Tous les articles et traductions

, by Ma’an News Agency

Al-Jazeera becomes focus of leaked documents debate

Conspiracy, a case of bad timing and a dis-service to the Palestinian people were some of the immediate reactions by Palestinian critics and media professionals, as Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera continued to release documents from over a decade of mediation efforts with Israel. (…)

, by London Review of Books

Public Diplomacy 2.0

On a balmy evening in April 2009 Barham Salih, then deputy prime minister of Iraq, sat in the garden of his Baghdad villa while a young internet entrepreneur called Jack Dorsey tried to persuade him that he needed to be on Twitter. Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, was in Baghdad at the invitation (…)

, by The Nation

WikiLeaks and Hacktivist Culture

Peter Ludlow

In recent months there has been considerable discussion about the WikiLeaks phenomenon, and understandably so, given the volume and sensitivity of the documents the website has released. What this discussion has revealed, however, is that the media and government agencies believe there is a (…)

, by Frontline

Right To Information: Martyrs to transparency

October 2010 marks the fifth anniversary of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Act and its implementation have been described in both administrative circles and civil society as “revolutionary” , “a blow for transparency”, “a check on corrupt practices” and “a people’s intervention tool (…)

, by IPS

U.N. Salutes Indigenous Filmmakers

The United Nations celebrated the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People this week by showcasing award- winning short films produced by indigenous filmmakers and reaffirming indigenous rights and cultural treasures.
The day was observed at the New York headquarters of the U.N. (…)

, by WASSERMAN Herman

Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa

Daya Thussu, 2009, 288 pages, $39.95

Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa examines the role that popular media could play to encourage political debate, provide information for development, or critique the very definitions of ‘democracy’ and ‘development’. Drawing on diverse case studies from various regions of the (…)

, by Truthout

WikiLeaks: Time to Celebrate, Time to Mourn

It’s a big win for Internet-based, indie media that WikiLeaks.org posted its "Afghan War Diary," based on 90,000 leaked US military records detailing a failing war in which US and allied forces have repeatedly killed innocent civilians. This on-the-ground material is vaster than the Daniel (…)

, by IPS

New Software Could Outwit Tehran’s Censors

While the Iranian government has intensified its aggressive efforts to expand Internet filters, Austin Heap, a young programmer in the U.S., says he has developed software that would enable Iranians to evade their censors. Read more

, by Eurozine , Index on Censorship

Cyber wars

While the role of technology in the political struggle in Iran and elsewhere should not be overstated, it should not be underestimated either. The "next generation" controls with which authorities aim to manage the Internet mark a shift from heavy-handed filtering to sophisticated multi-pronged (…)

, by SACSIS

The Unspoken Risks of Cell Phones and Wireless Networks

Africa has been catapulted into the electronic age over the past decade and a half by an almost incomprehensibly swift growth in telecommunications technology driven primarily by a massive rollout of cell phones and wireless technology throughout the continent.
While few can deny the economic (…)

Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media

Tracy Van Slyke and Jessica Clark, New Press

In their book Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (New Press), activists and journalists Tracy Van Slyke and Jessica Clark take us on a celebratory journey through the relatively recent (over the past eight years) surge of independent, progressive (…)

, by Soundings

The media and climate change

The entry of climate change into the media mainstream, as welcome as it is, nevertheless brings new problems. Journalists, campaigners and scientists discuss the implications of demand-led reporting, the exploitation of public misunderstanding, and the dangers of focusing on "charismatic (…)

SMS Uprising: Mobile Activism in Africa

Edited by Sokari Ekine, Pambazuka Press

SMS Uprising provides a unique insight into how activists and social change advocates are addressing Africa’s many challenges from within, and how they are using mobile telephone technologies to facilitate these changes.
This collection of essays by those engaged in using mobile phone (…)