Libya and Freedom of Press

While protests continue in Libya, journalists find themselves in the inability to perform their work.

Since the early events, Gadhafi's government had assured media that they will be able to report any event across the country. However, since a few days, journalists are banned from crossing certain areas of the country, especially sites of clashes with the rebels.

"The situation for crews in Libya is becoming increasingly precarious and there is a strong sense that antipathy towards foreign journalists is mounting," said the International News Safety Institute, a non-for-profit charity.

Many journalists are confined in their hotel and can not report freely. Some of them have been detained by security forces but all have been released since.

"A number of news crews who have given their minders the slip have been detained," INSA said. "Several journalists were detained trying to get in to Zawiyah, about 30 miles west of Tripoli. Some were held overnight."

Libya is not the first example of control of press. Freedom of press is always an issue in countries facing a dictatorship. It is still the case in North Korea, were people have no access to the Internet, no cell phones and can barely talk to each other.

Photo credit: flickr.com via Creativescommons.org

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Tips Young Reporters Need to Know

In the chaos of recent events in Cairo, Egypt, journalists have had to think on their feet.

"In periods of intense breaking news, logistics can be as important as brains and courage," says native freelance journalist Dan Morrison. While observing young journalists Morrison was concerned at the number of young journalists who were caught off guard when things started to go wrong that effected their journalism.

In the article, "Reporting Lessons for the Next Revolution," Morrison offers three basic tips to young journalists.

The first tip Morrison talks about is "Don't count on local networks." This is particularly relevant now after what is happening in Egypt. Journalists who were relying on the local Internet or cell phone connects were out of luck when the government made the decision to shut down the Internet and cell phone service.

His tip to journalists is to invest in a BGAN terminal. This device is priced at around $1000 and works with prepaid cards as a satellite Internet connection. He also says that every journalist should at least have a pre-paid satphone in case cell phone service becomes unavailable.

The second piece of advice Morrison gives young journalists is to keep spares of everything. No journalist should rely on just one camera, memory card, contact list, voice recorder etc.

Third, Morrison says to "seed your sources," or keep solid connections with your sources. As a final piece of advice he says that it is a good idea to give a trusted source a copy of your client contacts.

Although many of these suggestions might not apply to journalists doing work close to home in a stable area, the general principles still apply.

Just like Morrison tells journalists not to rely on local networks, the same can be said about practicing journalism anywhere. This advice could also apply to the issue of journalists relying to heavily on technology to get the work done.

Also, no matter where you are it is always a good idea to keep spares. If the deadline to a story is coming up fast and the device is lost or not working, then you're out of luck.

Just like Morrison said, it comes down to journalists thinking as well as acting.

Photo credit: University of Connecticut via Creative Commons

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200 Transformational Moments

In a recent article at Poynter Online, Bill Mitchell writes about "200 Moments that Transformed Journalism," as compiled by David Shedden, Poynter Library director.

Shedden selected 200 moments that occurred in the years 2000 through 2009, using the New Media Timeline; a resource he created and has maintained to track the evolution of news since the invention of the Internet in 1969.

As Mitchell said in his article, "there's often no way to tell, in the moment, whether any given development signals a passing fancy, a seed of destruction or a glimpse of tomorrow. But there's nothing like a little hindsight to provide some context."

"Not all of Shedden's 200 moments are as consequential as his first entry for the year 2000 -- the acquisition of the Time Warner media empire by that once feisty startup known as America Online."

It's an interesting list and I have to agree with Mitchell. Some selections, "seemed to have little to do with the news at the time," but you be the judge. Take a look and see what you think. At the very least, it will provide some interesting conversation around the office water cooler!

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