court of appeal.
Vatican Radio said Wednesday it was disappointed with this latest decision. In 2001, residents from Cesano, north of Rome, took Vatican Radio to court, alleging its nearby high-power transmitters caused leukaemia and other serious health problems in the community.
Investigators from the Italian Environment Ministry at the time found levels of electromagnetic fields that largely surpassed the legal limit of six volts per metre.
A damning report from the public health agency for Latium, the region surrounding Rome, followed.
BBC WORLD NEWS EXPECTS INCREASED ASIAN GROWTH WITH ITS NEW-MEDIA PLATFORMS
The BBC World News expects its healthy growth in Asia-region advertising sales and viewer numbers to continue as its new-media platforms gain traction.
The British broadcasting has now completed its "tri-media" business platforms which will see all BBC World News content delivered on TV, online and mobile phones.
BBC World News also unveiled its new look and direction this week.
In the past year BBC World News sales have increased 20 percent in Asia and Sian Kevill, editorial director BBC World News, said its cross-platform strategy will be a key growth platform for the news organisation.
UNPRECEDENTED PUBLIC OUTCRY IN VIETNAM OVER JAILING OF JOURNALIST WHO COVERED A GAMBLING AND BRIBERY SCANDAL
The arrests of two Vietnamese reporters for their coverage of a bribery, gambling and corruption scandal have led to a highly unusual confrontation between Vietnam's Communist government and the country's state-controlled newspapers.
ABC News reported that this week's arrests unleashed a torrent of protests from journalists and bloggers, who said the detentions would discourage aggressive reporting on corruption, one of Vietnam's most urgent problems.
Sparking their outrage were the arrests Monday of Nguyen Viet Chien of Thanh Nien and Nguyen Van Hai of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, as reported in MediaBlab earlier this week.
Authorities also arrested one police investigator and interrogated another on accusations of providing false information to the journalists.
The reporters are accused of ‘abuse of authority’ for allegedly inaccurate reporting on a major corruption scandal that led to the resignation of the transportation minister in 2006.
Tuoi Tre published a story on Wednesday saying it was inundated by phone calls, e-mails and letters from angry citizens protesting the government's move — the most it had received in 33 years of publication.
LONELY PLANET FOUNDER’S ACID RESPONSE TO BAD TRIP AUTHOR REVELATIONS
Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler didn’t hold back from attacking guide book author Thomas Kohnstamm in an interview in the Bangkok Post yesterday.
The Lonely Planet guidebook empire is reeling from claims by Kohnstamm that he plagiarised and made up large sections of his books and dealt drugs to make up for poor pay.
He also claims in a new book that he accepted free travel, in contravention of the company's policy.
Kohnstamm, whose book is titled Do Travel Writers Go To Hell?, said he had worked on more than a dozen books for Lonely Planet, including its titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, Venezuela, Chile and South America.
In one case, he said he had not even visited the country he wrote about.
"They didn't pay me enough to go Colombia. I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating, an intern in the Colombian Consulate. They don't pay enough for what they expect the authors to do.''
But Tony Wheeler savaged Kohnstamm in the Bangkok Post, saying, “I’m not surprised he didn’t do a good job because he was spending all his time partying and taking drugs. However, we double checked what he write and found no problems.”
As for Kohnstamm’s allegations that wrote about Colombia without even going to the country, Wheeler said, “He made this silly comment that we didn’t pay him enough to go to Colombia. The fact is that he was never paid to go to Colombia in the first place because someone else was researching the book.
“He has a degree in Latin studies, and so we asked him to write the history chapter. But that didn’t mean we wanted him to write in Colombia itself; he could have written it anywhere.
“He retracted his comments later and said that he’d been taken out of context. I don’t know what got into him.
“Anyhow, he has written his last guide book for anyone. Nobody would trust him again. A reputation takes a long time to build up but you can lose it very easily.”
POLISH PUBLISHER BUYS INTERNET PORTAL TRADER. CO FROM TURKISH COMPANY
Thomson Financial reports that Polish publisher Agora will buy internet portal Trader.com for US$54.4 million from Turkish media company Hurriyet.
Trader.com runs classified ads websites as well as property and auto advertising magazines.
Agora, which publishes Poland's second-largest daily Gazeta Wyborcza, said earlier this year it wants to make internet and niche TV channels its main sources of revenue within three years.
SOCIOLOGY STUDY SHOWS THAT ‘EMBEDDED’ JOURNALISTS IN IRAQ ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENTED THE PENTAGON VIEW
Editor and Publishers in the US reports, “Debate over the ‘embedded journalist’ program run by the Pentagon since the weeks before the Iraq invasion in 2003 has long raged, with some claiming that it gave reporters valuable close access to action while others saying that the journalists were severely compromised within it.”
Sociologist Andrew M. Lindner, writing in the American Sociological Association's Context magazine now describes what is possibly the only sociological study of the substantive content of media coverage during the first six weeks of the Iraq war.
Lindner found that journalists embedded with American troops emphasised military successes more often than they covered consequences for Iraqi citizens.
“The embedded program proved to be a Pentagon victory because it kept reporters focused on the horrors facing the troops, not the horrors of the civilian war experience. The end result: a communications victory for an administration that hoped to build support for the war by depicting it as a successful mission with limited cost.”
Lindner's conclusions are the result of a content analysis of 742 news articles written by 156 English-language print reporters in Iraq during the first six weeks of the war.
HONK KONG BROADCASTER TVB LISTED ON HONG KONG EXCHANGE AGAIN BUT SALE RUMOURS STILL NOT QUELLED
AsiaMedia reports that shares in broadcaster TVB resumed trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday morning, after a suspension the day before triggered by speculation over merger talks.
In a series of notices, TVB pointed out it is “not aware of any negotiation in relation to a possible sale of shares in the company”.
But it added that Shaw Holdings, a substantial shareholder of TVB via Shaw Brothers, is in discussion with representatives of interested parties regarding a possible sale of the shares in Shaw Brothers.
AsiaMedia said a Shaw Brothers notice added that Shaw Holdings is in discussions with interested parties regarding a possible purchase.
Marketing Magazine further reported that TVB acknowledged that its controlling partner Shaw Brothers is in talks to sell its 26 percent stake.
"The board of directors of the company has made enquiries and is informed that Shaw Holdings Inc is currently in discussions with representatives of interested parties regarding such possible purchase," the statement said.
"Shaw Holdings Inc has confirmed to the company that no agreement has been entered into in respect of any such possible purchase."
BRITISH REGIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHER SELLS 20 PERCENT OF THE BUSINESS TO MALAYSIAN BILLIONAIRE
Another example of European publishers turning to Asia for investments funds: Followthemedia reports that Johnston Press, publisher of more than 300 UK regional and local newspapers, has agreed to 42.7 million British pounds (A$89 million) for 20 percent of the company from Ananda Krisnan.
Krisnan is Malaysia’s second richest billionaire and rated the world’s 116th richest man in Forbes Magazine’s rich list.
Followthemedia says the deal is via his Usaha Targas investment company that specializes in media and communications sectors.
FRENCH PRESIDENT SARKOZY NOW ACCUSED OF TRYING TO INTIMIDATE THE MEDIA
Editors Weblog reports that the French socialist party has accused president Nicolas Sarkozy of trying to intimidate the media.
Interestingly, similar complaints have been flying around Bangkok about the new prime minister and his aggressive relationship with the media.
Last week in France Sarkozy condemned five media, including the international news agency Agence France-Presse, for showing bias against him by failing to sufficiently highlight a court ruling against his former rival in the presidential race, Segolene Royal.
The issue has since become more heated, with other members of Sarkozy's UMP party hurling accusations of bias.
The French left sees the latest polemic on the press as nothing but a "smokescreen aimed at obscuring the government's errors and Sarkozy's record low popularity," said Socialist spokesman Faouzi Lamdaoui in a statement.
UMP spokesman Frederic Lefebvre maintained, however, all the ruling party wanted was a "neutral" press.
But AFP rejected claims that its neutrality was compromised, saying that nowhere was it written that the press must relay every governmental communication. According to the AFP, the last press release brought no new information to the case.
"Being a journalist requires you to make choices, and decide what's news and what isn't," said AFP president Pierre Louette.
Which does seem rather fundamental to MediaBlab.
The controversy also coincides with the agency's financial negotiations with the French state, which partially assures the continued solvency of AFP. Editor’s Weblog says, “Although constituted to be an independent agency, the reality is that the government's is AFP's biggest customer. The agency is currently asking for an additional 20 million euros in order to add multimedia offerings to its repertoire.”
MIXED REPORT CARD ON AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT MOVES TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The Australian newspaper reports that the local media industry's Right to Know coalition has issued a “mixed report card” on the efforts of state and federal governments to protect freedom of speech.
The coalition says its report last year listing dozens of restrictions on the media was followed by a series of positive initiatives by state and federal governments.
While these moves deserved ticks, it said other developments deserved crosses.
The report card has been issued on the first anniversary of the coalition, which consists of 12 leading media organisations.
They include News Ltd, Fairfax Media, the ABC, and commercial television and radio broadcasters, SBS and Sky News.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, News Ltd chairman and chief executive John Hartigan said the group applauded Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's commitment to make his government more open and accountable.
"The signs are encouraging but it is vital that they translate into substantial and meaningful reform over the next 12 months," he said.
REPORT CARD
TICKS: * Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's promise to revamp the commonwealth's freedom of information laws and practices
* Rudd's promise to improve whistleblower protection
* Queensland Government's inquiry into its Freedom of Information (FOI) laws
* NSW Ombudsman's decision to examine FOI practice
* The commitment by the state and commonwealth attorneys-general to a national register for suppression orders
* The support at the 2020 Summit for more open government
CROSSES:
* Last month's police raid on The Sunday Times newsroom
* Treasury's denial of access under FOI to documents showing how proposed industrial relations changes would affect inflation
* The failure of all states to accept the need to protect journalists who legitimately refuse to reveal their confidential sources
LEGENDARY ANTIPODEAN WAR CORRESPONDENT’S ASHES SCATTERED 37 YEARS AFTER SHE READ ABOUT HER OWN DEATH
The ashes of a New-Zealand born war correspondent were scattered in Wellington this week, 37 years after she first read about her death in newspapers from around the world.
The remarkable Kate Webb died in Australia last year aged 64.
Her family originally held a memorial service for her in 1971 after death notices appeared in newspapers following her capture by North Vietnamese troops in Cambodia.
Her obituary was published after reports came in that a white woman’s body with bullet wounds had been found in a shallow grave.
But Webb miraculously emerged from the jungle after 23 days captivity. allbeit with a dose of malaria.
She continued to report from trouble spots throughout Asia until fer retirement in 2001.
AFGHAN AUTHORITIES CALLED TO CO-OPERATE WITH LAWYER FOR JOURNALIST SENTENCED TO DEATH
Reporters Without Borders calls on the Afghan authorities to cooperate with the lawyer of Sayed Perwiz Kambakhsh, a young journalist under sentence of death, to allow him to submit his client's appeal.
Nearly two months have gone by since the case was transferred to Kabul, but his lawyer has still not been given the case file, which is preventing him from preparing the appeal.
The authorities finally acceded to the calls for Kambakhsh's transfer to Kabul on March 27. Since then, he has been held in Pul-e-Charkhi prison, in the eastern part of the capital. His brother, fellow journalist Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi, told Reporters Without Borders "the case has still not been sent to the lawyer to prepare his defence and no date has yet been set for the appeal hearing."
A journalism student who wrote for the newspaper Jahan-e Naw (New World), Kambakhsh was arrested on October 27 and was sentenced to death by a court in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif at the end of a summary trial on 22 January in which he was not defended by a lawyer. A dozen lawyers were approached by his family but they refused to represent him for fear of reprisals.
Jawed Ahmad, a young Afghan journalist who works for the Canadian television network CTV, has been held without trial by the US military at Bagram airbase, north of Kabul, since November 2. The Americans accuse him of being an "enemy combatant" because of his alleged contacts with the Taliban.
The US military recently freed two other journalists after holding them for several years. They were Sami Al-Haj, a Sudanese cameraman employed by the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera, who was freed from Guantanamo on May 1, and Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, who was freed in Baghdad on April 6.
Ahmad is the only journalist still being held by the US military.
MYANMAR MILITARY CONTINUES TO KEEP FOREIGN JOURNALISTS OFF ITS PATCH
AsiaMedia reports on how the Myanmar military junta continue to limit foreign aid and news coverage of post-Cyclone Nargis devastation.
AsiaMedia said, “BBC journalist Andrew Harding was deported from Myanmar last week after attempting to report about the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
“According to an Agence France-Presse report, state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar first covered the story, saying Harding was deported due to visa violations. He attempted to enter Myanmar with a tourist visa rather than an official journalist visa. Harding had done this twice before and was blacklisted from entering the country.”
New Light of Myanmar accused Western journalists of illegally entering Myanmar and writing falsehoods with the aid of anti-government groups within the country. Foreign journalists have been denied access to the country, and in the case of CNN reporter Dan Rivers, have resorted to sneaking inside it – only to be hunted by the government.
Local journalists face harassment and imprisonment for reporting on stories that may offend the ruling junta.
Nonetheless, images and reports of the post-cyclone devastation have reached the rest of the world. Myanmar's state-run television station said the death toll has reached more than 34,000 after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on May 3, 2008 and estimated that nearly 28,000 people are missing. The US charge d'affaires in Yangon, Shari Villarosa, however, estimated the death toll is over 100,000.
FINALISTS FOR THE 2008 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR AWARDS
2008 Magazine of the Year Awards – Finalists
General Interest / News:
New Idea (Pacific Magazines)
Australia & New Zealand Reader’s Digest (Reader’s Digest)
OK! (Northern & Shell Pacific)
Take 5 (ACP Magazines)
Lifestyle:
Zoo Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Vogue Australia (News Magazines)
Madison (ACP Magazines)
Shop Til you Drop (SHOP) (ACP Magazines)
Home & Food:
real living (ACP Magazines)
delicious (News Magazines)
Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
Better Homes and Gardens (Pacific Magazines)
Special Interest:
Weight Watchers Magazine (Text Pacific)
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines)
K-Zone (Pacific Magazines)
Australasian Dirt Bike (ACP Magazines)
Launch/Relaunch of the Year:
Healthsmart (Reader’s Digest)
Woman’s Health (Pacific Magazines)
Best Use of Digital Media:
marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Zoo Weekly online (ACP Magazines)
Editor of the Year:
Sarah Nicholson, delicious (News Magazines)
Paul Merrill, Zoo Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Donna Hay, donna hay magazine (News Magazines)
Kim Wilson, OK! (Northern & Shell Pacific)
Feature Writer of the Year:
Larry Writer, The Australian Women’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Michael Sheather, The Australian Woman’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Felicity Robinson, marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Wendy Squires, Madison (ACP Magazines)
Columnist of the Year:
Alex May, Australian House & Garden (ACP Magazines)
Adrian Gill, Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
John Carey, Wheels (ACP Magazines)
Story of the Year:
Australian Geographic (ACP Magazines) – Trial by Tasman
TIME Magazines (TIME South Pacific) – Culture of Violence
TIME Magazines (TIME South Pacific) – Visions of the Night
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Aboriginal Child Abuse Crisis
Editorial Initiative of the Year:
Girlfriend (Pacific Magazines) – Girlfriend Goes Green
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines) – I Can Make A Difference
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Push It, Paid Maternity Leave
New Idea (Pacific Magazines) – White Ribbon Campaign
Designer of the Year
Jamie Fawdray, K-Zone (Pacific Magazines)
Sarah Kavanagh, donna hay magazine (News Magazines)
David Ashford, Men’s Health (Pacific Magazines)
Huw Reynolds, Belle (ACP Magazines)
Best Use of Photography/ Photographic Feature:
Vogue Australia (News Magazines)
Vogue Entertaining & Travel (News Magazines)
Harpers BAZAAR (ACP Magazines)
Australian Woman’s Weekly (ACP Magazines)
Belle (ACP Magazines)
Cover of the Year:
Street Machine (ACP Magazines)
Australian Good Taste (News Magazines)
Vogue Living (News Magazines)
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines)
Better Homes and Gardens (Pacific Magazines)
Ad Trade Marketing Campaign of the Year:
TIME Magazine (TIME South Pacific) – The Test of TIME
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines) – The Home Beautiful Product of the Year Awards
ACP Magazines – 30 Days of Fashion and Beauty
Consumer Marketing Campaign of the Year
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines) – Australian Style
Total Girl (Pacific Magazines) – Best Bestie Award
Women’s Health (Pacific Magazines) – It’s Good To Be You
marie claire (Pacific Magazines) – Integrated Fashion Campaign
Best Use of the Magazine Environment for Advertising:
Notebook (News Magazines) – V6 Toyota Tarago
WHO (Pacific Magazines) - FLING
TIME Magazine (TIME South Pacific) – My Australia Campaign
News Magazines – Sara Lee Sundays
DOLLY (ACP Magazines) - Norsca
real living (ACP Magazines) – real living website launch
Best Use of Special Execution:
Inside Out (News Magazines)
Australian Home Beautiful (Pacific Magazines)
marie claire (Pacific Magazines)
Australian Gourmet Traveller (ACP Magazines)
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