DG Issue 9

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=210 BGCOLOR="#99CC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0488dfc3.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0498dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>Mrs. Davies                      Room 206</B></FONT><B>     </B><B>|</B><B>     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mrs. Davies Room 20"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Diverse Grapevine 20052006"><U>The Diverse Grapevine 2005-2006</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 1"><U>DG Issue 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 2"><U>DG Issue 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id59.jsp" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 3"><U>DG Issue 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 4"><U>DG Issue 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id61.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 5"><U>DG Issue 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 7"><U>DG Issue 7</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 8 "><U>DG Issue 8 </U></A>   |   <B>DG Issue 9</B>   |   <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="DG Issue 10"><U>DG Issue 10</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0498dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>DG Issue 9</I></div> <div> Cuba</div> <bR> <div> What is a journalist? A journalist is a person who practices journalism, the gathering and propagation of information about current events, trends, issues and people.  Do you think all journalists have equal rights in their country?  Are there laws protecting journalists?  Would you say, journalists are safe?  In countries with government-controlled press, do you think journalists should have more freedom?  Does anyone feel that Cuba, a government controlled nation, should have more rights toward journalistic freedom?</div> <div> Freedom of expression and press were abolished in Cuba more than forty years ago.  In addition, independent journalists are routinely harassed.  Not every journalist has the same rights as another from a different country.  The journalists of Cuba feel they are not treated equally.  According to an online news source,  “As many as fifty independent journalists are forming bureaus and reporting about prisons, dissidents, arrests and strict government policies.”  (3).</div> <div> Several feel that it is important to publicize what is happening in Cuba, but because of pressures, independent journalists have not been able to establish a journalists' network.  One journalist reported,  “Independent journalists shouldn't have difficulties in getting their news reports to publications and agencies when other countries don't have that problem.”  (1). Journalist should not have to worry about being in danger in their country.</div> <div>      Journalists all around the world have certain barriers they cannot cross.  Cuba, a communist state, has journalist being jailed for articles published in their newspapers.  Do you think this is fair?  Should all journalists be jailed for reporting their insights? </div> <div> Cuba's state-employed journalists are the voice of the Cuban government.  The moment a reporter becomes an independent journalist, the government identifies the writer.  In the words of an exiled reporter,  “On a daily basis, they make your life miserable.”  (2).  More than twenty Cuban independent journalists have been exiled during the last six months according to the Inter American Press Association.  However, independent journalists continue to report on events occurring in Cuba.  </div> <div> There are not enough laws protecting independent journalists.  Journalist in Cuba should not be harassed, stalked, or treated differently from journalist from another country.  Journalists in Cuba are sending a palpable cry for help.  In certain newspapers and political cartoons, journalists report on their president's policies and other political issues.  Fidel Castro, who has been in power since 1959, utters contradictory statements.  From views of political cartoons, it seems like he does this lot and the people of Cuba are angry.  The president has all the power to the fact that what he says goes and if he does things that he doesn't want others to do, he can do that!  Is it fair?  He says, he doesn't want the people of Cuba to be a part of the United States affairs, but it would be okay for him to wear a Nike sneaker. He effectively demonstrates his approval of the Unites States economic policies.</div> <div>  The general focus in Cuba's articles is to portray certain things going on in Cuba that people do not like.  The independent journalists in Cuba use whatever information they can to express what goes on in Cuba.  If people take the time to look at certain aspects said or mentioned in online-posted newspapers, people will know that being an independent journalist in Cuba is not an easy profession and many want to escape the fears they are having in that country.</div> <bR> <div> !%),.:;?@ABCDEFGHIJKRSTUX[]bfhjlnprtvxz}¡£¤¥§¨©ª«¬®¯°ÁÞßáãåìñŒŸŽƒ–‘‚“‡•…‹!%),.:;?@ABCDEFGHIJKRSTUX[]bfhjlnprtvxz}¡£¤¥§¨©ª«¬®¯°ÁÞßáãåìñŒŸŽƒ–‘‚“‡•…‹$([\egikmoqsuwy{¢’$([\egikmoqsuwy{¢’Greg Sandoval</div> <div> Journalism</div> <div> 5/12/2006</div> <bR> <div>     JAPAN</div> <div>     Japan is a little chain of islands in between the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific Ocean. It is nearly the size of California. The northern side is cooler, and the southern side is warmer. The ecosystem of Japanese suffers from acid rain, due to air pollution. Japan is one of the highest consumers of fish and tropical wood. 99% of the people speak Japanese, and Shintoism and Buddhism are the most popular religions in Japan.</div> <div>      From reading various newspaper articles the drawn conclusion is the Japanese are devoted to their government. Japanese journalists and their government have a strong bond like the samurais had with the daimyo. They write whatever information the government wants them todisseminate. There are few or no Japanese prisoners in Japanese jails because they have more respect for their government, even though the government has harsh punishments (like beating them with a paddle in the main square for onlookers' entertainment). for <I><B><U>anyone</U></B></I>, even foreigners, who embrasses some one in their country.</div> <div>      Japan has a conglomerate media, which means that the media is owned by more than one person. The little freedom the Japanese press has is being threaten by ruling parties, administrative authorities, and some civil organizations that wish the media would have more restrictions. They were allowed to continue with non-conglomerate media bussinesses until Rupert Murdoch a press baron bought 20% of the media and formed Japan Sky Broadcasting. When Murdoch took over twenty percent of the airwaves, he tried to recruit some japanese journalists, but most refused because of all the control he had over the airwaves he controlled.</div> <div>       In Japan there are only four major networks: Nihon TV, Tokyo Broadcasting System, Fuji TV, and TV Asahi. Even though the Japanese have laws that forbid cross-media ownership, the main groups of Japan's media hold most of the influence of the media's power. According to Ellis Krauss' <I>Broadcasting Politics in Japan: NHK and Television News</I> which was printed in 2000 stated that the Liberal Democratic Party has many untraditional ways of limiting NHK's journalistic freedom. Japan is ranked number 27 in Journalistic freedom according to <I>Reporters Without Borders</I>.</div> <div>      <I>The Japan Times</I> and <I>Japan Today</I> are both sold in Toyko and come in English. They publish articles about meteroology, current events, and other topics.  Unlike U. S. newspapers, the papers considered did not contain obituaries or marriage notices. They did have sections in their newspaper for sports, they actually acknowledge their “<I>Invsible”</I> community or their gay, lesbian, and bi-sexual minority of their communities. The papers also have sections for national news and business</div> <div>      Japanese newpapers are very well organized, and leave you with a sense of wonder and amazement.</div> <bR> <div> ISREALI</div> <div> Israeli journalism is very important to the people of Israel, but the journalists within the country do not have as much press freedom as they should. Most of the restrictions on Israeli press freedom come from the country's military. The IDF, or Israel Defense Forces, does not allow Israeli journalists to enter military zones or report on military affairs happening within the country. However, this is a significant disadvantage to the journalists in Israel because military affairs usually promise the best news stories, and the restrictions that the military puts on Israeli journalists drastically limits the amount of information they may report.</div> <div>      Although Israeli journalists should have more press freedom when it comes to military affairs, it is important to be considerably cautious when it comes to military affairs. Therefore, Israeli journalists have one major problem: they do not have a “happy medium” between the military and the media. How can Israel “fix” this problem without exposing too much confidential military information? One way to approach this problem is to have the military willingly give out the information that Israeli journalists are allowed to report to the world. However, the people often want to keep receiving more information from the media, and journalists would not be able to “satisfy” the needs of the people with limited information.</div> <div>      In all, Israeli journalists have a sufficient amount of press freedom. They are allowed to openly report on and criticize the government and be involved with foreign news organizations, which are rights that many journalists from other countries do not have. However, if a “happy medium” were met between the Israeli media and military, the field of journalism in Israel would be much improved. But the problem that exists is how to reach this happy medium in Israel.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>Denmark's Free-Press: Also Free of Blame</B></I></div> <bR> <div>      In light of recent news, some may say Denmark's state of journalistic freedom needs to be restricted. However, I could not disagree more. Innocent opinions are just that, and may be freely distributed without consequence through any medium. </div> <div>      Of course, the controversy surrounding Denmark's journalism began in late September of last year as a cartoon was printed displaying the Muslim prophet Mohammed carrying a bomb in his turban. However, the real opposition to the comic has only recently been in the news, making me wonder how terrible the comic was in the first place. Surely intended not to start a global uproar and kill hundreds of people through riots, this cartoon should not change anything within Danish news. Danes still have the right to print want they want, and likewise have the right to read what they want. I do not feel that journalists or cartoonists alike should be afforded more or less freedom in their writings in Denmark. Their concept of free journalism is working and will continue to work in the future. This specific case is simply a cartoon taken out of cultural, social, and artistic context and treated as something it is not: it is just a cartoon!</div> <div>      The newspaper that published the cartoon has handled this situation, in my opinion, very well. While apologizing for any misunderstanding and controversy, the paper refuses to admit any guilt in the matter. And why should they? In Denmark, press is free. If the world doesn't like what Danes have to say, it shouldn't read the Danish press.  </div> <div>      Countries such as Iran should not threaten nuclear bombs on account of a simple drawing or refuse to consult their Danish embassy due to the illustration. Journalistic and artistic freedom of the press ultimately leads to a greater good. Had journalists been afraid of what their articles may uncover and what their cartoons may poke fun at, the world would be a different place. Cartoons in Colonial American by Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, for example, fueled a revolution by powerful words and powerful drawings. Also, cartoons lighten our day and serve as our only savior besides the crossword puzzle from the ninety other pages in today's papers that deal with hatred, corruption and death. Although some may argue that Denmark's free-press laws caused worldwide turmoil, the concept of free-press will throughout time cause more good than bad.</div> <bR> <div> GHANA</div> <div> There are many different things that consist of journalism and even what a journalist might be defined of as. Although, journalists themselves might not know how different they could be, there is a great change of how one can see the way freedom is written. Everywhere that there is a voice, there is a new way that one can observe the way one may think. There are many ways that one can look at these identities change the course of one's life.</div> <div>      Ghana is in western Africa; it is on the border of Guinea it is between Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. The population is about 21,092,853. It is estimated to be one of the countries with an alarmingly high AIDS rate. Ghana has a free-market economic system. Also Ghana's government is hostile against its journalists. Many have been jailed for their articles, which are mostly ideologically against the government. Most of the articles is critique of the government and others details of what the government is doing wrong.</div> <div>  </div> <div>      Journalism in Ghana is very difficult; the journalists go against the media. In further explanation an articles of <I>Ghana's Gov't homepage</I>; the main title was, “<FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Verdana" ><B>Protect Free Speech By Going Easy On Private Media,” </B></FONT>justifies that journalism is reckless in many ways and that it hides behind private press or even the media.  “Journalists savored their new found freedom with relentless and sometimes scurrilous attacks on government officials and private citizens”. Do the journalist feel this way or do others? So why would this be in an article that journalists would write<I>? </I></div> <div> Ghanaian Newspapers<I> </I>include the <I>Accra Daily Mail</I>, <I>The Ghanaian Chronicle</I>, <I>The Ghana Palaver, Ghanaian News runner, My Joy Online, </I>and<I> The Sub-Saharan Informer.</I> The people do support the media.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Times" > Participation is based on concerns of citizens as a public society and is not driven by the state or marketplace. The newspapers' are community oriented.</FONT></div> <div> Ghana has editorials, news, business and metro mail, mail sports, insight, and social news. The news articles are mainly focused on Ghana's minister, the harvest, conferences, helping pregnant women, parliament, refugees, human rights, discrimination against their own type, their government legislation, and the police violence.</div> <div> According to one of the Ghanaian Newspapers, “Journalists seek to assure participation by not only providing guarantees of access to public information and freedom of speech but most significantly, the Constitution recognises the vital role of the mass media as a conduit for participation and to that end, elevates protection of the mass media to constitutional status.”  The <I>Ghanaian Chronicle</I> has front-page news, editorial, news, business news, opinion, features, letters, and archives. <I>The Ghana Palave</I>r prints news, business, travel and tourism, health education, sports, technology, entertainment, and international news. <I>Ghanaian News runner </I>also publishes archives, discuss, Ghana related links, and postcards. <I>My Joy Online </I>publishes news, business, sports, <I>Ghana's Gov't homepage</I>, audio, chat, Joy Online album, and a local chart show.<I> The Sub-Saharan Informer</I> prints Africa, World, editorial, interviews/SSI talk, Business news.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> Are journalists, are they free to say what they feel or can they be imprisoned for their opinions? Most say that they can be imprisoned for what they write. Most people say that the journalists can be imprisoned for their free speech by saying spiteful towards the government. Some articles state that there is free press and that the government tolerates the journalists. Is there a change of what we can and cannot say? All we can do is write how one may feel and is the government changing what one might feel is free, free speech.</div> <bR> <div>      Ghana is a country like the United States and there is an enormous similarity of the newspapers that is printed. Although there are some similarities in the topics of the articles there is also the state of mind that is still there. There is a difference in free speech. Journalists in the United States can declare their free speech while Ghanaian journalists have to observe what they might write to defend their freedom. If there is no limit to what the government may do, than there is no freedom anywhere.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>