Good Wednesday, here are some media stories of note for August 21, 2013:
A proposed media law in Somalia would require journalists to divulge their sources and forbid reporting against Islamic or Somali tradition or anything that might affect national security. If passed by its parliament, allAfrica reports that many journalists will leave the country rather than live within the new law. Criticism of the bill has not seemingly deterred the government from pushing it through. Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists. Already this year six have been killed; last year, 12 were.
Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who provided classified information to WikiLeaks, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. The New York Times reports on the sentencing and the reaction today.
Jay Rosen, the media scholar from New York University, has been weighing in regularly in recent weeks on leaks of surveillance secrets and the implications for journalism. He writes in his latest PressThink blog post that there is a global battle between those who wish to shed light on intelligence gathering techniques and those who would keep them shrouded. He believes the battle will be won by the party with the better argument. "If sunlight coalitions are to succeed, it won't be by outwitting surveillance. Not better technology, but greater legitimacy is their edge," he writes.
Ellyn Angelotti, writing for Poynter, identifies ways to deal with personal attacks on social media. She says it's important not to panic, reflect on how (and if) you want to respond, do so publicly in short order then take any further conversations offline, and determine how to best remedy the harm (including lawsuits). She encourages more speech to fight bad speech and to reTweet criticism to followers so they can help defend you.
A proposed media law in Somalia would require journalists to divulge their sources and forbid reporting against Islamic or Somali tradition or anything that might affect national security. If passed by its parliament, allAfrica reports that many journalists will leave the country rather than live within the new law. Criticism of the bill has not seemingly deterred the government from pushing it through. Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists. Already this year six have been killed; last year, 12 were.
Bradley Manning, the U.S. Army private who provided classified information to WikiLeaks, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. The New York Times reports on the sentencing and the reaction today.
Jay Rosen, the media scholar from New York University, has been weighing in regularly in recent weeks on leaks of surveillance secrets and the implications for journalism. He writes in his latest PressThink blog post that there is a global battle between those who wish to shed light on intelligence gathering techniques and those who would keep them shrouded. He believes the battle will be won by the party with the better argument. "If sunlight coalitions are to succeed, it won't be by outwitting surveillance. Not better technology, but greater legitimacy is their edge," he writes.
Ellyn Angelotti, writing for Poynter, identifies ways to deal with personal attacks on social media. She says it's important not to panic, reflect on how (and if) you want to respond, do so publicly in short order then take any further conversations offline, and determine how to best remedy the harm (including lawsuits). She encourages more speech to fight bad speech and to reTweet criticism to followers so they can help defend you.
