Monitoring Democracy In Africa

Responding to contested elections and accusations of media bias, African democracy advocates have set up media monitoring groups to hold the press to account as watchdogs and educators. Four African media experts came together to discuss the challenges and visions for election journalism.



(Un)Covering Tibet
How does news get in and out of a region where radio signals are jammed and speaking to reporters can be a crime? Read this roundtable discussion with journalists and activists.

The Meaning Of Freedom
In honor of World Press Freedom Day, May 3, MediaChannel and Internews present images and quotes from a "vox pop" video created by journalists across the former Soviet Union and the United States.
AIDS billboard, South Africa

Diagnosing AIDS Media
MediaChannel asked journalists, health workers and AIDS activists for comments on AIDS coverage and campaigns. Responses from around the world include both scathing critiques and encouraging solutions.

The "Debates": A Farce In Three Rounds
This year's tedious U.S. presidential debates were no more about entertainment than they were about democracy, write Todd Gitlin, Susie Linfield, Ellen Willis and others in the New York Media Circle.

The New York Times Versus Wen Ho Lee
After reversing its attack-dog stance on the accused spy, the "paper of record" offered an extraordinary self-assessment. But the New York Media Circle critics suggest that the introspection did not go nearly deep enough.

Parting The Advertising Sea
Click for streaming videoWith streaming video!  What do Ralph Nader, Mark Crispin Miller and Arianna Huffington have to say about advertising? What don't they have to say! MediaChannel caught up with a team of commercialism opponents at the Schmios, the awards show that parodies the ad industry's Clios. Read their takes and watch them hold forth in RealVideo.

Spotlighting Real News
Click for streaming videoWith streaming video!  We've told you about the Project Censored Awards held annually to honor the news not in the news. Now we report on Project Censored's recent Press Freedom Conference. Watch and read as the participants debate strategies for defying censorship and bringing important journalism out from the margins.

The New Black CNN
Last decade, Chuck D compared rap to the 24/7 news network. Now its marketability has fueled a movement that's bigger than a single cable channel. MediaChannel convened players from the hip-hop media game to discuss the big-money "urban market." Part I of a 2-part special report.
James Ledbetter,
New York bureau chief,
Industry Standard

DotCom Summit At The Dawn Of Finite Money
Click for streaming videoWith streaming video!  When Nasdaq dropped, dot-com culture's free spending slipped away. On one of the first days of the play-for-keeps era, major players gathered at the Industry Standard's Media Summit, and MediaChannel documented the climate's change.

Re-Imagining Media
Click for streaming audioWith streaming audio!  What emerges when religion writers, hip-hop visionaries and media critics gather to discuss crises that define our era of information overload? A provocative and insightful challenge to the propositions of manufactured life. In text and audio, MediaChannel brings highlights.

Live By The Hits, Die By The Hits
Does the high-precision traffic data of the Net endanger the marketplace of ideas? Lamar Graham, Jay Rosen, Ellen Willis and Mitchell Stephens of the New York Media Circle reflect on journalism measured by numbers.

Sex And Politics In The USA
The world's tabloids jumped on the latest story of an American politician and Ms. Not-His-Wife. Todd Gitlin and others in the New York Media Circle explore the meaning of the press' obsession with political sex.

Broadband: Now And Then
Click for streaming videoWith streaming video!  Forget merging your TV and PC, this month's Next Big Thing is surfing with your cell phone. The broadband revolution is coalescing, and MediaChannel's got the scoop on the business and ethics of tech.
Elián meets the press.
Photo by Joe Raedle/
Newsmakers

The Dream Time Of Elián
Ellen Willis, Mark Crispin Miller and other critics take on the Elián González spectacle in this MediaChannel exclusive, presented in cooperation with the New York Media Circle.
Plus: Contributor Mitchell Stephens uses streaming video to explore "Elián: Human Interest." Watch it here.
Photo by Jeff Christensen
/ Newsmakers

Microsoft: Not Just An American Monopoly
Microsoft is a global power, richer than many countries. So how do media watchers across the planet feel about the recent U.S. Federal Court ruling that the software and media giant is misusing its monopoly? While some think the U.S. government should butt out and let the market decide Microsoft's fate, others see antitrust litigation as a new way for activists to challenge media monopolies. From Brazil to India, MediaChannel advisors share their views.

You Respond: The Ads You Hate
A few weeks ago, we asked MediaChannel readers how you feel about "Ad Creep" — the infiltration of advertising into every corner of public and private space. You responded from all corners of the world with egregious examples of ads invading your lives. Judging from your response, a bad situation is getting worse. Here's what you had to say ...

AOL-Time Warner Panel
To celebrate our launch in February, 2000, MediaChannel invited six media critics to discuss the AOL-Time Warner megamerger and its implications for critical journalism and democratic media.