Officials of IFM addressing the press

Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) issues broadcasting license to Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) – the largest Islamic organization in the Maldives – on Thursday to establish a television channel.

Addressing the press at IFM office, the popular preacher Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed Ahmed, also the vice president of IFM scholars council said the license was originally registered for a company named “Meeqath”, but the TV channel will be managed and operated by the organization under an agreement.

The channel will not broadcast any content about politics and contrary to Islam, he said, adding the main purpose to establish a TV channel is to educate people and to tackle social issues.

Sheikh Fareed said the channel is targeted for all the age groups and both genders, and special programmes to be also made for women.

Maldives – a chain of 1,190 islands scattered in the Indian Ocean – is ranked 73 according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s press freedom index between 2010 and 2011.

Currently, four TV channels are being broadcasted in the country.

Therefore, the meeting between press and parliament, as an official forum, becomes necessary to maintain public access in order to obtain information properly. In Germany, journalist have their own association to organize press conferences with the federal representatives: Bundespressekonferenz (BPK; Federal Press Conference).

The BPK organizes press conference by presenting leading representatives from politics, economics and cultural sectors. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday a spoke person from the government or from each ministry is available to answer all questions related to political and economic situations.

Instead of the government inviting journalist to come to their office, the BPK invites government representatives to have the press conferences which is held in the hall of the Federal Press Conference building in Berlin. “This platform makes the process of collecting information much easier in the shortest possible time. Basically, we want to make things more transparent,” said Nikolai Fichner, journalist of the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD), who is also a member of the BPK chairing committee.

Journalist in the former capital Bonn, who looked for efficiency of reporting the news, founded BPK in 1949. After the Berlin wall fell down, the BPK supported the founding of the press conference in the capital Berlin. When the government and parliament moved to Berlin in 1999, the BPK also moved its headquarters to Berlin, but it is still representated by a branch office in Bonn.

It was a small association in the first place and became bigger year by year. Currently,more than 900 parliamentary correspondents belong to the BPK. Around 60 correspondents work in the offices in Berlin.

Yet, it was not broadcasted live when 24 young journalists from Asia and Africa attended the press conference on August 3, 2011. The visit was held as a part of the programme of the International Institute for Journalism’s Summer Academy 2011. It is usually broadcast, but usually only on the internal system of the BPK to the offices in the building.

When the participants of this year’s IIJ Summer Academy attended one of the BPK briefings, the spokespeople of the ministries and Chancellot Angela Merkel’s deputy spokesman, Christoph Steegmans, explained about the result of the cabinet meeting which was held in the morning.

The spoke person also told the journalists about the Chancellor’s concern on the violence of the Syrian regime against its own people. The European Union (EU) foreign ministry tries to implement a joined plan for Syria.

After the presentation, some correspondents asked questions related to politics, the economy and the topics talked about the spokesman. They could also ask other questions outside the material of the presentations.

The special design of collecting information could give great advantages especially for small media and foreign correspondents. They don’t have to make a call to the press offices and wait for answers to their questions.

The BPK also invited the chancellor twice a year and ministers who come whenever something important has to be informed to the public.

In Indonesia, government press conferences usually are held by the government itself. Indonesia has some journalist forums, for example the Industrial Journalist Forum. But they don’t arrange regular press conferences like the BPK does. They sometimes invite the ministries or the representatives once a year for a seminar or talk show program. That is the reason why the BPK becomes a unique media associations in the world.

However, Fichtner added that the journalist not always feel satisfied with answers that are given by the spokesperson in the press conference. The spoke people sometimes answer questions superficially or even do not give a proper answer that the journalists asked.

Yet, journalist still can get exclusive information after the press conference and speak individually to the spoke people. Not only during the BPK, but press also can get information from the government by interviewing the politicians as well.

So, transparent information becomes a necessity for every government, regardless of whether or not satisfactory answers are provided. As Abraham Lincoln said: democracy is a government by the people, of the people and for the people.

IIJ (International Institute of Journalism) training “Freedom and Responsibility in the Media” program that was held from July 17th till 12th of August 2011 gather 24 young journalists from 14 different countries in Asia and Africa.

This year Asian countries represented by Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Cambodia and Uzbekistan. And African countries represented by Zimbabwe, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zambia, Ghana and Kenya.

The program started with the round trip to visit some points in this harbor city. Cruise ships, cranes, containers and boxes became the common scenes in here. As our tour guide explained, Hamburg has became the second largest port city in container handling after Rotterdam.

Joint photo session with the white house background become one of the important agenda on the sidelines of the class. Wearing the traditional dress of each country to be unique. Of course, the mainstay was our batik from Indonesia.

Another exited trip was when we visit the Neungamme Concentration Camp Memorial in Bergedorf. It was a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. “Unusual” atmosphere in this area was so strong. The old conveyances in the railway and the bricks factory in this area became some of the dead witnesses of the prisoner’s pain.

A lot of discussions, presentations, group works and laughs coloring every single day that we passed. Respect each other and understanding was the fundamental of our friendship here. Different cultures, languages and even taste of foods only made our friendship became closer day by day.

The hours in the class and the workshops didn’t keep us from having time to enjoy this lovely place. Playing volleyball on the beach after the class and have some parties in the night or just have a conversation with friends in the Internet room – all these things that we always miss.

In the third week, we also have a chance to have a tour to the Reichstag Building in Berlin. It is a place where the parliament members make laws for everyone living in Germany. The Reichstag dome is one of the attractive things from this building beside the architecture of the building itself. We have to walk to the spiral walkway up to the top of dome.

Each participant was also asked to write articles for  “The Daily IIJ” from our visits in Hamburg and Berlin. I wrote about a press conference of parliamentarians and government officials organized by journalists in Berlin (Bundespressekonferenz).

But in every time that something was so fabulous, it feels like the time always flies so fast. Having entered the fourth week meaning we were about to go back home.

Certificates were distributed, a slide show with photos of us was aired and an emotional atmosphere spread the room. The farewell party was done and tears became evident of what we have experienced during the last four weeks.

It was like a nice short movie. Every single day has impressed sweet smiles, memories and friendship. We can play it over and over again in our head and heart.

No goodbyes – Staying connected has become our unwritten promise. The world is narrow at some time. Somewhere with different conditions we will meet again with the new memory that is not less beautiful than this.

Keidy teaches the villagers how to handle a camera, film still: insight share, CC-by-nc-nd 2.0

Fernando M. doesn’t actually look like a revolutionary. Slender as a boy he crouches on the floor, the microphone has fallen into his lap. Only his weather-beaten face betrays the 40, maybe 50 years. Barren is the soil beneath him, light and desolate the forest, but Fernando’s face shows a different landscape: laughter lines and a glimmer of hope. He doesn’t even seem to notice the camera in the young woman’s hand.

No journalist in the world could have filmed Fernando the way Keidy T. did it. Together with other indigenous activists the 23-year-old documented the situation of the Igorot people in the mountains of the Northern Philippine island Luzon. Fernando distrusts the Philippine mainstream media; upon him they ignore the situation of the indigenous people and widely cover the corrupt government for fear of persecution. Unlike Keidy and her team: While they shoot the documentary “Es-Esel Ja Eparas” (“Voices of Experience”) during a workshop of the British video laboratory InsightShare, they have the villagers on their side: Aren’t they also indigenous people, don’t they speak Filipino and ask the right questions? At the end of each shooting day, the whole village gathers in a festive mood on the market place to watch the shots. Right there Fernando negotiates how he will be seen in the film – and how not.

Fernando M. in an interview with young indigenous people, film still: insight share, CC-by-nc-nd 2.0

Where monkeys and boars were still roaming the rain forest when Fernando was young, nowadays prairie grasses and rotten fruit knuckles under storm and heat. The fight against the destruction of the natural environment affilliate the old with the young Igorot: Where Fernando and his men blocked the access routes to the gold mine in the nineties, their children are facing a more abstract enemy: the global climate change can only be met with global media work.

Media projects such as InsightShare or the network of bloggers Rising Voices believe in the best of all possible worlds: a world in which the disenfranchised rise their voices, the marginalised step into the center and the indigenous record their traditional cosmovision with the latest technology. If a media workshop enables a group to fight for its rights in the long run, citizen journalism reaches its ultimate destination: in the hands of the weakest.

Approx. location of the village G. in the Philippine Cordillera, Screenshot: Google Maps, CC-by-nc-nd 2.0

“Digital pollution” or “fifth pillar of democracy”?
Citizen journalism. Many professional journalists consider this very term as an oxymoron, if not as an attack on their professional honour. Some mock those “digital polluters”, those “Sunday drivers on the information superhighway”, others fear the apparent competition – but still many journalist use their writings. Citizen journalism is a grab bag; one could argue about the quality of the entries in the Heise forums, the ideological struggles of Indymedia or about how relevant most of the 115 million worldwide blogs really are. Identifying the really independent, reliable, wide-ranging and relevant information in the middle of the World Wide Web’s unpaid, unedited and possibly unresearched sign salad is like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it is worth it.

Most citizen journalists don’t try to compete with the established media, but to create a civilian counter public: They consider themselves as fifth pillar of the state, holding up democracy and human rights, when everything else is in ruins. When Rezwan, a student from Bangladesh started his blog The Third World View in 2003, he had no idea how important it would become one day. With his messages on a nostalgic papyrus ground he was part of the online-avantgarde in Bangladesh. Only when in 2004 the Unicode standard for the Bengali script was established and the first blogger platforms were founded in 2005, the sport of the nerds became a mainstream activity of the young educated elite. Today, about 50,000 Bengalis are blogging, but many from the diaspora. Not without reason.

Rezwan blogs about repression in Bangladesh (2007), screenshot, CC-by-nc-nd 2.0

The magic moment for Rezwan’s blog was a sad day for his country: On January 11th, 2007, the government of Bangladesh imposed a state of emergency, after people started protesting violently against electional fraud. Nearly 100,000 people got arrested. Rezwan blogger-friend narrowly escaped: Exile in Sweden was Tasneem Khalil’s only refuge. Rezwan’s blog was swept by hate-filled comments, but he was outside the line of fire, in Berlin. His Third World View became a so-called “bridge blog”; Rezwan combed through the Bengali media several times a day and explained the most explosive news to an English-speaking public. He was far away from home, but yet right in the centre of the events.

Anonymous activist
In his offline world, Rezwan had to become an accountant, but online he may be an activist. In his home country not a single politician would listen to him, but in the internet he has 200-300 readers every day. He just reported that the Bengali government blocked Facebook after Mohammed cartoons haunted across the network. He carefully quotes other bloggers, behind whose statements he discreetly hides his own criticism. Since the riots of 2007 Rezwan has become carful: He wants to reveal neither his last name nor his age; during the skype interview he turns off his webcam. A thumbnail-size picture of him circulating in the web shows a handsome young man, one among thousands. “Only as long as I remain anonymous, I am free to write what I want,” Rezwan says. “I would really like to be a professional journalist, but in that case I’d have to give my name and bury my activism.”

“The world speaks to you, do you listen?”
In 2007, the operators of the most important global portal for citizen journalism noticed the Bengali blogger: Global Voices published excerpts of his features from the police state – a big honor in the internet community. Tripod-founder Ethan Chairman and former CNN bureau director Rebecca MacKinnon founded the network in December 2004 to provide a podium for the most interesting perspectives of citizen journalism around the world. The motto: “The world speaks to you, do you listen?” One million visitors a month answer this question with “yes”. More than 300 volunteers around the world watch the blogosphere in 150 countries and translate the selected text into 15 languages. In addition, the portal encourages new bloggers through workshops, link the international blogging community by organising conferences and provide legal assistance.

A parcel on the sixth continent
The Internet is large, and its settlement will hardly ever end. On the “sixth continent” even the landless and disenfranchised have the chance to stake their plot. No wonder that nowhere such an enthusiasm for the new media can be felt as in the so-called developing and emerging countries. On their way into the online world, so-far marginalized groups simply leave out less efficient development steps of the Western world: they “leap-frog”. In no time Rezwan and Keidy have become experts and opinion leaders; however, until today, they earn no Rupiah and no Taka with their work.

When Global Voices founded the daughter network Rising Voices in 2007, Rezwan joint in as a volunteer editor right from the beginning. Rising Voices has an approach, which is quite similar to the British video NGO InsightShare: Both aim at taking citizen journalism to a grass roots level, from an urban elite into the rural areas, from the young and trendy to children and old people. While InsideShare has built eight video-hubs in ghettos and indigenous villages, Rising Voices commissioned 25 local NGOs and well-known blogger with teaching blogging to a local group.

Bloggers build bridges
The results can be seen until today: There are doctors and nurses of a Romanian hospice writing about the last days of their patients; activists in Yemen blog for women rights; Liberian bloggers build bridges between those in exile and those who stayed at home. The success rate of the project is relatively high; at least ten to 20 percent of the participants are still blogging three years after the seminars, Rezwan says.

Keidy T. in a skype interview with the author (Screenshot)

Meanwhile, the young Filipina Keidy T. became the director of the video hub in the Philippines. The demand is big; soon the 23-year-old will herself train video trainers – even on the Southern island of Mindanao, where Muslim rebels and the central government are fighting against each other. She has already received anonymious threats for her commitment; she and her colleagues feel observed. But giving up? Keidy smiles enigmatically. It’s the smile of Fernando M., it seems to say: Our people have been through worse.

It seems long since she has travelled to the Climate Conference in Copenhagen with her very first film from the village of G. Like many NGOs they didn’t get an official accreditation for the conference; instead they received standing ovations for their presentation on the civilian counter-conference. For a moment the world listened to a small woman from the Southern hemisphere who had never left her country before: “We indigenous people have contributed least to climate change, yet we suffer the most.” At the other end of the earth a village holds its breath.

_____

Useful Links  (all checked on Sept. 21st, 2011)
Online-Portal „Global Voices“: Facts about citizen journalism

Sourcewatch: List of Citizen Journalism Websites

Website of the NGO InsightShare: What is Participatory Video? (video, 3:14 min.)

Website of the NGO InsightShare: Es-Esel Ja Eparas/ Voices of Experience, (video, 17:29 min.)

Website of the NGO InsightShare: presentation of 9 further video hubs

Online-Portal „Rising Voices“: Active Rising Voices Projects

Online-Portal „Global Voices“: Current selected articles

Online-Portal „Global Voices“: threast to civil journalism worldwide (map)

Blog by Rezwan: The Third World View

Online-Portal „Global Voices“: Manifesto

Blog of Ushahidi: African Crisis Information Portal working via crowdsourcing

This article first appeared in an online magazine project of the EJS School of Journalism in Berlin (Evangelische Journalistenschule) led by Matthias Spielkamp and Peter Berger. It was shortlisted for the Minority Voices Young Journalism Award in June 2011. E-Mail the author at christina.felschen(a)gmx.de or visit www.chessocampo.blogspot.com.

After a 30-hours-journey from Ciudad Juárez to the Global Media Forum in Bonn, Judith Torrea was tired, but still full of energy. (Screenshot from author's video)

Judith, you have been reporting on Ciudad Juárez for 15 years now and even moved there in 2009 – what draw you towards one of the most dangerous cities in the world?
I am a journalist and our duty is to tell the stories that have to be told. If we don’t do that, we become accomplices of war, massacres or genocides like those involved in the so-called „War on Drugs“ led by the Mexican president Felipe Calderón. Once I stepped into this topic I couldn’t just ignore it and go back to Washington as if nothing had happened.

Stepping into it, how did that happen?
Even if I was born in Northern Spain, my heart is purely Mexican, it’s Juárezian. I always wanted to live in Mexico, but finally it all happened by pure coincidence. Fifteen years ago I crossed the Mexican border for the first time and the first city I came across was Ciudad Juárez. At that time the first women were disappearing, and there was nobody else who was reporting on it.

Most bloggers are citizen journalists and activists – when you started blogging, you have already been a highly experienced and awarded journalist. What made you leave your prestigious job as a White House correspondent and become a blogger in Mexico?
Originally, I wanted to work there as a freelance journalist. But then I discovered that in full economic crisis, nobody wanted to buy my stories. But I didn’t want to give up: I published them on a blog instead – not to nourish me, but to lift my spirits. I even renounced on advertisements or collaborations with traditional media, because I want to be as independent as possible. However, I would never have thought that it might become so popular and even receive the prestigious BOB Awards. Just consider how technically simple it looks. Perhaps I won’t earn much money with this blog, but it makes me happy. In times like those Juárez is going through, it is essential that people rise their voices, that they talk or write about what they are experiencing. I also teach citizen journalists in Juárez – my “pupils” are common people, but they tell some stories better than me.

You have been the first Spanish reporter to witness and report about death penalty executions in the US – another dark topic. Are you fascinated by the proximity of death?
In no way! I am a very happy person who loves life. But Juárez is my mission. Nobody asks to be born in a certain place at a certain time. If I don’t tell the story of Juárez, the winners of this „War on Drugs“ will tell it. What keeps me here is my passion and my love for this city. I am fascinated by the mothers of the murdered girls who succeed in transforming adversities into strength. Ciudad Juárez taught me to live.

What was your impression of Juárez when you entered the city for the first time? Was it love at first sight?
The city is neither fascinating nor beautiful. But when you cross the bridge across the US-Mexican border into Juárez, you immediately feel the energy of this town. It’s a women’s city: While many men are unemployed, women have for decades worked in the export oriented assembly plants, the maquilas. Their strong position causes jealousy in the city’s macho culture.

“Hours go by. The fear. She doesn't come back. Days go by. Years.” – Many mothers are still waiting for their daughters to come back, years after their disappearance. Judith Torrea blogs about forbidden activism, ghost towns and the power of memory (Screenshot of Torrea's blog)

Since 1993 hundreds or thousands of young women have been murdered in Juárez; many locals even speak of 5.000 cases. You said that the first media reports came extremely late – how does the Mexican press react?
Absurdly the first newspaper that reported on it was the New York Times. The Mexican press even claimed that the people of Juárez invented these stories, following the discourse of president Felipe Calderón. Mexican media is mainly concentrated in two outlets tightly related to the government. Today mainstream media can’t ignore the feminicidios any longer, but instead of analyzing the reasons for it, they show gruesome pictures of the victims and indirectly blame them for provoking these violent acts by dressing up or going out.

The city lacks international attention: You are the only foreign journalist living in Juárez – and when you wanted to sell your first freelance stories on Juárez in 2009, the editorial offices weren’t interested. Where does this ignorance come from?
Mexico is not Afghanistan. Many foreign editors don’t consider it an important topic. Furthermore it is a dangerous job; many journalists come with bodyguards and don’t want to sleep in the city, because they don’t want to risk anything. When I was back in New York reading the news about the so-called „War on Drugs“ in Ciudad Juárez, I realized that my perspective differed from that of most journalists: Unlike them, I distrust Calderón when he states that the victims have been related to drug dealing.

Once you accused the Mexican president Felipe Calderón on TV of supporting the Sinaloa Cartel, the most powerful drug cartel in Juárez. Are you not frightened?
The only fear I have is not doing what I have to do. I am a journalist that will never betray herself, that is not corrupt. Neither the Sinaloa Cartel nor Calderón can stop me. As Juárezians, we all share the same danger.

Have you ever been threatened?
The government tries to put me under constant pressure. But I won’t go into details.

What will the future bring for Juárez?
Peace will come soon; the death toll is already dropping. But it won’t be a peace for the love of peace – Calderon’s „War on Drugs“ simply costs too much money. And it will be a false peace: This “War” has left tremendous social problems, hundreds of orphans, empty houses, lots of unemployed and many, many traumatized people.

What will you do when this „War“ is over?
Hard to say – I hardly ever think about the future.

Interview conducted in Spanish and translated into English

Judith Torrea’s blog: www.juarezenlasombra.blogspot.com
Her book: Torrea, Judith: Juárez en la sombra: crónica de una ciudad que se resiste a morir. Aguilar, 2011.

• Ciudad Juárez is a city of 1,5 million inhabitants in Northern Mexico directly bordering the US city El Paso. Due to its location, the city is a major point of entry and transportation into the United States – for migrants and goods as well as for drugs. Juárez attracted several drug cartels by its low-wage work force, the proximity of the lucrative U.S. market and its social disorganization. In the 90ies it became the epicentre of Mexico’s “War on Drugs”; with between 6 and 27 homicides each day it is considered “the most violent zone in the world outside of declared war zones.”

• Judith Torrea is a 37-year-old journalist from Pamplona/ Spain. After working for several US media she decided to dedicate her work to the fight against drug trafficking and the Mexican „War on Drugs“. She was awarded with the Spanish journalist award Premio Ortega y Gasset as well as with Deutsche Welle’s international weblog awards, the BOBs, for her blog “Ciudad Juárez, en la sombre del narcotráfico” (Ciudad Juárez in the shadow of drug trafficking). Based on her blog and long lasting experience she recently published her book “Juárez en la sombra” (Juárez in the shadow).

This interview first appeared in Orange Magazine of the European Youth Press in June 2011 as part of its coverage of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum. E-Mail the author at christina.felschen(a)gmx.de or visit www.chessocampo.blogspot.com.

Those questions crossed my mind when I visited the headquarters of German BILD newspaper, the biggest selling tabloid in Europe, based in Berlin and published by the Axel Springer publishing house since 1952.

BILD is blamed by critics for what they say are sensational headlines and for publishing pictures of topless women on the front page every day. Some also accuse the tabloid of occasionally inventing “news” to increase its readership.

Yet BILD has grown to become a success in German media history due to its circulation of more than 3 million copies per day. This makes it the biggest selling tabloid in Europe and the sixth largest circulation worldwide.

BILD’s Chief Reporter, Kai Feldhaus, says that the success of the paper is a result of the way it combines interesting pictures, headlines, and text.

BILD aims to present a mixture of good reporting and consumer information to its readers, Mr Feldhaus told the participants of this year’s IIJ Summer Academy.

The paper also offers information that cannot be found in other publications or even on the bild.de website, the journalist added. “In the perfect condition, you give the reader the idea that he is lacking something if he hasn’t read the paper.”

Essential photos?

Mr Feldhaus explained that presenting appealing pictures such as those of topless women on the front page has been done for many years to win more readers and to give the paper a light touch. He said that the paper once tried to take those pictures off the front page but was inundated with protest calls from readers.

Well, not all media’s house can publish such photos. For example, media in Indonesia are not allowed to publish pictures of topless women because they are considered to violate moral and religious values. Many people think that such pictures can have a bad impact on society, especially on young readers.

Frankly speaking, I don’t agree with the idea of photos of topless women like those BILD publishes, because I don’t see why such pictures should be essential. However, I do not want to be too critical of BILD editors if this is one of the paper’s strategies to survive.

Printed media in Germany face quite difficult times as more and more Germans get information for free online. As a result, printed media need to improve and innovate. However, I believe that the best solution for this situation is not to publish sensational reports and pictures.

In my opinion, journalist should create exclusive, comprehensive, and accurate reports, as well as informative, educative, and in-depth analysis of what’s happening in the community. Pictures should be interesting and relevant.

I think that if BILD, my daily paper, or any other papers sticks to those values and principles and practices responsible journalism, they have a good chance to stand out and compete successfully with online publications.

The short videos depicted the celebrities doing various ‘manly’ activities such as shaving with a chainsaw, grilling a cheese sandwich with a flatiron, eating cereal and milk out of a box, and opening a bottle of beer with a remote control. Quirky and humorous, each of the videos produced by the Demi and Ashton Foundation garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

Glitzy, Hollywood-helmed productions to support various causes are a common sight nowadays. However, their ultimate effectiveness—as gauged by an increase of actual support for the organizations involved—has yet to be determined.

“This is what happens when celebrities do an issue divorced from the movement,” stated Norma Ramps, director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, in an interview with Fox News. “Once you chose an issue and don’t do it in collaboration with people who have been doing this for a long time, this is what you end up with. There is a general dumbing down that is going on, and this is an example of dumbing down a social justice movement with the narrowest message possible.”

Sensational reportage
In addition to watering down the message, Bärbel Uhl, Chairperson of the EU Commission’s Group of Experts to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings, claims that campaigns focusing on a single aspect of human trafficking could sometimes prove to be detrimental to the cause. “There are too many sex, crime and money stories,” she says. “People tend to miss the point that trafficking is a fight by democratic institutions as a whole. It should not always be treated as an emergency. Since 2000, there’s been a very broad concept of trafficking. It can be the sex industry, or exploitation in agriculture… there are so many violations conducted under the anti-trafficking framework.”

As of 2010, the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking reports that there are an estimated 2.5 million people involved in forced labor, usually in the sex trade or sweat shops. Magazines or news shows frequently release exposes on drug busts or sex den raids, but the often-sensational nature of reportage related to the issue is at best a topical solution to a deep-rooted problem. “Build awareness, and to bring to mind the minds of the politicians the real issue and the information behind it,” Uhl adds. “Aim to educate the policy makers.”

“Media organizations who report on human trafficking need to back up their words with actions,” says U. Roberto Romano, a human rights educator, filmmaker and photographer. “It’s our responsibility to show the world as it is, and how to take responsibility for our actions.”

As a filmmaker, Romano produced several documentaries on child laborers. One of these is ‘The Dark Side of Chocolate,’ where he and fellow journalist Miki Mistrati went undercover to expose the working conditions of children in the Ivory Coast’s cocoa plantations. “My policy is to do no harm,” he explains. “In a previous film about children in Pakistan, I didn’t release the film until the producers ensured their safety. While this wasn’t the case [with ‘The Dark Side of Chocolate’], we took action afterwards. We do not want to produce reportage at the expense of the innocents.”

Also, the documentary espouses a call to action, so that viewers are not simply left with a vague idea of the issue. ‘The Dark Side of Chocolate,’ for instance, encourages patronizing brands that practice fair trade with farmers (ensuring that they will be paid reasonably for their goods, and that child labor won’t be used in the process). Basically, conducting a successful commercial or media crusade against human trafficking is about taking action as opposed to simply throwing the occasional news blitzkrieg or two. Christopher Davis, Director of International Campaigns at The Body Shop, sums up the session’s sentiments: “Be empowering, but fundamentally get people involved and make them realize they can do things.”

This article first appeared in Orange Magazine of the European Youth Press as part of its coverage of the Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum.

Read-More-On http://thenorthbankeveningstandard.blogspot.com/2011/03/survey-on-journalism-training-needs-in.html#more

The council said in its verdict, the news reports were baseless. The Press Council also rebuked the newspaper management for publishing those. But the newspaper then published reports against the chairman and the memebers of the Press Council. Sheersha Kagoj claimed in its report that the council gave the verdict in favor of the complainant in exchange for “favors.”
The customs officer later filed another case with the Press Council.
The council in its recent judgment said the newspaper violated the code of conduct of journalism by publishing unacceptable reports.