Ban on Kuwaiti papers and TV channel
The Kuwaiti government has closed down two newspapers - Al-Mustaqbal and alDar - and the satellite channel Mubasher. The closures were ordered by the ministry of commerce, acting at the request of the ministry of information, which referred to unspecified "irregularities".
New features in updated Al Jazeera Mubasher channel
Al Jazeera Network will unveil the refreshed version of its live broadcast channel, Al Jazeera Mubasher today, a spokesperson said yesterday. The updated version will have a new look and content aimed at boosting the channel’s real-time interactivity with its viewers. It will also increase the number of live broadcasts, the official said.
Croat journalist to head Al Jazeera Balkans channel, says report
Prominent Croat journalist Goran Milic is expected to head Al Jazeera’s Balkans channel in the Serbo-Croatian language which is set to launch early this year, a Bosnian newspaper reported yesterday. The Doha-based Al Jazeera television network last year bought NTV 99 television in Sarajevo and announced it would launch in early 2011 a Balkans regional channel from the Bosnian capital, which has a Muslim majority.
“The New Arab Journalist: Mission and Identity in a Time of Turmoil” - new book by Larry Pintak
The revolution in Arab journalism is explored from the inside in a new book by Lawrence Pintak, a veteran Middle East correspondent and founding dean of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication.“The New Arab Journalist: Mission and Identity in a Time of Turmoil” (I.B. Tauris/Modern Middle East Library) is based on scores of interviews with reporters and editors, as well as Pintak’s three decades of experience covering the Middle East.
Society of Professional Journalists Executive Committee Recommends Dropping Helen Thomas Name from Award
The Executive Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists voted Saturday to recommend that the organization retire the Helen Thomas Award for Lifetime Achievement. The recommendation, which will be sent to the full board of directors within the next 10 days for a vote, states that the award will be retired with Thomas’ name attached.
New Kuwaiti radio station hits airwaves for national ...
A new Kuwaiti radio station is to hit the airwaves, frequency FM 93.9, to cover the state's celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the independence and the 20th anniversary of the liberation, and the station was named "Ya Aghla Dar," Arabic for "Dearest Homeland."
Tunisia's bitter cyberwar
The Tunisian authorities have allegedly carried out targeted "phishing" operations: stealing users passwords to spy on them and eradicate online criticism. Websites on both sides have been hacked. Anonymous, the loosely knit group of international web activists that drew world attention for their "distributed denial of service" (DDoS) attacks on the servers of companies that blocked payments and server access to the whistle-blowing website, WikiLeaks, joined the fray, in solidarity with the Tunisian uprising.
CPJ says Tunisia must end censorship
The Committee to Protect Journalists tells President Ben Ali it is disturbed by his government's attempt to censor coverage of recent protests against unemployment and corruption in Tunisia. "We are specifically alarmed by the confiscation of two opposition weeklies, the government's denunciation of Al-Jazeera, the systematic obstruction of reporting and broadcasting, as well as the blocking of news websites that are covering the protests," the letter adds.
