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March 31, 2003

In plain English

The US-based Society of Professional Journalists has produced an alphabetical guide to the Geneva Conventions (http://www.globalissuesgroup.com/geneva/index.html) to help journalists quickly get to information they need. Use the reference guide at http://www.globalissuesgroup.com/geneva/definitions2.html, see the history (http://www.globalissuesgroup.com/geneva/history.html) and the full text of the Conventions (http://www.globalissuesgroup.com/geneva/texts.html).
Posted by journoz at 12:17 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2003

New cliches for old

NewsLab, a not-for-profit organisation associated with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, has assembled Buzz Words and Catch Phrases: A Glossary for Our Changing World, which has terms for "people, places, agencies, technology, jargon and cliches used in the aftermath of the [September 11] attack on the United States." Homeland security is there among many others. It's at http://www.newslab.org/terrorgloss.htm.
Posted by journoz at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

Still in the game

They may be feeling sidelined by George W. Bush's Iraqi adventure but the UN is still churning out news and information big time. The United Nations News Centre posts daily news updates that include a calendar of events, UN statements, briefings, press releases, and news conferences. You can subscribe to news alerts or search an archive back to April 2001. In French, English and Arabic, with some audio and video.
Posted by journoz at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Winners and watchdogs

Bill Kirtz, Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University and columnist at Poynter (http://www.poynter.org/)says investigative journalists are hard at work mining sources and looking behind the official story to understand and convey the complexities of America at war. Award-winning journalists have decried the Bush administration's attempt to intimidate the press, while underscoring the need to battle back with quality journalism. Read the whole piece at http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=26831.
Posted by belinda at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)

War: A Defining Moment for Net News

The Internet is doing well as a news medium in this war, according to Steve Outing. Read his Stop the Presses colmn on the issue at http://www.mediainfo.com/editorandpublisher/features_columns/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1848575
Posted by journoz at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)

March 27, 2003

Telling it as it is?

Poynter.org has a guide to which images of war should be shown and how they should be handled at http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=26594. Another Poynter column (http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=36&aid=4349) urges reporters to seek truth and report it as fully as possible, while a third (http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=6329) suggests that understatement can be a powerful tool..
Posted by journoz at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)

The Where is Raed? blog

Everyone's talking about this blog from Iraqi nom-de-plume Salam Pax - is it authentic? and so on. The UK Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) is running a text version on its own site so they obviously think so. Make up your own mind about this (ordinary, but extraordinary) blogger from Baghad at http://dearraed.blogspot.com/.
Posted by journoz at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)

Freedom of speech?

Al Jazeera's web site (http://www.aljazeera.net/) has allegedly been repeatedly hacked, making the site unavailable. ZdNet has the story at http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/security/story/0,2000024985,20273183,00.htm. The station has called on the US to ensure a free press after Al Jazeera reporters were ordered off the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Yahoo! News has that story. It's at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=599&ncid=762&e=9&u=/nm/20030326/media_nm/iraq_aljazeera_dc. Seems like many people are not willing to allow the Al Jazeera message to emerge online. The English version of the site at http://english.aljazeera.net/ is flashing a Temporary Site message, so they obviously feel shaky.
Posted by journoz at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2003

Trade in 2003

Staff of the Parliamentary Library have produced a new paper on National Interests, Global Concerns: the 2003 Foreign Affairs and Trade White Paper. Find it in HTML at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib23.htm or in PDF at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib23.pdf.
Posted by journoz at 01:35 PM | Comments (0)

Silencing Al Jazeera

According to MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.com/news/890311.asp), the newly launched English version of Qatar-based station Al Jazeera was trashed by hackers in a massive denial of service attack only hours after being launched. Keep trying it at http://english.aljazeera.net/.
Posted by journoz at 10:18 AM | Comments (0)

Why reporters go to war zones

Sydney Schanberg, whose book, The Death and Life of Dith Pran, was made into the movie, The Killing Fields, has a piece in the Village Voice about why journalists are drawn to return to war zones, even after horrific experiences. Read it at http://villagevoice.com/issues/0313/schanberg.php
Posted by journoz at 10:13 AM | Comments (0)

Media under fire

Researchers from the Politics and Public Administration Group and the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group of the Parliamentary Library have written a new current issues brief entitled Media Under Fire: Reporting Conflict in Iraq. Sections include technology-driven jargon, battling for hearts and minds: the media versus the military, and embedded or embroiled, enmeshed and entombed? Available in HTML (http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib21.htm) and PDF (http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib21.pdf) formats.

And the cost is ...
The Library has also produced Economics of War with Iraq in PDF (http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib20.pdf) and HTML (http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/CIB/2002-03/03cib20.htm).

Posted by journoz at 09:07 AM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2003

Satellite images of Iraq

A range of satellite images of Iraq, including Baghdad and the now destroyed Presidential Palace, can be used free of charge, courtesy of DigitalGlobe. The site says "Permission is granted to electronically publish, publish in hard copy and broadcast these satellite images if proper attribution to DigitalGlobe is provided." Find the images at http://www.digitalglobe.com/gallery/iraq/ and be sure to read the Usage Guidelines.
Posted by journoz at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)

Another Iraq war blog

An OZCAR list member has sent in a link for another useful blog on the current war. Things of Shock and Awe gathers together links to information sources on the conflict. Find it at http://thingsofshockandawe.blogspot.com/. One of the links is to the English language version of Al Jazeera - worth a look at http://english.aljazeera.net/.
Posted by journoz at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

March 24, 2003

News, and more news

The Newseum has a section called Today's front pages where you can see a lineup of front pages from a range of countries and in a number of languages. Check it out at http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/. (Thanks to Susan M for this tip.)
Posted by journoz at 02:26 PM | Comments (0)

Gamer than I am

I can think of safer places but many intrepid people are blogging from Baghdad. MSNBC has the story and list of links to Iraq war blogs at http://www.msnbc.com/news/809307.asp?cp1=1. Have a look at the BBC group web log (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/2870361.stm), and others such as the CyberJournalist.net war blog (http://www.cyberjournalist.net/features/iraqwarblog.html), the Blogs of War (http://www.blogsofwar.com/), and others. Increasingly, US citizens are turning to these sites and to foreign media for news. Wired has that story at http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,58056,00.html.
Posted by journoz at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2003

Streaming news

Find news organisations and broadcasters who provide either live or streaming news segments on the web at http://www.freepint.com/gary/audio.htm.
Posted by journoz at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

Iraq backgrounders

Find a whole range of well-organised information about Iraq at Sabrina Pacifici's site at http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/002169.html#2169. Link categories include country information, Government reports and web sites, maps, military and war-related sites, news-related sites and special news reports, NGOs, reports from organisations, Saddam Hussein, sanctions, human rights and the anti-war movement, and the United Nations and weapons-inspection sites.

Other good resources for background and history are The War on Terrorism: Saddam Hussein and Iraq at http://www.lib.ecu.edu/govdoc/iraq.html, Iraq Conflict: The Historical Background at http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/histindex.htm and Iraq Crisis at http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/irqindx.htm.

Posted by journoz at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)

Finally available

The electronic edition of my book, Catch the Wave: find good information on the Internet fast, is now online at http://www.informit.com.au/library/. You would need a subscription to read or download all the chapters, but the full contents and three sample chapters are freely available. The print version will be available in April.
Posted by journoz at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2003

Big picture treatment - for both froth and serious news

If you are interested in interactive news, look at two contrasting Big Picture specials from MSNBC - one on Iraq at http://www.msnbc.com/modules/bigpicture/iraq/and one on the Oscars http://www.msnbc.com/modules/bigpicture/oscars/. You'll need a fast connection to download big video clips. You can vote for your choice (for the Oscars) or answer tough questions on Iraq - the aim is to get people to interact with the news - the specials are based on deep research of how viewers want to do that.
Posted by journoz at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)

Weasel words?

A lot of people are saying a lot of things about Iraq and war and a good place to track down these speeches and announcements is the Speech and Transcript Center at http://www.freepint.com/gary/speech.htm. Speeches are organised by date, with the latest first.
Posted by journoz at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

March 18, 2003

A thoroughly non-alarming alert

Welcome to a new alerting service called GoogleAlert (not an offical Google site). This service emails you when new items matching terms you have selected are added to the Google database. Unlike many such services that email borderline results, GoogleAlert really delivers, and it's an easy way to stay on top of what's new without having to check back constantly. You can choose multiple terms. You have to register to get the service which can be found at http://www.googlealert.com/.
Posted by journoz at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)

March 17, 2003

Bio-terrible

The News Content and Issues Project of the US Radio and Television News Directors Foundation has published a handy booklet, available for PDF download, entitled Bioterrorism: A Journalist's Guide to Covering Bioterrorism at http://www.rtnda.org/resources/bioguide.pdf. With luck, you'll never need it, but it's good to know it's available. And at 56 pages, it's not a lightweight read, covering possible bioweapons, where to get information, when bioweapons have been used, and the treaties that govern their use. There is also a glossary.
Posted by journoz at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)

Euphemism Central?

The US military have put up a very large dictionary, in PDF format, of military terms they use. C for collateral damage, anyone? Find it at http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/new_pubs/jp1_02.pdf.
Posted by journoz at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2003

Blogs as journalism

On Online Journalism Review is another two-parter on blogging by J.D. Lasica. The first, Blogging as a Form of Journalism, covers the origins and uses of Web logs (blogs for short). Part two, Weblogs: A New Source of News covers the use of blogs for breaking news and other journalism. Find part one at http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017958873.php and part two at http://www.ojr.org/ojr/workplace/1017958782.php.
Posted by journoz at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

Covering the war online

Online Journalism Review has a two-parter starting up called Covering the war online. Find Part one, Battle Stations, at http://www.ojr.org/ojr/technology/1047595519.php. It addresses whether the Internet and new technology may level the media playing field. Part two will be called Mobilizing the Media.
Posted by journoz at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2003

New to me

Who else has seen News MediaNet? It's at http://newsmedianet.com.au/, and you can find out about advertising, demographics, case studies, research and lots more about all of News Corp's Australian newspapers.
Posted by journoz at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2003

UN statements - the latest

Find the lot easily (Hans Blix, Jack Straw, Colin Powell, et al) via the Resourceshelf (http://www.resourceshelf.com). A briefer URL for these items is http://tinyurl.com/71wg.
Posted by journoz at 01:17 PM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2003

Localise the international

The American Press Institute has started a web log, Beyond the Battle, a month-long project designed to assist the media to prepare local communities for major international events that will affect them. It's all about making faraway stories relevant to daily life. Find it at http://americanpressinstitute.org/news.cfm?id=897.
Posted by journoz at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2003

UK Guardian web log

The Guardian has a web log for current issues at http://www.guardian.co.uk/weblog/. You will find good sections and links on Iraq and the blog has a searchable archive.
Posted by journoz at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

War stories

The Committee to Protect Journalists (http://www.cpj.org/) has just produced a free handbook called Covering conflict safely. You can get it in HTML or PDF versions. It covers many areas, such as training, protective gear, health precautions and insurance, knowing the hot spots, reporting in hostile terrain, the rules of war, captive situations and how to recognise and handle stress reactions.
Posted by journoz at 09:30 AM | Comments (0)

Now it's legal to lie ...

From the Sierra Times at http://www.sierratimes.com/03/02/28/arpubmg022803.htm. The story goes: "On February 14, a Florida Appeals court ruled there is absolutely nothing illegal about lying, concealing or distorting information by a major press organization. The court reversed the $425,000 jury verdict in favor of journalist Jane Akre who charged she was pressured by Fox Television management and lawyers to air what she knew and documented to be false information. The ruling basically declares it is technically not against any law, rule, or regulation to deliberately lie or distort the news on a television broadcast." Thanks to Hugh Brown for the tip.
Posted by journoz at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2003

Shock, horror - a news web site makes money

The Financial Times in the UK sank 200 million pounds into their web site FT.com before it finally turned a profit. It has now gone into the black, while the newspaper, ironically, has gone into the red. The Guardian's Media section has the full story at http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,906630,00.html.
Posted by journoz at 09:54 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2003

Covering Iraq

The excellent Poynter.org (http://www.poynter.org/) has created a page of resources for journos covering Iraq. Find it at http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=20231. On the same site, check out Al Tompkins's Iraq page at http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=2&aid=18641, which provides a lot of links to news sites such as Al-Jazeera, Iraqi News Agency, KurdSat and others.
Posted by journoz at 09:24 AM | Comments (0)