Scott had a lecture on the annual VJ-congress in Bodø. Good one, though, but my mind was kind of more pleased with this announcement that he made on a facebook-group:
_________________Scotts words follows:__________________________________
Just when I started to think blogging and bloggers are all a big waste of time Burma changes my mind.
Dodging a deadly military crackdown that has killed at least nine protesters, Burmese bloggers are on the front lines, providing news and photos of death and insurrection.
Their Internet blogs, written in Burmese and grammatically flawed English, are posted mostly by residents of Rangoon, the commercial port also known as Yangon, where Buddhist monks, pro-democracy activists and residents have been defying security forces for more than a week.
The bloggers rely on word-of-mouth, cell phones, online chat groups, instant messaging, and firsthand accounts of protesters facing barricaded streets, tear gas and gunfire from Burmese security forces. The best blogs provide photos, video and text updates purportedly by eyewitnesses, which are later confirmed by news organizations or, in some cases, can't be verified.
The nation's military regime has refused to grant visas to foreign correspondents, and has even blocked visa requests for many foreign tourists after the mass uprising worsened this week.
As a result, blogger accounts have captivated the outside world, including President Bush and the United Nations. On Thursday, the Bush administration imposed economic sanctions against 14 senior Burmese officials. On Wednesday, the U.N. Security Council issued a statement of concern about the violent crackdown and said it would send a special envoy to Burma.
Burmese and foreign bloggers in Rangoon, Mandalay, the nation's second-largest city, and elsewhere have risked their lives to document the pro-democracy demonstrations, which began over a fuel price hike in August.
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Lonely riders words to follow:
The real frontline fighters are those who share their knowledge with the world.
Verification is another challenge - but in times like this I believe that more is better than less for once... Verfication and truthfullness will gradually be considered after the time has passed.
And as another thought: This only goes to show WHY journalists all over the world has to start blogging now! Suddenly we can find ourselves in a position where our usual channels back to our newsdesk has been controlled or even worse - switched off. Start blogging today.
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1 comment:
Well written article.
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