CIMA Weekly Digital Roundup
Highlights from the world of digital media. Sign up here for the full version of CIMA’s weekly Digital Media Mash Up.
Hungary Media Law Update
Some updates after last week’s post on Media Law on Hungary:
Media Council Deals Serious Blow to Broadcasting Pluralism
Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns yesterday’s decision by Hungary’s Media Council to strip Klubradio, the country’s only national opposition radio station, of its broadcast frequency within a couple of months. (Reporters Without Borders, 12/21)
Hungary Court Rules Media, Criminal Law Violate Basic Rights
Hungary’s Constitutional Court vetoed parts of the media and criminal codes that were internationally criticized for curbing press freedom and the judiciary’s independence. The court also annulled a new law regulating religious organizations on procedural grounds, the court in Budapest said in three separate rulings that were e-mailed today. (Bloomberg, 12/19)
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Good Reads
How Luther Went Viral
Five centuries before Facebook and the Arab spring, social media helped bring about the Reformation. (The Economist, 12/17)
News as a Process: How Journalism Works in the Age of Twitter
We’ve written many times about how journalism is changing in the age of social media, thanks to what Om has called the “democracy of distribution” provided by tools like Twitter — and how everyone now has the opportunity to function as a journalist, even for a short time, during news events like the attack on Osama bin Laden’s compound. A new study of the way information flowed during the Arab Spring uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year paints a fascinating picture of how what some call “news as a process” works, and the roles bloggers, mainstream media and other actors play during a breaking news event. More than anything, it’s a portrait of what the news looks like now. (GigaOM, 12/21)
Design Your Own Profession
The world is coming apart in many interesting ways. I recently bought an iPad. After using it for a few days I bought a wireless keyboard. A week later I bought a case that puts the iPad in one half and the keyboard in the other. Presto! A disaggregated laptop that is lighter and more versatile, since I can use the screen by itself as an e-reader and the keyboard with other devices. (Harvard Business Review, 12/22)
Like Democracies, Internet Freedom Cannot Be Taken For Granted
If there had been any doubt before, events over the past year have underscored just how important the Internet has become for activists fighting for human rights and democracy around the world. However, 2011 also highlighted how censorship, surveillance, and the shutdown of Internet and wireless services can impact digital activism. (New America Foundation, 12/22)
After Chinese Hacks, How Do We Secure the Internet of Things?
Reading about the Chinese hackers hitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. I was struck by the last two paragraphs, which detailed how the hackers accessed the IP address of a thermostat — as well as the overall tone of resignation around preventing such attacks — and I wondered, how will we secure the web of things? (GigaOM, 12/21)
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Twitter Terrorism
AFGHANISTAN: Afghan War’s New Weapon: 140-Character Twitter Salvo
Afghanistan’s Twitter war began in earnest Sept. 14, during a sustained attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the adjacent headquarters of the U.S.-led international military force. Until then, NATO officials had kept close tabs on the messages posted on two accounts linked to the Taliban’s media arm — but had refrained from engaging or acknowledging them. (Seattle Times, 12/20)
SOMALIA: U.S. Considers Combating Somali Militants’ Twitter Use
The United States government is increasingly concerned about the Twitter account of the Shabab militant group of Somalia, with American officials saying Monday that they were “looking closely” at the militants’ use of Twitter and the possible measures to take in response. (New York Times, 12/20)
Can the U.S. Government Close Social Media Accounts?
The Obama administration and The New York Times are teaming up to expose and combat the grave threat posed by a Twitter account, purportedly operated by the Somali group Shabab, and in doing so, are highlighting the simultaneous absurdity and perniciousness of the War on Terror. (Salon, 12/20)
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Research
CHINA: Weibo and “Iron Curtain 2.0” in China: Who Is Winning the Cat-and-Mouse Game?
At the 2008 Chinese Internet Research Conference, Lokman Tsui, in his paper titled “The Great Firewall as Iron Curtain 2.0,” argued that the Great Firewall metaphor obscures and limits our understanding of Internet censorship in China. The term, combining “great wall” and “firewall,” is used to describe the Chinese government’s efforts to control the Internet while at the same time drawing on the Cold War term “iron curtain.” Yet the phrase “Great Firewall of China” gives outsiders the wrong impression, suggesting that in order to bring freedom of speech to the Chinese people, the wall should be pulled down to enable all good things, such as democracy, from the outside to get in. The reality, however, is much more complicated. (East Asia Institute, 12/20)
PAKISTAN: InterMedia and PEPL Strengthen Capacity and Assess Needs in Pakistan’s FATA
InterMedia recently partnered with the Popular Engagement Policy Lab (PEPL) to conduct research in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan in support of radio programming produced by Raabta Consultants. Their radio shows aim to provide citizens with solutions to problems faced by them, their families and their communities, particularly problems that contribute to increased violence in society. (Intermedia, December 2011)
Arabic Highest Growth on Twitter, English Expression Stabilizes below 40%
The analysis, carried out by Semiocast, is an update of the study on language shares on Twitter published in February 2010. In October 2011, the top 5 languages used on Twitter were: English, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Malay. The survey was conducted on 5.6 billion public messages gathered between July, 1st 2010 and October, 31st 2011, to establish the evolution of most used languages on Twitter. (Semiocast, November 2011)
Global Digital Communication: Texting, Social Networking Popular Worldwide
Cell phones are owned by overwhelmingly large majorities of people in most major countries around the world, and they are used for much more than just phone calls. In particular, text messaging is a global phenomenon – across the 21 countries surveyed, a median of 75% of cell phone owners say they text. (Pew Research Center, December 2011)
43 Journalists Killed in 2011/Motive Confirmed
Committee to Protect Journalists 2011 Annual Report
The 10 Most Dangerous Places for Journalists
Reporters Without Borders has this year, for the first time, compiled a list of the world’s 10 most dangerous places for the media – the 10 cities, districts, squares, provinces or regions where journalists and netizens were particularly exposed to violence and where freedom of information was flouted. (Reporters Without Borders, 12/21)
The World Is Getting Unhappier, According to Twitter
‘Tis the season to be jolly. And a lot of us are during the holidays, if statistical analyses of our tweets provide sufficient measure. (CNet, 12/20)
MIDDLE EAST: The Revolutions Were Tweeted: Information Flows during the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions
This article details the networked production and dissemination of news on Twitter during snapshots of the 2011 Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions as seen through information flows—sets of near duplicate tweets—across activists, bloggers, journalists, mainstream media outlets, and other engaged participants. (International Journal of Communication, December 2011)
(alternative link: http://www.danah.org/papers/2011/IJOC.html)
EFF’s Reading List from 2011
We’ve compiled a list of notable books from the past year that stuck out to us. Even if we don’t necessarily endorse the arguments being made in them, we’ve included them for adding some valuable insight on conversations surrounding our issues and the work that we do. (EFF, 12/21)
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Global Censorship Update – December 2011
View Global Censorship Update – December 2011 in a larger map
