This is the kind of journalism politicians dream

This is the kind of journalism certain politicians dream. In fact, some of them intend to give lessons to journalists of what to say and what to silence, making puppets to amuse the public, more as a kind of television show presenter than what we understand certainly as journalism: that representative of democracy with the duty to inform what is happening, putting it into historical, social and cultural context and analyzing it toward a future development of the events in order to light our decisions. As British play-writer Tom Stoppard said: I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon. And US fiction science writer Ray Bradbury: Journalism keeps you planted in the earth.

 

 

An Al Jazeera documentary on Cambodian’s orphan business

Juliana Ruhfus of the Al Jazeera‘s People & Power program gets into the evident fake of several Cambodian orphanages using children and volunteers to get profit. She discovers for example that many of these centers do not complaint with the law, neither with the minimum conditions to guarantee the safety and healthy growing of the children they argue to protect. Foreign volunteers are brought to these centers without requiring criminal records, while other centers are in connection with tourist agencies to put their orphanages as tourist destinations. Good work from Al Jazeera! See the video documentary this link.

The successful laptop experiment

‘I can conclude that young people are always open to listen proposals and those proposals must keep vision for a best society.’

In 2009 I did an experiment with all my students of journalism in Sihanoukville: I told them something like this:

‘When I studied journalism in my city, I didn’t have actually computers, but I used an old typewriter.

A Khmer Experiment

Sihanoukville. Raquel Vásquez has a Business and Law degree from Carlos III University, now enrolled in a postgraduate program in Defense and Communications. From her original Spain, she has been in countries like India, Singapore, France, Israel and Cambodia. Cristina Trenas is a filmmaker with studies in economics and journalism in the same University, but also in Paris and Washington. These two brave Spaniard girls made the team of a… Cambodian Experiment !!!

Learning the culture of discussion

Kep City. Creating a school of communication does not mean only to get rooms, cameras, computers and microphones. Tools are evidently important, but great reporters and communicators can manage even without a laptop. Schools need especially masters of the skill. Some weeks ago – February 15 – the students of social communication of the Don Bosco Vocational Center got a real special visit: Photojournalist Arjay R.J. Stevens, a German national based in Cambodia since 1996.

From the first generation of Don Bosco reporters

Khuon Narin, a member of the first generation of students of social communication in Don Bosco Sihanoukville, continues at The Cambodia Daily. In October 2007 I open a simple school of journalism in the former sewing section with 12 young men from rural areas. Thanks to all those who did support and are supporting the developing of the Cambodian media with a social ideal.

Two foreigners fighting at Cambodian rings

Phnom Penh. Although a little old (May 14), I find this relate very interesting from one of my journalist students of how he saw a pradal fighting where two foreigners tried to get a name in the Cambodian rings. The first fight was made by nationally known Chey Kosol of the Sanghawk Kayla Club against Japanese Atoshi Namura and they tied the fight. At the end of the game

Cambodian journalist Reach Sambath died

Phnom Penh. Reach Sambath, 47, the director of public relations of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal since it was established, died last night at 21:00, local time, at the Calmette Hospital. The medical report says that he died of a brain fever. At 21:25 his family brought his body home for the due funeral ceremonies. The parents of Sambath died during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979. He was among the most senior Cambodian journalists, who finished studies at the University of Columbia in New York. He visited several countries, but specially India and was a reporter of French agency AFP. He is survived by his wife, a daughter and two sons.

Oops! You could not connect to blogspot.com once more

Last hour (01/22/11/09:49). This morning the server came back… Last Thursday Ezecom, the Cambodian Internet provider, denied that it received official orders to blockade the website. Paul Blanche-Horgen, Ezecom CEO, said to The Phnom Penh Post in a letter: ‘As the CEO I can say, we have received no directive, nor did we block access to any websites on our service‘.

As it goes and comes, probably is a technical issue. I opened a treat at the Blogger Help Forum with this question:

‘This week blogspot.com has suffered a national blockade in Cambodia. The issue has risen global concerns of a possible censorship. Officials denied any action to blockade the servers. Friday morning it came back, but at the evening it was impossible to access any blog again. This morning it came back. Is it a technical problem? The answer is very important, because is sensitive in our country and would avoid misunderstandings and concerns. Thank you for your answer.
Albeiro Rodas
cambodia1.wordpress.com’

If you have a blog in blogspot.com, participate in that forum, so Google technicians can look after the problem and we know what really happened.

Young journalism in Cambodia

At the end of November I had the visit of EFE’s reporter Laura Villadiego, who came to know my project of social communication and journalism in the Don Bosco Technical School of Sihanoukville. She wrote an article about the experience, underlining the fact that journalism is taught in a country that has been criticized for events that put the freedom of press under risk. At the same time, it is an experience directed to young people from underprivileged communities.

57 Journalists Murdered in 2010

In 2010 there was a reduction of 25 percent in homicide to journalists in the world, according to the annual report of Reporters Without Borders. 51 journalists were kidnapped, 535 were arrested, 1,374 suffered physical attacks or were threatened, 504 media were censored, 127 journalists had to flee their own country, 152 bloggers and netizens were arrested, 52 were physically attacked and 62 countries were affected by the Internet censorship. These are the numbers of global persecution against freedom of press and threatens to the labor of reporters in the planet.  As for murder of journalists, Asia was the most dangerous region with for the media with 20, followed by the Americas with 13, in Africa 10, in the Middle East 10 and Europe 4.