Launched in September 2007, this program trains students how to cover the fast-changing world of global business, economics and finance, with a focus on China’s role in the global marketplace.

The program, a joint initiative between the International Center for Journalists and Beijing-based Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication, is taught fully in English to international standards by noted faculty in the fields of journalism, business and economics.

IJNET

The International Center for Journalists seeks nominations for the 2009 Knight International Journalism Awards. The Awards recognize outstanding international journalists who demonstrate an extraordinary devotion to the craft by upholding and promoting the highest journalistic standards, despite overwhelming challenges. Deadline: April 13, 2009

Who qualifies: Professional journalists, media managers, citizen journalists and digital news innovators who demonstrate an extraordinary devotion to the craft, often in the face of extreme hardship. Recent award winners include a free-press champion and editor from Belarus, a human rights reporter from Uganda, a blogger monitoring police abuse in Egypt and an investigative reporter in Burma. Honorees receive a trip to the United States and a $1,000 cash prize, presented at ICFJ’s 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner on Nov. 12, 2009, in Washington, DC.

IJNET

The International Activist Award

Nomination Form for the Year 2009

«Few will have the greatness to bend history itself;
but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and
in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation.»
— Robert F. Kennedy

The Gleitsman Program in Leadership for Social Change encourages individual commitment and leadership by recognizing the exceptional achievement of those who have initiated positive social change. We seek those individuals whose vision and courage inspire others to join with them in confronting and challenging injustice.

As we begin our search for nominees for the 2009 International Activist Award, we invite you to advise us of those individuals whose efforts you feel should be recognized.

The 2009 International Activist Award will honor those who have struggled to correct social injustice in the world (US activists are the focus of our award in alternate years). The honorees will receive $125,000 and will receive a specially commissioned sculpture designed by Maya Lin, creator of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, DC. The award is not presented posthumously, nor is it granted to groups or organizations.

Please complete this nomination form and forward it with supporting materials to us postmarked not later than APRIL 17, 2009. The honoree for the 2009 International Activist Award will be announced in the summer of 2009 and must be available to travel to Cambridge, MA for the award presentation in early fall.

We thank you for helping us to reinforce the timeless message that one lone individual can not only inspire profound change, but can motivate others to make a positive difference as well. And in the above quoted words of Robert Kennedy, the sum of those individual acts will, hopefully, help to build a better life for all of us.

International Activist Award Honorees:

1993
• Nelson Mandela, then African National Congress President
• Wei Jingsheng, advocate of democracy in China
• Posthumous Awards in memory of Helen Joseph and Petra Kelly

1995
• Jose Ramos-Horta, East Timor independence advocate
• Beate and Serge Klarsfeld, prominent Nazi hunters

1997
• Maria Adela Antokoletz, Argentinean founder of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo
• Muhammad Yunus, founder, Grameen Bank

1999
Advocates for reconciliation in the Middle East:
• Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), Yossi Beilin, Bassem Eid, Yitzhak Frankenthal, Galia Golan, Faisel Husseini, Terje Rod Larsen and Mona Juul, Ahmed Qurie (Abu Ala), Uri Savir and Stanley Sheinbaum, posthumous awards in memory of Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein

2001
• Bernie Krisher, Creator of schools in Cambodia
• Martin Macwan, Advocate of Dalits («Untouchables») Rights

2003
Leaders in the struggle against poverty:
• Fazle Abed, founder of BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee)
• Jaya Arunachalam, founder of the Working Women’s Forum
• Roman Imboden, visionary developer of the Multifunctional Platform
• Roy Prosterman, founder of the Rural Development Institute

2005
• Han Dongfang, international advocate of the worker’s movement in China
• Patrick Alley, Charmian Gooch and Simon Taylor, founders of Global Witness

2007
• Sakena Yacoobi, executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL)

FORMER MEMBERS of the INTERNATIONAL ACTIVIST AWARD BOARD OF JUDGES

David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
Dr. Fang Lizhi, astrophysicist and Chinese democracy advocate
Mairead Corrigan Maguire, 1976 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Jacqueline Novogratz, Chief Executive Officer, Acumen Fund
Mrs. Sadako Ogata, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency
Shimon Peres, 1994 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, former Secretary General of the United Nations
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, 1980 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

http://content.ksg.harvard.edu/leadership/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=200&Itemid=65

Toronto, March 13, 2009 — In dozens of countries around the world, journalists regularly face obstacles in order to get the news out. Whether the threats be judicial, physical or otherwise, these dedicated and principled individuals continue to work tirelessly — often risking their lives — so that the news media remain free.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) bestows two International Press Freedom Awards every year to recognise journalists who demonstrate extraordinary courage in pursuing their profession under difficult or dangerous circumstances. In 2008, CJFE honoured journalists from Sudan and Zimbabwe.

To be eligible for the awards, applicants must be nominated by an organisation or individual. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Nomination Criteria for the International Press Freedom Award

The winner of the award will be a journalist or media organisation who:

reports on human rights issues or other issues, or from regions or countries, not often covered by other media;
demonstrates a commitment to human rights by reporting without bias, sexism, racism, etc.;
has not won a major press freedom award from another organization;
will benefit from international exposure due to the difficulty/threats caused by their work;
has overcome enormous odds simply to produce the news;
and has taken personal risks or suffered physical reprisals for working as a journalist.
Download a Nomination form

This should be accompanied by a cover letter and samples of the nominee’s work if applicable.

The cover letter should explain how you know this person and why you believe this person deserves the award.

Each award consists of a framed plaque and cash prize of CDN $3,000. They will be presented to the winner at a ceremony in Toronto in November 2009.

Submissions must reach CJFE by April 30, 2009

For further information or to submit a nomination, please contact Julie Payne at CJFE,
555 Richmond St. West, Suite 1101, PO Box 407, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3B1 Canada,
tel: +1 416 515 9622, fax: +1 416 515 7879 or e-mail

http://cjfe.org/releases/2009/11032009award.html

U.S. Embassy Dushanbe is soliciting statements of interest from newspapers published in Tajikistan to host a resident trainer to help improve the professional reporting skills and increase circulation.

The Embassy will fund an American print media trainer who will spend a total of 3 months (over a 6 month period) with one print outlet with the purpose to improve reporting standards, news room operations, and business management of the newspaper through marketing and advertising. The expert is expected to work closely on daily basis with reporters of the newspaper, editors and business managers. The training is offered in English with Tajik and/or Russian interpretation, as needed. Strong commitment from the newspaper’s management to the program is required.

Eligibility criteria:

· Management commitment to core values of fair and accurate journalism;

· Willingness to consider new approaches and to change;

· A minimum of five staff members;

· Established advertising department or a staff member dedicated to advertising issues;

· Readiness to accommodate the international trainer in the office of the newspaper;

· Preference given to a newspaper with a Web site or a plan to launch one.

Application requirements:

· Letter stating what the newspaper wants to improve and why (1 page maximum);

· Organizational structure and lines of authority;

· Resumes of editor in chief, editor, and/or deputy editor.

The complete applications should be submitted either in Russian, Tajik or English by Tuesday, March 31, 2009.

Electronic or paper applications should be submitted to the following address:

U.S. Embassy Dushanbe, Public Affairs Section

109 A Ismoili Somoni Avenue

Dushanbe, Tajikistan

Attention: Jackie McKennan, Public Affairs Officer

Emails: McKennanJK@state.gov, AlievaNS@state.gov

For questions please contact Jackie McKennan at 229-2351 or Nigina Alieva at 229-2318 and 90700 5001.

US Embassy

The International Center for Journalists seeks nominations for the 2009 Knight International Journalism Awards. The Awards recognize outstanding international journalists who demonstrate an extraordinary devotion to the craft by upholding and promoting the highest journalistic standards, despite overwhelming challenges. Deadline: April 13, 2009

Who qualifies: Professional journalists, media managers, citizen journalists and digital news innovators who demonstrate an extraordinary devotion to the craft, often in the face of extreme hardship. Recent award winners include a free-press champion and editor from Belarus, a human rights reporter from Uganda, a blogger monitoring police abuse in Egypt and an investigative reporter in Burma. Honorees receive a trip to the United States and a $1,000 cash prize, presented at ICFJ’s 25th Anniversary Awards Dinner on Nov. 12, 2009, in Washington, DC.

IJNET

After joint appeal with Amnesty International for an end to online censorship, Reporters Without Borders issues report on “Enemies of the Internet”

Reporters Without Borders today issued a report entitled “Enemies of the Internet” in which it examines Internet censorship and other threats to online free expression in 22 countries.
“The 12 ‘Enemies of the Internet’ — Burma, China, Cuba, Egypt, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam — have all transformed their Internet into an Intranet in order to prevent their population from accessing ‘undesirable’ online information,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“All these countries distinguish themselves not only by their ability to censor online news and information but also by their virtually systematic persecution of troublesome Internet users,” the press freedom organisation said. Reporters Without Borders has placed 10 other governments “under surveillance” for adopting worrying measures that could open the way to abuses. The organisation draws particular attention to Australia and South Korea, where recent measures may endanger online free expression.
“Not only is the Internet more and more controlled, but new forms of censorship are emerging based on the manipulation of information,” Reporters Without Borders said. “Orchestrating the posting of comments on popular websites or organising hacker attacks is also used by repressive regimes to scramble or jam online content.”
A total of 70 cyber-dissidents are currently detained because of what they posted online. China is the world’s biggest prison for cyber-dissidents, followed by Vietnam and Iran.

http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=30543

97 years ago, on 11 March 1912, the first issue of the Tajik newspaper Bukhoroi Sharif (Sacred Bukhara) came off the press.

Five Tajik journalists have received the national Lakhuti prize for their input in the development of Tajikistan’s media. The prestigious award is named after Abdulkosim Lakhuti, one of the founders of the contemporary Farsi-language literature.

NANSMIT monitoring service

The Tajik National news agency Khovar and the Azerbaijani TREND news agency signed a partnership agreement.

The agreement defines aspects of cooperation in the spheres of information and multimedia, and professional exchange of experience between journalists. The agreement enables the Tajik Khovar news agency to enhance its international image and expand dissemination of its information.

TREND is an international news agency founded in 1995 in Azerbaijan. TREND produces information in five languages, including English, Russian, Farsi and Arabic. The news are placed at the web portal www.trendaz.com TREND provides its subscribers quality video and photo materials, analytical publications and experts’ opinions.

NANSMIT monitoring service

Tajikistan seems determined to obtain financial assistance one way or another from Russia. After President Imomali Rahmon’s recent trip to Moscow did not produce any promises of Kremlin largesse, officials in Dushanbe seem to have found a way to take what they could not receive.
The Tajik State Broadcasting Committee decided March 2 to pull the plug on RTR-Planeta, the commercial arm of Russia’s state broadcaster. Local authorities cited an increase in fixed costs and demanded more money from the All-Russia State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK).
Local experts believe the dispute is something more than just about money. «I see a political aspect in the termination of RTR’s rebroadcast in Tajikistan,» Nuriddin Karshibaev, chairman of the Tajik National Association of Independent Media, told EurasiaNet.
In explaining the official decision, Tajik state committee head Asadullo Rakhmonov said RTR-Planeta did not have a valid contract covering broadcasting rights in Tajikistan for 2009, adding that the channel also owed Tajikistan 4.8 million Russian rubles (about $130,000) for relaying services.
A VGTRK representative, Sergey Koshlyakov, complained that the Tajiks were not playing by the rules. «The increase is unscheduled and not included in our company’s budget; this is why the negotiations are slack,» the Asia-Plus news agency reported Koshlyakov as saying. All grumbling aside, however, it seems that Russia is not eager to lose a major lever to sway public opinion inside Tajikistan, and so VGTRK officials have reportedly agreed to pay a hefty 50 percent rate increase for 2009.
Precise terms of the preliminary agreement were not immediately released. As soon as a contract is signed RTR-Planeta should be back on the air, Tajik officials have indicated.
Despite the apparent fast resolution of the dispute, Tajik officials seem interested in diversifying the country’s media landscape — something that could have the net effect of reducing Russian influence in the Central Asian nation. In February, Tajik broadcasting officials met with top Iranian television representatives to discuss relaying more Iranian programs in the Persian-speaking country.
RTR-Planeta is the only Russian television channel that is rebroadcast in Tajikistan. Other Russian channels can be viewed only via satellite transmission.
Posted March 5, 2009 © Eurasianet
http://www.eurasianet.org

EurasiaNet

Источник: http://eurasianet.org/departments/insightb/articles/eav030509a.shtml