Journoz: Updates for Australian Journalists

Family ties

There’s nothing like brotherly solidarity. Film studio Disney apparently fears the wrath of Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, brother of George W, if it releases Michael Moore's latest documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. The film apparently links GWB with powerful families in Saudi Arabia, including that of Osama Bin Laden. It also criticises Bush's actions before September 11. Disney allegedly gets millions of dollars of tax breaks in Florida, which it fears might be endangered if ithe studio were linked to an anti-Bush film. More details are at http://www.wbex.com/script/headline_newsmanager.php?id=290142&pagecontent=entertainment&feed_id=44

First thing every day?

Click to delete spam - is that your first email act of the day? If so, you are not alone - a Pew Internet study has found 86% of email users do that first thing. It clears the rubbish out and lets you see your real email. But why should you have to do it? According to the report, 'Spam is beginning to undermine the integrity of email and to degrade the online experience.' Amen to that. Read the full report, Spam: How It Is Hurting Email and Degrading Life on the Internet at http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/pdfs/PIP_Spam_Report.pdf .

Why weren't we told?

Project Censored (http://www.projectcensored.org/) creates an annual list of the top stories ignored by the media in a given year. The 2002-2003 list of 25 stories is now available at the site and includes the number one story, The Neoconservative Plan for Global Dominance. No, it's not just paranoia ... No. 25 also looks a peach - Convicted Corporations Receive Perks Instead of Punishment. No. 14 - Unwanted Refugees a Global Problem - could also do with some airing. Some good ideas for stories here - if anyone wants to know.

Skip Cuba and North Korea

Reporters Without Borders (http://www.rsf.org/) has just published its second world press freedom rankings. Forget Laos, Burma and North Korea - they don't want to know. Cuba is also cited for locking journalists up. Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands are the freest places for journalists to operate, tying for the number one spot. Australia is a shameful number 50. Could do better! The full story is at http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8247.

They never give up

The Howard Government tried to regulate the Internet here, and many people are still trying to do it elsewhere as well, according to a new report, Silenced! an international report on censorship and control of the Internet, from Privacy International at http://www.privacyinternational.org/survey/censorship/. The 12-month study, which involved more than fifty experts and advocates from around the world, found "censorship of the Internet is commonplace in most regions of the world." The report goes on to say that "The September 11, 2001 attacks have given numerous governments the opportunity to promulgate restrictive policies that their citizens had previously opposed ... Simultaneously, governments have become more secretive about their own activities, reducing information that was previously available and refusing to adhere to policies on freedom of information." Well worth a look.