On 27 August 2009 the Russian public movement “Tajik Labor Migrants” received a certificate from the Russian Federal Mass Communication Service permitting to establish its own printing body (Roskomnadzor, ПИ ФС77- 37014, 30 July 2009).

The newspaper will be published in two languages – Russian and Tajik; the initial circulation is 50 thousand copies. The territory of dissemination is the Russian Federation and the CIS countries.

The newspaper positions itself as an information-analytical, political, cultural and educational periodical.

Experts say that the registration of this newspaper is the evidence of acknowledgement of the Tajik labor migrants as a full-fledged element of the Russian civil society.

http://www.centrasia.ru/

Fattokh Saidov, director of the State Anti-corruption and Financial Control Agency refused to answer questions addressed by the Paikon newspaper, referring to the fact that he had answered similar questions addressed by another periodical.

The Paikon weekly (#24, 26.08.09) was planning an interview with director of the State Anti-corruption agency Fattokh Saidov. The official had been approached well in advance, but he asked journalists to present their questions in written form (which they did). The questions concerned the Agency’s activities and plans for the future.

After numerous telephone calls, the newspaper received the following answer: “In pursuance of your letter dated 14 August 2009, we hereby notify you that I have been interviewed by the Asia Plus weekly, and provided the newspaper with all the answers to your questions. Besides that, you can find additional information about the Agency’s activities, programs, etc. in the texts of public speeches of its director, as well as on our web site www.anticorruption.tj

Seven questions of Paikon remained unanswered.

NANSMIT monitoring service

The governor of Tajikistan’s southern Khatlon Province has ordered local authorities to increase the number of media outlets in the region, RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reports.

Ghaibullo Afzalov announced today that Khatlon’s population does not have sufficient access to news and information via traditional media platforms, which he said is a threat to Tajikistan’s national security.

Nusratullo Abdulloev, the editor in chief of a regional newspaper in Khatlon’s Khuroson district, told RFE/RL that he fully agrees with Afzalov’s statement, adding that 2.5 million citizens in Khatlon do not have enough newspapers to receive the latest international and domestic news.

A Tajik media analyst, Jamoliddin Saifiddinov, told RFE/RL that residents of Tajikistan’s Qabodyon, Shahritus, and Nosiri Khisrav districts, which border Uzbekistan, watch mainly Uzbek TV stations because the Tajik television channels have a very weak signal in the region.

Khatlon TV Deputy Director Sherali Saidov confirmed Saifiddinov’s assessment of the TV reception in those areas and said the Khatlon TV channel is not even available in the region’s Kulob district, which borders Afghanistan.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Tajik_Governor_Orders_Better_Regional_Media_Access/1805793.html

The Union of Journalists of Tajikistan (UJT), the Tajik National Association of Independent Media (NANSMIT) and the Tajik Media Alliance (MAT) launched a joint statement, expressing concern over the termination of broadcasting of the private radio companu Imruz. The statements also describes unfavorable situation within Tajikistan’s information space.

Radio Imruz has recently celebrated its second anniversary, and during this relatively short period the company has won attention of a large audience. The radio station has become popular due to a new approach to management and pluralism of opinions expressed in its daily programs.

Radio Imruz has been repeatedly facing problems with the authorities. On 11 August broadcasting was terminated. Officials from the State Broadcasting Committee’s technical unit refer to temporary problems of technological character, but the radio company’s management states that these explanations are poorly grounded.

Tajik media organizations consider such impediments absolutely unacceptable, especially on the eve of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Tajikistan. Actions of the Tajik authorities are interpreted as serious limitations of the freedom of speech and expression, which affects the image of Tajikistan in the world arena.

http://www.asiaplus.tj/

On 7 August the Avesta news agency posted an article titled “Hemorrhagic fever came to Tajikistan from Russia”.

Referring to unofficial sources, the authors stated that the number of human casualties from hemorrhagic fever in the city of Tursunzade has reached 24, and among the victims is the chief infection doctor Askar Umarov. Avesta also informed readers on its web site that the village of Ziyoratut is blocked by law enforcement units, and neighboring areas are closed for quarantine. The article also said that the source of extremely contagious infection was the dead body of a Tajik labor migrant that arrived from Russia.

Here is the comment of deputy Minister of Health Azamjon Mirzoev:
“I have to say that the data in the publication is far from reality. The number of people who died from the disease is 3, not 24. Although, it’s a tragedy. Yes, among the people who died was a doctor from the city infection hospital. He died helping hospitalized patients”.

The entrance to Ziyoratut village was not blocked either, and nobody introduced any quarantine. There are no grounds for allegations that the disease came from Russia.

The Tajik Ministry of Health applied to the media with a request to refer to official and competent sources of information, and restrain from provoking panic among the population.

http://www.khovar.tj/

The Union of Journalists of Tajikistan (UJT) is preparing to create its own printing body.

The Union has already submitted its application to the Ministry of Culture. The new periodical is called “Sukhan” (the Tajik for “Speech” or “Language”). The first issue of the Tajik-language newspaper will be printed in September.
It should be noted that in the early 1990-s UJT already had a newspaper with the same name. it was founded under the initiative of a well-known journalist Otakhon Latifi.

http://www.khovar.tj/

Social-networking technology has helped make geographic borders almost irrelevant for young people seeking information about education programs or staying in touch with peers. Charlotte West is a freelance writer and former international student.

Students are increasingly using social-networking sites such as Facebook to research their study-abroad destinations and get information from people with experience. This technology has also proven to be an important way to keep in touch with friends made while abroad, as well as to make new ones.

Café Abroad was founded in 2006 by Dan Schwartzman, then a 24-year-old graduate from Pennsylvania State University recently returned home from a study-abroad stint in Australia. He wanted to “create a site by students, for students, where students can answer any question another student may have with genuine student-generated information.”

Katherine Lonsdorf, a recent graduate in diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College in Los Angeles, wrote a series of articles for Café Abroad. Her writing inspired several students to get in touch with questions about her year abroad in Jordan and the Middle East.

“While writing for Café Abroad, I was contacted by at least a dozen or so other students from around the country who were thinking about studying in Jordan and wanted to talk with me about my experience,” she says. “They usually found me on Facebook, after picking up my name from a byline.”

Café Abroad InPRINT

In the several years since its launch, Café Abroad has blossomed into a nationally distributed magazine, Café Abroad InPRINT, currently distributed at more than 330 colleges and universities around the United States. Dan Schwartzman has also developed what he calls “The Café Abroad Networking Solution.” He says the concept is “a social network for study-abroad offices to connect students internally within their own schools in a private network overseen by study-abroad administrators — in addition to a global network where students could more openly share their abroad experience with other students at their school.”

The importance of student-generated content, such as the articles written by Lonsdorf, is also being increasingly recognized by educational institutions. The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, for instance, launched a series of study-abroad blogs written by students in various programs.

Penny Schouten, a study-abroad marketing consultant who was involved with getting the New Paltz blogs off the ground, explains that while the initial goal of the blogs was to lighten the workload for office staff, it became much more than that. In addition to chronicling students’ time abroad, the blogs created continuity and community between prospective and current students, who also felt “they were doing a great service to their campus.”

Schouten also spoke to the importance of students being able to get the information from their peers. “Students didn’t want to hear from me where the cool clubs are in London; they wanted to hear it from other students,” she says.

A Spirit of Collaboration

Schouten and Schwartzman both recognize the potential of social media in transforming how students go about making their study-abroad choices. Schwartzman, for his part, hopes that blogs, Facebook, and individual networking solutions are just the first step.

“To me,” Schwartzman says, “the next level of study-abroad social networking is a spirit of true collaboration where information about programs, schools, program providers, and study abroad destinations is interchanged in a free-flowing, centralized forum. In this forum, students would be able to communicate with each other about study abroad uncensored and openly. This, of course, is a bit of an idealistic outlook — but it’s worth striving towards.”

You can check out these social-networking sites on the Internet at http://www.cafeabroad.com and http://www.abroadblogs.newpaltz.edu.

The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. government.

http://dushanbe.usembassy.gov/

Representatives of the Tajik media community appealed to the authorities with a request to support “the fourth power” suffering from the global crisis
Forty media professionals and experts signed a joint appeal, which says that “Tajikistan’s mass media, as an integral part of the national economy and the society, is badly affected by the global financial crisis”.

Referring to latest independent studies among printing and electronic media, experts say that more than 90 percent of the domestic media are experiencing serious financial and logistical difficulties. “Circulation of newspapers has dropped on the average by 30-40 percent. This is caused by the lowered buying interest, the growing prices on services and expandable materials, and inability to advertise media products”, the appeal says.

Tajik journalists note that in most of developed countries governments pay due attention to the special role of the media in the system of governance and public life, creating favorable conditions to the press.

“Many governments introduce tax incentives for the media; they provide the media with financial donations. One such example is Kazakhstan, where the government provides the media with grants and exempts them from excessive taxes”, — says the appeal. Many of the Tajik media are on the verge of bankruptcy.

Media experts also say that the lack of the government’s support might lead to closure of many printing outlets, TV and radio companies, which might seriously affect Tajikistan’s information security and deteriorate its image.

NANSMIT Monitoring Service

Muhammad Jafar Behdad, director general of the Iranian news agency suggested to create a joint information agency for the countries members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

This proposal was voiced at a meeting between Behdada and Vitaly Ignatenko, director general of the Russian ITAR-TASS news agency.
Behdad noted a positive character of relations between Moscow and Tehran – in both political and economic spheres. He stressed the necessity of expanding the information space.

Ignatenko for his part said that the proposal is interesting and perspective, and for its practical implementation the countries should solicit support from the Chinese Sin’khua news agency.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization consists of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia are observers; and Turkmenistan and Afghanistan are guests.

http://www.iran.ru/

The Tajik party has accomplished its obligations on creating an international Persian-language TV channel. The new media enterprise will be jointly ran by Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

So far, Tajikistan has allocated premises for the TV company, prepared its charter and developed other relevant legal procedures. However, according to Asadullo Rakhimov, chairman of the Tajik Broadcasting Committee under the government, Afghanistan and Iran are lagging behind in fulfilling their obligations. The tripartite agreement on the Persian TV channel was reached February 2009.

Iran has been failing to ship certain broadcasting equipment and send its engineers for the installation, as it had been agreed at the beginning.

It should be noted that negotiations on launching a joint TV company lasted for two years. The formal agreement was reached only after the tripartite meeting of foreign ministries in Dushanbe in March 2008.

NANSMIT Monitoring Service