Online Media Representatives Face Jail

OSDNBoss writes "According to the US Watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists a total of 134 journalists were in jail on December 1, 49 of which were Internet journalists. China leads the way with the highest number in jail. I'm sure the censors have already blocked Slashdot and other news and opinion sites in the countries mentioned. It begs the question, however, as the blogosphere grows are online journalists and editors more or less protected than their print and TV counterparts?" From the article: "China is challenging the notion that the Internet is impossible to control or censor, and if it succeeds there will be far-ranging implications, not only for the medium but for press freedom all over the world."

Criteria for traditional journalism

[Anonymous Coward]

What criteria must one meet to be considered a traditional journalist, entitled to the same protections as, say, a reporter for a big newspaper?

If I, as an online journalist or blogger, print my missives on dead trees and distribute them in some manner, does that count?

Our media are SO much better

[OeLeWaPpErKe]

NOT ...

See :
http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/11/ap-is-bu sted-uses-bogus-source-for.html [blogspot.com]

Do you think something like this stops them from falsifying news ?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061129/ap_on_re_mi_ea /iraq_revenge_attacks [yahoo.com]

Think again. Obviously looking at an actual live video feed in the iraqi capital will reveal a quite normal life, with markets, loads of people ... Doesn't sound like a civil war at _all_ actually.

http://www.foxnews.com/video2/bagCam.html [foxnews.com]

hmmmmm ....

Co-operation will be beat censorship.

[ourcraft]

Here's a modest proposal. Publish lists of censored sites and then encourage many many blogs/entertainment/poker/pr0n/history/shopping sites to set links and mirroring to slip past the blocked IP addresses. Then when you go to even not very popular sites, there are links to redirects to the blocked sites and blocked information.

It would be unstoppable if a suffient number of sites provided links.

A 'non-icon' possibly a greyed out 'f' which otherwise was just a normal part of the text could open a list of links. Leave the code choices up to each site to prevent easy blocking.

I did much the same thing when the war on Iraq was gearing up, posting to multiple sites that had nothing to do with politics or war or civics, as the censorship of messages agianst the war was all pervasive. Even those were roundly attacked, snipped and derided.

Posting censored material is really our duty.

Re:Criteria for traditional journalism

[Erwos]

Writing under your real name is also a criteria, in my opinion, and is what sets traditional newsmedia apart from the vast majority of bloggers.

Learning curve

[ElectricRook]

China is on a steep learning curve. They are trying to transition from a massivly centralized controlled society where everyone works for the government. To a society where indivuals are allowed to make business decisions. The old guard allows no questioning or criticism of any authority. The new world will be far different from that. The old timers are trying to hold on to their power, and the only tool they have left is censorship of dissent.

Will censoring stop the transition? No, it will slow down the transition, and probably cause a softer and safer transition (Compared to Iraq where the opressive government suddenly ceased to exist, and sponsored anarchists are trying to take over).

The Chinese "Old Guard" are trying to form a Facist economy (where government works in partnership with business, kind of like the US social services), and that will likely happen, I think the free economy will eventually prevail and squeeze out that Facist one. The history of Socalism/Communism is of a political machine fully funding every inefficiency to the ruin of society. The newer leaders educated in the scientific method will make decisions based on wether things work, not strictly following sanctified procedure based on the musings of a 19th century economic idealist.