What are some new journalism forms in "non-free" societies?

December 14, 2014 11:44 AM

I'm a high school journalism teacher, and I'd like my students to do individual research projects that fulfill this standard: "JRN 1.8: Explain how new technologies are affecting the events or dissemination of information in non-free societies, such as some countries in the Middle East, Africa, or Asia." What are some topics they can look into?

As a Spanish major, I'd also like to add Latin America to that geography list. I'm going to broaden "non-free" to anywhere where to journalism has traditionally been difficult and not just limit it to authoritarian regimes.

So far I have come up with: the Green Movement in Iran, citizen journalism during the Arab Spring, micro-blogging in China, and community reporting in Brazil.

My students are mostly freshmen and pretty new to the whole research concept, so it can't be anything too obscure. They need to be able to find plenty of reliable information easily and without tons of digging or frustration.

Thanks in advance!

posted by Alexandra Michelle to Education (9 answers total)

I've got to go do grading and final-writing myself, but maybe dig around Global Voices (also a great research source for your students, if you're not already using it).
posted by wintersweet at 12:03 PM on December 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Egypt in 2010.

I would throw out the term "'non-free' societies" as it is... problematic.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:04 PM on December 14, 2014 [7 favorites]

Response by poster: Agreed DarlinBri. That's why I put it in quotes. The term comes from the standard, not me.
posted by Alexandra Michelle at 12:09 PM on December 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

There was a good episode of On The Media this morning. Brooke Gladstone devoted the whole show to the state of reporting in Liberia on the topic of Ebola. I think the reporters there publish in a traditional newspaper, but there might be some parts of interest.
posted by feste at 12:15 PM on December 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

There's a really interesting dynamic going on in the UAE w/r/t the press, the internet, and free speech.

This is for a college class, but I put together some readings to spark a discussion in a seminar. The goal was to look at the dynamics of censorship -- particularly soft and self-censorship -- in the UAE... and then to turn the lens back on the US to look at to what degree we're *really* different and why.

As such, the last two readings are crucial... really examining how free the US press is, outside of the shadow of first-amendment idealism, helps break out of the simplistic us free/them non-free dichotomy.

----

http://ejustice.gov.ae/downloads/latest_laws/cybercrimes_5_2012_en.pdf
(read articles #24 and 29)

http://file.wikileaks.org/file/uae-internet-censorship.pdf

http://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/No_official_censorship_of_the_local_media_NMC_chief_affirms/29820.htm

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/media/freedom-and-responsibility-go-together-to-secure-state-s-interest-1.765596

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2014/united-arab-emirates#.VI4FbnuUJtM

http://www.irex.org/system/files/MENAMSI09_UAE.pdf

http://mideastposts.com/middle-east-business/middle-east-media-analysis/uae-newspapers-self-censorship-discussing-the-line/

http://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=5460

http://mattjduffy.com/2012/08/ive-been-kicked-out-of-the-united-arab-emirates/

http://en.rsf.org/united-arab-emirates-ugandan-journalist-s-damning-19-06-2014,46472.html

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/12/06/the-national-staffers-launch-facebook-campaign-to-oust-their-editor/

http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/on_cnn_international_the_news.php?page=all

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/09/world/asia/bloomberg-news-is-said-to-curb-articles-that-might-anger-china.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&
posted by cgs06 at 1:57 PM on December 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: There was a Frontline about North Korea and a lot of it focused on smuggling media into the country. The Secret State of North Korea.

Since Internet is non-existent in North Korea, tying balloons to Thumb Drives is one way of getting information into the country.

Also, Radio Marti might be something you want to discuss. Since it's broadcast from Miami for Cuba in Spanish.

I approve of thinking outside the internet, since it's compromised in so many places.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 2:32 PM on December 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Wired had a piece on Facebook and Twitter and the Arab Spring. Another online story about a National Science Fdn study on the same.
posted by Ideefixe at 3:25 PM on December 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

What about the United States? The NSA leaks have created a chilling effect for investigative journalists here.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:33 PM on December 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Hungary's media law has been widely criticized for non-conformance with EU standards. The government uses its Media Authority to control media content. Journalists are often threatened with prosecution. All rather disturbing from a nation within the EU. "A basic concern is how Hungary can participate in evaluating the progress of democracy in the candidate countries when it is moving away from democracy itself."
posted by zaelic at 1:31 AM on December 15, 2014 [1 favorite]