PressEthic

Yesterday, France launched its new 24-hour global news channel, which is originally entitled: France 24. The network, which was opened with an online newscast on Wednesday and will begin broadcasting on cable TV today, expects to jostle for space amongst established players such as CNN and BBC World, and the recently launched English-language Al-Jazeera.

The two main television networks in Mexico have recently devoted a lot of air time to hard hitting news reports depicting the suffering of the poor. The motivations behind the reporting, however, are not all they seem.

Last week, radio host Dennis Prager posted a lengthy blog at the conservative Townhall.com, about the decision of the United States’ first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison, to take his oath of office on the Koran. In his view, "America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don't serve in Congress."

As shareholders lose patience, The New York Times Company is facing some tough decisions.

A thought on the murders of Anna Politkovskaya and Alexander Litvinenko.

Government interventions in junk food advertising have been recurrent in the news recently, with three different countries offering three different approaches to the problem.

Google may be smug about their latest video-streaming acquisition, but recent reports have suggested that executives are also wary of the dark days the YouTube investment will bring.

On Friday, a new 22-minute audio recording by Shaykh Abu-Hamzah al-Muhajir, leader of Al-Qa’ida in Iraq, was released on the web. But some of the statement's content seems to have been filtered out by the news media.

Unlike in previous years, Slate was unable to publish leaked exit poll information yesterday. Why? Because the consortium members from Associated Press, CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and CNN who are responsible for analyzing the election data were apparently locked up in quarantined rooms for most of the afternoon, cell phones removed.

Some journalists seem to have a hard time admitting it when they can't explain an event.

The launch of the al-Jazeera English-language satellite TV channel could make understanding the Arab news organisation a reality for non-Arab speaking audiences.

The United States has been ranked 53rd in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2006 released by Reporters Without Borders. Yes, that's right, more than fifty countries have more press freedom than the U.S., which is on a par with Croatia, Tonga, and Botswana.

If you logged on to MySpace last week, chances are that your entry would have been interrupted by a page for the Rock for Darfur campaign, advertising the various concerts that took place around the United States on October 21. Before you had a chance to "skip" on to your active online social life, however, you might well have been halted by a familiar voice.

The veil debate recently rose to the surface in the U.K. following the suspension of a muslim teacher for wearing a veil, and the comments of ex-foreign secretary, Jack Straw, who said that he asks veiled women visiting his office to consider removing it. A week ago the BBC found itself caught up in the controversy, raising questions about the effect of conspicuous faith on the viewer's perception of a newsreader.

As News Corporation shareholders prepare to vote on whether or not to maintain the anti-takeover "poison pill" this Friday, I am reminded what a ridiculous situation a large section of international media is in.