MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Anti-Drug Ads Don't Work * The Truth And Myths Of The Porn Business * J-Lo And Domestic Violence * and more...

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
• Shallow, immature and irresponsible, the Taiwan media are not respecting human rights ...
• A Flash tribute to recently released Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi.



MAY 22

For A Free And Fair Internet
From access and censorship to privacy and intellectual property, Internet Rights have become central to social justice. Resources, articles, action alerts, international policy monitoring and more…
Also see:
• Using the Web for a better world in Brazil.
• "The Internet and the Liberation of Public Expression," Pierre Lèvy
• The Digital Opportunity Channel: communications technology for sustainable development
(From APC, IDRC, UNESCO, OneWorld)

White Men And Stereotypes: What We See On Prime-Time TV
A new report finds the networks are failing in on-screen diversity, especially during hours when children are watching most.
(From ChildrenNow)

Duped! When Journalism Meets A Hoaxer
Joey Skaggs reveals the serious purpose behind a trick that conned a pack of reporters.
(From SPJ, JoeySkaggs.com)

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
Independent Publishers: Endangered * What Mergers Could Do To Journalism * Love As E-Commerce * and more...



MAY 15

Welcome, East Timor! The World's Newest Nation
Read about community media's role in forging independence and the changing role of the country's press. An advisor on East Timor community media challenges some facts.
(From Small Voices)

Rebuilding Sierra Leone
This week's elections are one crucial step to peace, but Sierra Leone's media must help heal a society polarized by a 10-year civil war.
(From World Press Review)

Climate Change Cover-Up?
British media minimize and marginalize debate on the threat of global warming, says a new report. Includes tips on challenging the coverage.
Also see:
• Covering The Planet: MediaChannel's special report on environmentalism and the media.
• The Indymedia Climate site.
(From MediaLens/ZMag, MediaChannel, IMC)

Digital Disobedience
Are political cyber-attacks a legitimate form of protest or a destructive use of technology?
(From ReadMe)

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Corporate Media And "Postfeminism" * Anchormen Should Defend Network News * The Return Of Tabloid TV * and more...

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
• A fellow student of accused pipe bomber Luke John Helder on the story's "sensationalistic and shoddy journalism."



MAY 8

Better Than Censorship
To protect kids from porn and other menacing media, media literacy education may be the best solution, says this report
from the Free Expression Policy Project. A U.S. government report agrees, but also supports Internet filters, which are
opposed by free-expression groups.
(From Free Expression Policy Project, National Academy of Sciences, ACLU)

The New UK Communications Bill
Britain's proposed Communications Bill would let global moguls like Rupert Murdoch buy into British TV. What else?
Public-interest groups warn that the new rules will undermine media accountability, diversity and quality programming.
(From MediaGuardian, CPBF)

In Defense Of Fiction
Fiction, as much as journalism, can bear witness - by adding dignity to facts and articulating dreams, writes novelist A. L. Kennedy.
(From Index on Censorship)

Turn Beauty Inside Out!
On May 15, U.S. girls will celebrate media that promote a healthy body image and expand the definitions of beauty.
(From NewMoon)

Left Behind By "Parachute Journalists"
Journalists often swoop in to foreign countries, file stories and fly out — while putting their sources and contacts at risk.
(From Tom Paine)

The Net Versus The Despots
Journalists and activists challenging authoritarian regimes have learned that the Internet is no automatic ticket to democracy.
(From Online Journalism Review)

Concentration And Censorship In Canada
The recent actions of the world's second largest newspaper conglomerate are unacceptable, says a new report on CanWest.
Also see:
• A call for government inquiry into Canadian media concentration.
(From Index on Censorship, Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom)

VIEWS: OPED
Ten Tips For Controversial Journalism
Award-winning journalists have seen their careers crushed over controversial investigations. April Oliver offers survival tips from her experience with the disastrous CNN/Tailwind story.

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Should This Sex-Assault Photo Be Published? * Is Protest Music Dead? * Drug/Terror Ads And Kids Don't Mix * and more...

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
• "Reporters do not generally lean to the left on economic issues. ..."
• "Since I moved to the US, I've encountered the stereotype of Hispanic life...."



APRIL 17

Venezuela, Chávez And The Press
Did the Venezuelan media undermine President Hugo Chávez or is he undermining press freedom? And why did the reporting stop in the midst of the coup/countercoup?
Also see:
• FAIR Alert: U.S. Papers Hail Coup As Pro-Democracy Move
• "Corruption to blame, not media"
• Al Giordano: Online journalism's role in the reversed coup
• The "countercoup" silence of the Venezuelan media
• Background: Chávez versus the press
(From Zmag, FAIR, Nettime, NarcoNews, Globalvision News Network, CPJ)

Finding The Unheard Voices
A lesson for journalists in how and why to find the people most affected by issues: those who are often overlooked because they may not toss off a quotable soundbite.
(From Society of Professional Journalists)

VIEWS: NEWS DISSECTOR:
The International Criminal Court
When the International Criminal Court treaty was ratified on April 11, much of the world cheered. But the U.S. press barely mentioned it. News Dissector Danny Schechter explains why.

Web For Kids, By Kids
Australian sisters help kids make Websites, Indian kids learn the value of money, and a Swedish village school collaborates with others worldwide in this year's Childnet Awards, which celebrate international Web projects for and by children.
(From Childnet International)

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Should This Sex-Assault Photo Be Published? * Is Protest Music Dead? * Drug/Terror Ads And Kids Don't Mix * and more...

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
• "I agree that Goldberg's critique of the media suffers from his own bias, but..."
• "Since I moved to the US, I've encountered the stereotype of Hispanic life...."



APRIL 10

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Poetry and the Future of Books * 18 Tales of Media Censorship * A Watchdog Dedicated to Media "Patriotism" * And much more...

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
* "The latest blow in the war between Panama's thuggish political class and the press has been struck...."
* Gene Boggs on the Oscars, race and "black Hollywood"



MARCH 27

VIEWS: ROUNDTABLES:
Monitoring Democracy In Africa
Reacting to contested elections and accusations of media bias, African democracy advocates have set up local media monitoring groups. Four African media experts discuss the challenges and visions.

VIEWS: OPED
Civil Rights Groups Stay Silent On Media
Reports say media ownership affects diversity, from the boardroom to the newsroom, from the faces in sit-coms to the issues in the paper. Why aren't U.S. civil rights groups paying attention to media policy?

Media Reader
MediaChannel's international, biweekly, multimedia magazine.
* Bulgaria, Online * Did Mickey Mouse Influence Murdoch's News? * Sick Ads, Sick Culture * and more, including streaming audio and video. Browse back issues by date in the archive.

Asylum Seekers And Opinion Polls
Some critics say coverage of Australian's asylum seekers shows that journalists are out of touch with the public. But isn't the press's function to explain and challenge? Also see: Asylum-seekers stitched their lips together in protest; a journalist who covered it was arrested.
(From The Walkley Foundation)

Iraq, War And Propaganda
"The promised attack on Iraq will test free journalism as never before," warns John Pilger, long a harsh critic of U.S. policy against Iraq.
Also see:
• Iraqi Media: What is being broadcast inside and into Iraq?
• How to research the facts about sanctions against Iraq
(From JohnPilger.com; World Assoc. for Christian Comm; OJR)

Report: Might Makes News
Recent politics have inflamed the usual controlling pressures that owners, advertisers, the government and other powerful folks exert on U.S. journalists. Also see: FAIR's survey of which think thanks make the news.
(From Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting)

The Impact Of Berlusconi
When the prime minister of a country is also its most powerful media owner, can its democracy be healthy? asks Raffaele Mastrolonardo. Sure, responds Ruggiero Ranieri, Berlusconi's success came from Italians' freedom of choice. But Fabio Scarpello says Italy's media has always been a political tool.
(From OpenDemocracy, Index on Censorship)

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Book Banning in the 21st Century * Corporations, Geeks and Copyright * Hollywood's Black Anti-Heroes * And much, much more...



MARCH 20

VIEWS: OPED:
The People's Media
Grassroots media is not meant to compete with slick mass-audience products from Disney and Murdoch, says Deedee Halleck.
Plus:
• MediaChannel Affiliates working with community media
• Share and discuss public media projects and models
• Issue Guide: Broadcasting for Social Change

COMMUNITY: FORUM: CITIZENS'S MEDIA WATCH:
Why Is The World Ignoring Madagascar?
Malagasy musician Hanitra Rasoanaivo: "If you have been following the news either on the papers or on the CNN, VOA, BBC, AFRICA1, RFI or others, then I am not sure you really have been getting it all..."
TV News And Violence In Gujarat, India
Indian journalist Alok Verma: "... The fierce competition to stay ahead. seems to have taken away the sense of responsibility towards the community, society and the nation as a whole. ..."

VIEWS: OPED:
The Commodities Of Europe's Culture
How can Europe protect its cultural diversity against the global monoculture of Americanization and free trade media?

Big Media And The Powers That Be
As media deregulation faces challenges in Congress and the courts, many voices warn that the industry may be abusing its mighty political power:
• Report: How Broadcasters Undermined The Campaign-Finance Reform Bill
• Analysis: Why The Newspaper-TV Cross-Ownership Ban Is More Important Than Ever
• Advocacy: Radio activists claim new digital broadcast plans will "kill independent radio."
• Action: The "Angels of the Public Interest" will land at the FCC on March 22.
• Issues: MediaChannel's Guide to U.S. Media Ownership Rules

Zimbabwe: After The Count
In the aftermath of an election filled with stories of fraud and bias, Zimbabwe's journalists face a restrictive media bill and the new Zimbabwe Independent Media Center offers uncensored voices. From World Press Review

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Sex And The (All White) City * Reader-Editors Rule The Web * Is The Digital Divide A Black Thang?

COMMUNITY: FORUM
What You're Saying: Voices From Our Forum
• Globalvision CEO Rory O'Connor remembers Thomas Winship
• "What we need are journalists to present their subjective viewpoints in an honest manner ... "



MARCH 13

Celebrating Women's Media
In honor of In honor of International Women's Day, March 8, browse MediaChannel's comprehensive package of manifestos, analysis, history and resources.
• A manifesto from the first Indian workshop on/for women in journalism.
• Media pro-feminist? Hardly!
• Women and Journalism: International Perspectives (pdf download)
• New! Afghanistan Women in Media Network
• History of International Women's Day
• Canadian women as newspaper readers
• A radical feminist analysis of mass media
• Additional Women's History Resources
MediaChannel features:
• "A Different Kind Of Media?" (2001 Issue Guide)
• OneWorld.net launches women's rights campaign
• MediaChannel affiliates that focus on women and the media

Journalism: What Is It Good For?
• Ignacio Ramonet discusses the power of televised pictures and media's mission: to reflect reality so as to enrich democratic debate. From UNESCO
• Two Washington Post editors explore what makes for good journalism and where the American media have gone off-track. From The Poynter Institute

Private Feelings And The Public Press
Model Naomi Campbell is suing a British tabloid. What does implications does this have for the media and privacy? From Spiked Ltd

MC-Net Wants You!
NBC seems to have forgotten that the Olympics are an international event.

VIEWS: NEWS DISSECTOR:
Covering The World After September 11
To mark the six-month anniversary of September 11, we republish Danny Schechter's report on how Globalvision has responded.

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Confessions of a Black Mr. Mom * Sex, Lies, and Women's Magazines * Making Cancer Sexy * and more...

A Wakeup Call For International News
Will lessons on the dangers of isolationist reporting teach U.S. news organizations that international coverage is good business? From Columbia Journalism Review

Serbia's Media And The Milosevic Trial
Most Milosevic-era journalists still at RTS, the state broadcaster, are reluctant to confront the crimes of those days. Can a new editor turn things around? From Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Plus: Six views of Milosevic's Hague trial.

Media Reader
MediaChannel's international, biweekly, multimedia magazine.
* Burma: Pressing On Against All Odds * Italy Indymedia Under Attack * John Pilger On Murdoch's Monopolies * and more, including streaming audio and video. Browse back issues by date in the archive.

The Price Pearl Paid
Daniel Pearl was a man of words, notes Elie Wiesel, while terrorists resort to violence because they have no words. His colleagues offer reflections on Pearl's life as a journalist and his tragic death. From The Poynter Institute
Plus:
• Robin Andersen: Connecting Pearl's death to U.S. policies is the way to mourn a great journalist.
• Has Respect For Pearl's Family Been A Double Standard?
• Why The Kidnappers Thought A Journalist Could Change U.S. Policy

2001: A Global War On Media
A survey of press repression in 176 countries shows that governments do not seem to understand that free and open media are fundamental to a country's success. From International Press Institute

Is The Indian Government Conducting A Witchhunt?
Last year, Telhelka.com shook up the Indian government with a hidden-camera exposé of corruption. Now its editors decry a campaign to discredit their journalism and harass their chief investor. From Globalvision News Network
Background:
• The Ethics Of The Exposé
• Telheka Shows What's Wrong With Indian Journalism

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Who Will Tame the Media Monster? * Spyware: Men's Mags Get Back to Sex * The Appeal of Innocence * and more...

MEDIA NEWS: IN DEPTH:
Media Ownership, U.S.A.
Concerned about media concentration? Know what to do about it? This in-depth guide explains the issues and gives you the tools to get involved.

ISSUE GUIDES:
Concentrate On Concentration
While Canadian journalists demand an investigation of media concentration, scholars, policymakers and journalists worldwide debate the impact of media ownership on democracy.
Plus: Global ownership charts.

VIEWS: NEWS DISSECTOR:
Media Criticism And Conservative Politics
Former CBS newsman Bernard Goldberg's best-selling "Bias" charges that the U.S. networks are captive to liberal bias. Ex-ABC producer Danny Schechter says he can't even FIND liberals in the media.

From Our Affiliates

The American Olympics
NBC seems to have forgotten that the Olympics are an international event. From Salon.com
Plus: Sports writing and the Olympics.

Media Reader
MediaChannel's international, biweekly, multimedia magazine.
* Israel's Obituaries * Senegal's Cartoon Hero * WEF And Anti-WEF * and more, including streaming audio and video. Browse back issues by date in the archive.

Press Freedom In Pakistan
The kidnapping of Daniel Pearl in Pakistan may be part of a pattern of persecuting or silencing reporters who try to tell the truth. From Los Angeles Weekly

Silenced Voices In Black History
Check out this timeline of censorship of African Americans, launched in honor of Black History Month. From National Coalition Against Censorship

VIEWS: NEWS DISSECTOR:
Pressing The Press At The WEF
The World Economic Forum is not yet a World Media  Forum — but it should be, says Danny Schechter.

From Our Affiliates

The Multilingual Net
Contrary to common belief, cyberspace IS multilingual. But what's needed is more content that reflects local languages and cultures.  From UNESCO - Communication, Information and Informatics Sector

Rebroadcasting The Balkans
The nations of southeastern Europe have been trying to transform the old state-run media into BBC-style public-service broadcasters. Why is press freedom so difficult to establish? From Transitions-Online

Guns For Radios
In Niger, a new project encourages people to exchange weapons for solar-powered radios, trains young people to repair them and supports the country's expanding community radio network. From Freeplay Foundation

Critics' Contests: Enter And Win!

The Intellectual Property Counter-Essay Contest
What's wrong with IP? Read the entries and add yours by March 15. From Wipout

Ban Ads 2002!
U.S. students grades 5-12, Talk back to an ad you find annoying, misleading or offensive. Deadline May 1, 2002. From New Mexico Media Literacy Project

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Antiterrorism, Anti-Drugs And The Superbowl * The Seduction Of The Net Generation * CNN And The American Taliban * and more...

ISSUE GUIDES:
Covering The Planet: Environmentalism In A Media World
Environmental issues directly affect our communities, food, health and economic development. But do they get the media treatment they deserve?

Media Reader
MediaChannel's international, biweekly, multimedia magazine.
* Central Asia's Health Beat  * Enron Runoff  * E-Government In The Middle East   * and more, including streaming audio and video. Browse back issues by date in the archive.

Afghanistan's Radio Peace
A BBC team in Afghanistan finds a hunger for radio as a means toward education and even peace. From Guardian Unlimited

Media Vs. Dissent
As the World Economic Forum descends on New York City, newspapers are portraying activists as trouble-makers and security threats while Indymedia covers the demonstrations from the inside. From FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting)
Plus: On-screen Protesting.

Meet The Future: The Participatory Internet
It's no longer enough to visit a Web site passively. The latest? Participation sites that empower people to do something with the material they find, often collaboratively. From allAfrica.com
Plus: A scheme for adding value to computers.

September 11 By The Numbers
An in-depth analysis of how the U.S. media covered the war on terrorism — heavily favoring official U.S. views and increasingly presenting opinion and punditry rather than facts. From Project for Excellence in Journalism
Plus:
• How "America" was portrayed in newspapers photos post Sept. 11.
• Editor as critic: watch this remix of war coverage (video).
• MediaChannel's Special Coverage archive: World In Crisis, Media In Conflict.

MediaCulture
A collaboration between MediaChannel and Alternet exploring the currents, crises and cultures of American media.
* Free Trade: The Movie  * Guerilla Media's Poster Boy  * Debunking The "Bias" Book  * and more...

VIEWS: OPED:
Another Media World Is Possible
As activists and executives prepare for the World Economic Forum and civil-society advocates head to the World Social Forum, can communications rights become central to their debates?

NEWS: REPORTS:
The Ethics Of Reporting
How conflict is reported can shape the way the world responds. A new book helps reporters face the ethical implications of their work.

VIEWS: NEWS DISSECTOR:
Another Media World Is Possible
Why is war coverage so uniform and so misleading? Danny Schechter credits the Information Warriors, Neil Hickey looks at the  rules and how the role between media and military has been reversed.

Fiji Fictions
How press inexperience, rumor-mongering and participation during Fiji's May 2000 coup affected public opinion and response worldwide. From Pacific Journalism Review

More back editions...