http://iwmf.org RSS feeds for IWMF - International Women's Media Foundation 60 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1311/mary-lundy-semela.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1311 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1311&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1311/mary-lundy-semela.aspx Mary Lundy Semela is IWMF’s Director of Development, responsible for raising operating and programmatic support. A nonprofit professional for many years, Mary has raised significant funding for organizations across the country in the areas of education, social services, and advocacy. Most recently she worked with the YWCA USA office in Washington, DC. Prior to Nelson Mandela’s historic rise to power in South Africa, Mary was active in the anti-apartheid movement, helping to convince U.S. based entities to divest their South African holdings. She also played an active role in the anti-racism movement in the U.S., working with individuals and groups to identify ways to actively “undo” racism. Mary has an undergraduate degree in English from Loyola University in New Orleans. admin Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:17:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1311 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1310/sharon-waxman.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1310 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1310&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1310/sharon-waxman.aspx Author, entrepreneur and award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman is Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief of TheWrap.com, an independent voice covering the business of entertainment and media. Founded in 2009, TheWrap is the fastest-growing news organization covering the business of entertainment. Launching new products and platforms every year, The Wrap News Inc. is comprised of TheWrap.com, the award-winning, industry-leading outlet for high-profile newsbreaks, investigative stories and authoritative analysis; ItsontheGrid.com, the most current, relevant film development database; ThePowerGrid, an algorithmic, data-driven ranking system for every person, project and company in the film business; and TheGrill, an executive leadership conference centered on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology. Waxman is a leading authority on the entertainment business and media and a frequent television commentator on matters relating to media and entertainment. Waxman was previously the Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times until January 2008. Before joining the Times, she was a correspondent for the Washington Post based in Los Angeles, from 1995 until 2003. She was a foreign correspondent for 10 years, covering the Middle East and European politics, principally for The Washington Post. Waxman has won many awards for her work, including the award for best online columnist in the National Entertainment Journalism awards in 2012. She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize by The Washington Post in 1999 for her work covering the second Palestinian intifada, the year before she won the prestigious feature writing award for Arts & Entertainment writing from the University of Missouri. While at the Post, she returned to the Middle East on several occasions to write a series about Islamic culture, to cover the war in Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Waxman is also the author of two books, including the best-seller, "Rebels on the Backlot: Six Maverick Directors and How They Conquered the Hollywood Studio System." Her most recent book, "Loot: The Battle Over the Stolen Treasures of the Ancient World," examined who ought to own the trophies of history, Western museums, or the countries that were plundered over 200 years. Waxman attended Barnard College, Columbia University, where she studied English literature, then earned a Masters of Philosophy degree in Modern Middle East Studies from St. Antony's College at Oxford University. She lives in southern California with her family. admin Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1310 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1309/alexandra-c-trower.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1309 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1309&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1309/alexandra-c-trower.aspx Alexandra C. Trower is the Executive Vice President, Global Communications, of The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Trower directs the Company’s overall global communications strategy, overseeing Global Brand Communications, Corporate Communications, Philanthropic Communications and communications on behalf of the Lauder family since April 2008. In addition, Trower and her team are responsible for the Company’s global Breast Cancer Awareness campaign and its Corporate Responsibility communications. Trower has more than 20 years of experience in global communications, with a broad background in financial, corporate and consumer relations. Before joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Trower was Senior Vice President, Media Relations for Bank of America, where she worked to enhance the Bank’s brand, image and reputation in the U.S. and abroad through integrated media, communications and marketing efforts. Prior to that, Trower was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase, where she was responsible for Corporate Communications at JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management. She also spent 10 years at Chancellor LGT Asset Management, now part of Invesco, where she was Vice President of Corporate Communications. Trower graduated from Hollins University in Roanoke, VA. She lives in New York City with her husband; their daughter attends college in Connecticut. admin Tue, 22 Jan 2013 21:32:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1309 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1308/ann-marie-valentine.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1308 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1308&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1308/ann-marie-valentine.aspx Ann Marie Valentine is the IWMF’s program assistant, responsible for providing coordination and administrative support for the organization’s portfolio of programs. Prior to joining the IWMF, Valentine worked in external affairs for a non-profit agency in New Jersey. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Religious Studies from Gettysburg College. While a student, she worked as a Peer Learning Assistant for the Department of Religious Studies, and coordinated an international expedition on behalf of The Office of Experiential Education. In the fall of 2010, Valentine lived and studied in Morocco where she completed her own field research. She speaks Arabic and Spanish. admin Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:05:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1308 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1307/anna-schiller.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1307 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1307&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1307/anna-schiller.aspx Anna Schiller is the IWMF's Communications Strategist, responsible for all aspects of the IWMF's external communication. Prior to joining the IWMF, Schiller was a Senior Press and Public Diplomacy Officer at the German Embassy in Washington, DC. She was trained in this field at the Delegation of the European Union, also in Washington, DC. As a teenager and later as a college student, Schiller hosted a weekly one-hour show at the local radio station in her home town Luebeck, Germany. Later she also hosted a news program at the local TV station in Oldenburg, Germany. Schiller holds a Master's Degree in Political Science from the University of Oldenburg and the University of Wyoming. She is fluent in German and Dutch. admin Wed, 01 Aug 2012 18:07:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1307 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1305/qa-with-shirley-carswell.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1305 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1305&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1305/qa-with-shirley-carswell.aspx Shirley Carswell, deputy managing editor at the Washington Post, now heads the newspaper's recruiting, hiring, diversity and training efforts. She joined the Post in 1988. Following her promotion, Carswell discussed with the IWMF how women journalists can stand out in the hiring process and the need to maintain diversity in newsrooms. Q: Tell me what your new role as head of recruiting, hiring, diversity and training efforts will entail. A: My new role is focused on broadening The Post's talent acquisition efforts to ensure we are hiring the best journalists around the country and on enhancing the skills of our existing staff. And in both hiring and promotion, I'll be focused on increasing diversity, which will result in better coverage. Q: What qualities and skills do you and your team look for in new hires? A: Above all, we look for people who are curious about the world around them and who are passionate about telling stories. Of course, we also look for strong writers, analytical thinkers and those with broad digital skills. Q: How can women journalists in particular distinguish themselves in the hiring process? A: Women sometimes are not as comfortable tooting their own horn, talking about their accomplishments and strengths. Those who are skilled at showcasing their work can distinguish themselves. Q: You will also be responsible for training journalists in your new role. What are some issues you anticipate addressing, especially as newsrooms continue to change and adapt? A: The Post recently launched a major training initiative for the entire newsroom, and that's the foundation upon which I'll be building. Issues include helping journalists discover and make better use of new digital tools that are cropping up every day and ensuring that our journalistic standards are upheld across all platforms.   Q: According to the Maynard Institute post about your new job, buyouts are disproportionately claiming journalists of color. How can newsrooms ensure that valuable voices aren't lost in the shuffle? Can your new position help with this? A: One of the areas I will be focused on is staff retention. When people feel like they have a future in preserving and building the business, they are less likely to move on. However, one thing traditional media companies have to realize is that younger journalists don't necessarily desire to spend their entire careers at one place, like some in my generation have. We shouldn't view it as a negative whenever someone decides to move for another opportunity. But we need to have a pipeline of new journalists of color so that we don't lose those voices or lose ground on diversity in newsrooms. admin Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:40:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1305 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1304/qa-with-teresa-rehman.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1304 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1304&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1304/qa-with-teresa-rehman.aspx Indian journalist Teresa Rehman says she is "living a dream" by working on her new entrepreneurial venture. Rehman started The Thumb Print, an international news magazine based in Northeast India. The online magazine helps shed light on the often under-reported stories from the region, Rehman says. "Unveiling the mystifying facets of this trouble-scarred region has always been cathartic -- a realization that underneath the turmoil lies a hope for peace," she said. Rehman, who participated in 2008 and 2009 IWMF initiatives on women and HIV/AIDS policymaking, shares her thoughts on The Thumb Print and offers advice for other women interested in starting journalism ventures in a Q&A with the IWMF. "One cannot sustain any entrepreneurial venture without passion and dedication," she said. Read The Thumb Print: www.thethumbprintmag.com. Q: How did you decide to start The Thumb Print? Is the magazine online only, or does it have a print component? A: In The Thumb Print, I am actually living a dream – a dream to be visible and audible to the world. I need to be heard and seen as I hail from an under-reported part of India -- the Northeastern region, which comprises of eight heterogeneous states of the Indian union. ... The region has witnessed decades of violent insurgency and has always remained in the periphery of the Indian consciousness. The region with a predominantly tribal population has often been ghettoised as a monolith and has grossly been misrepresented by the so-called ‘mainstream’ media. We are in news for the wrong reasons – for violence, bloodshed. The region has often been projected as underdeveloped and unsafe.   I have personally reported from this region for many ‘national’ media houses in India and have always struggled to find space. I have been told many times that the ‘region’ does not sell. The region has always been far removed from the corporate radar and does not interest the advertisers. I have been pained by the lipservice paid to the region. I decided to create my own space and take the region -- which is full of untold stories of men, women and children -- to the world and bring the world closer. We wish to be international, savvy in our outlook towards the rest of India, South Asia, and the world. This is an online magazine at the moment. In the times to come, hopefully, we will be able to garner enough resources to be able to come up with a print version as well.  Q: What kind of topics does The Thumb Print cover? A: We want to chronicle the lives of the common people of the region and tell living and vibrant tales. We also want to bring home fascinating stories of people from different parts of the world. We want the world to have a refreshing look at the region. This is a dream to go global with local stories -- tales of the marginalized, the under-reported, criss-crossing through geographical terrain and psychological barriers. Our soul lies in Northeast India. We hope to live and delve in the contemporary times and tell stories with a difference. We want to act as a bridge between the region and the world. I have long years of experience of reporting from the region and I always said that the region is a ‘paradise for journalists’. Unveiling the mystifying facets of this trouble-scarred region has always been cathartic -- a realization that underneath the turmoil lies a hope for peace. Q: This is a new entrepreneurial venture for you. How did you secure funding, advertising and contributors for the project? A: Believe it or not, this magazine has evolved more like a cottage industry. I am running this magazine from my laptop and my living room in a remote district located in Assam, a state of the Indian union. This is the might of the cyber world. I have invested my hard-earned savings and set up this portal. Usually people look for finances first and then go for a venture. I decided to work the other way around. I wanted the world to have a look at my work first and then generate revenue in the form of advertisements. I am thankful to my friends and family who supported me and had faith in my enterprise.  And the way digital technology and social networking sites connect the world is amazing. We have been able to create our own space in the virtual space. In fact, it’s a whole virtual space at work. I gather editorial content in a remote part of Assam, and it is being edited and honed by our Consulting Editor M. Radhika sitting in Delaware in the U.S. I discuss the editorial content through email or phone with another Consulting Editor, Monideepa Choudhury, who is a senior colleague and has a good understanding of the dynamics of the region. And my pillar of support has been my husband, Raza, who handles my two little angels while I am engrossed in work. I am multi-tasking from conceptualising to actually making things work. We hope that the quality of our work will attract advertisers and we hope to generate revenue to be able to sustain this ‘dream’. Q: What do you hope to achieve with The Thumb Print in the future? A: As I had said, I am chasing a ‘dream’.  It’s more like a mission for us. I am investing my savings, time, energy in this ‘dream’. It’s not an easy task being a mother of two little children. We are not hankering for immediate commercial benefits, but we are delving into a long-term evolutionary exercise. But I have a feeling that we will be able to sustain ourselves and evolve into an institution one day. Q: Do you have any advice to share with women journalists hoping to start their own news business or website? A: I think one needs to have a clear vision and objective before venturing into any kind of enterprise. And more importantly, one cannot sustain any entrepreneurial venture without passion and dedication. It is also important to pick up nuances of the new enterprise. For instance, the technicalities of running a website is a new learning experience for me though I am not a very tech-savvy person. Now I have to pick up the nuances of online advertising, packaging and branding. It is a lot of hard work but I am enjoying every minute of it. Quality editorial content is our forte, and we hope to live up to the expectations of the market forces. As a woman, this venture is a fulfilling experience in the sense that I have been able to work from home and take care of my two daughters simultaneously. I am my own boss now. I have something that I can call my own. In fact, enterprising women journalists can take advantage of the immense potentialities of the cyber space and carve a niche for themselves. admin Tue, 19 Jun 2012 13:51:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1304 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1303/priyanka-borpujari-india.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1303 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1303&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1303/priyanka-borpujari-india.aspx Priyanka Borpujari, the 2012-13 IWMF Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow, is an independent journalist based in Mumbai, India. She has reported on the ways in which indigenous populations in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh were being caught in a war between a government keen on displacing them to make way for mines and factories, and armed Maoists. Her reports brought focus to what she describes as “deprived, malnourished, burning India,” even as charges were levied against her in an attempt to keep her away from reporting in the region. Read more. nhoffman Wed, 13 Jun 2012 14:03:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1303 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1302/sahrawi-media-gallery-long.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1302 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1302&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1302/sahrawi-media-gallery-long.aspx Your browser does not support inline frames juan Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:51:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1302 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1300/linda-mason.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1300 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1300&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1300/linda-mason.aspx Linda Mason, former Senior Vice President, Standards and Special Projects at CBS News, was responsible for two of CBS News' weekend broadcasts, "Sunday Morning" and the "CBS Evening News" weekend editions, and was the CBS News representative for National Election Pool (NEP), the consortium of news organizations that conducts exit polling on election days. As senior vice president, Mason oversaw the application of the standards and practices of CBS News and the CBS News Archives, one of the largest television and audio archives in the world. She administered the division's internship and minority recruiting programs. She headed the internal panel that examined the mistakes of Election Night 2000 for CBS News. The result was an 87-page report cited by media critics for its in-depth and critical look at the procedures and decisions of that night. The investigation and report led to a restructuring of the CBS News Decision Desk, which Mason headed in 2004, among many other changes in CBS News election-night procedures. Mason has also overseen "CBS Reports," a documentary series for which she served as executive producer; "The Class of 2000.” She helped develop "Before Your Eyes," a series of critically acclaimed primetime specials produced by CBS News which explored national issues through a time-intensive study of a single story. She also served as the executive in charge of "Eye to Eye," the CBS News magazine (1993-95), and the primetime specials, "60 Minutes…25 Years" (1993) and "60 Minutes at 30" (1998). Prior to her management assignments, Mason was executive producer of "CBS News Sunday Morning" (1987-92) and of CBS News' weekend broadcasts (1986-92). Mason had been a senior producer for the "CBS Evenings News" (1980-86) during the anchorships of both Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather. She became the first female producer on the broadcast when she joined it as a field producer in 1971. She was a writer/associate producer for the "CBS Morning News,"(1968-70). Before that, Mason was a news writer at WCBS-TV, the CBS-owned station in New York. She joined CBS News in January 1966 as a radio desk assistant. rkothari Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:57:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1300 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1299/parisa-khosravi.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1299 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1299&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1299/parisa-khosravi.aspx Parisa Khosravi, Senior Vice President for International Newsgathering at CNN, is responsible for international and domestic newsgathering operations, which include more than 100 correspondents at the network’s 45 bureaus worldwide in addition to the Atlanta-based international and domestic assignment desks.   She also oversees International Newsource, the network’s international affiliate division that services more than 200 CNN affiliates worldwide. Khosravi has been responsible for driving the network’s largest investment in international newsgathering in its 30-year-history. In this time she has strategically increased the number of bureaus around the world, placing new operations in Kabul, Afghanistan; Lagos, Nigeria; Nairobi, Kenya; Mumbai, India; and Abu Dhabi, UAE. In nearly 24 years with CNN, Khosravi has led CNN’s coverage of the most significant international stories of the past two decades. Previously Khosravi served as vice president of international newsgathering, overseeing all staff deployment for CNN's international correspondents as well as the execution of planned and breaking news events for all of CNN's news services. Khosravi joined CNN as a video journalist in 1987. She earned a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from Columbia College in Chicago and studied French at the Université de Sorbonne in Paris. She is fluent in Farsi. rkothari Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:37:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1299 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1298/jackee-batanda-uganda.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1298 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1298&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1298/jackee-batanda-uganda.aspx Jackee Budesta Batanda is a Ugandan journalist who has reported on the vicious acid attacks of women as “revenge crimes” and the targeted murders of albinos.  Amid a brutal crackdown on journalists covering anti-government protests, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has denounced local and international media outlets as "enemies." In this atmosphere, Batanda became determined to report and research “closing media spaces in African nations” during the fellowship.  Batanda, 31, a reporter for the Global Press Institute, plans to create a reporting skills workshop for Ugandan journalists after her seven-month fellowship.  rkothari Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:01:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1298 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1297/the-voices-of-women-in-newsrooms-and-rural-africa-enhanced-by-iwmfs-reporting-program.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1297 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1297&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1297/the-voices-of-women-in-newsrooms-and-rural-africa-enhanced-by-iwmfs-reporting-program.aspx A four-year, $2.5 million IWMF program has transformed the reporting of agriculture and rural development in Africa and given voice to rural women farmers. "This program has not only changed how reporting on agriculture is conducted in the six media organizations, but it has transformed the careers of trainees who now approach reporting on all the topics they cover in a different way," said Elisa Munoz, IWMF’s director of programs who has overseen the project. IWMF staffers Alana Barton and Nadine Hoffman traveled to Kampala, Uganda in late May, 2011 for the final meeting with participants in the IWMF’s Reporting on Women and Agriculture: Africa (RWA) program. The dominant role of women in agriculture was overlooked until this program trained reporters to cover this area. Since the program began, RWA participants in Mali, Uganda and Zambia have become respected leaders in their newsrooms and have set a new standard for reporting on issues of agriculture and rural development, their supervisors reported at the program’s closing session. The final forum focused on assessing outcomes and sustainability of RWA, which was designed to increase and enhance reporting on the role of women and agriculture. The program was funded by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Patrick Luganda, IWMF’s trainer in Uganda, said of his trainees, "They know exactly what to do. They know they’ve got to source the stories, go out to the field, do their homework, interviews and research…all the skills we taught have been put into practice." Trainees have also begun an informal mentoring system in their newsrooms, and they are viewed by their colleagues as true experts. "My position has changed," Ellen Hambuba of the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) – one of six participating media organizations explained. "My editors know that because of the training I’ve acquired more skills, and I’m able to share the knowledge with colleagues and advise them. I’ve become an expert." Zambian trainer Susan Musukuma expressed great expectations for Hambuba and her counterparts at ZNBC and the Times of Zambia. "I’m very sure that in the long term…these women will be in key positions in the media in Zambia." The depth and breadth of reporting on women and agriculture, particularly in rural areas, has increased dramatically as a result of the program. "Between 2009 and now, it can be seen that agriculture has assumed an important place," Malian trainer Mahamane Hameye Cisse said. The trainees’ reporting "gives an authoritative voice to women," Luganda said. "Telling the story of a 34-year-old woman farmer with five children is to me a major milestone, because previously our stories were about the minister of agriculture and what he said." Reuben Kajokoto, ZNBC’s director of programs, cited a shift in his newsroom’s editorial policy as a result of the RWA program. "Most of the news in the past only had a few voices from the rural area, so a deliberate move was made to get stories from rural areas. If you set your goals, you can actually get those voices that are not normally there." Kajokoto added that the new editorial policy is good for business. "When you cover a wider spectrum of people, you are likely to get more sponsors," he explained. Advertising revenues at participating media organizations increased due to agriculture themed weekly pullouts and programs that have attracted loyal advertisers. Times of Zambia editor Miriam Zimba said that on Mondays, the day the paper’s agriculture page runs, they sometimes run a four-page supplement to fit all the related ads.   rkothari Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:51:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1297 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1296/world-women-media-leaders-to-examine-equality-in-news-operations.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1296 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1296&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1296/world-women-media-leaders-to-examine-equality-in-news-operations.aspx Powerful women media executives overseeing some of the world’s biggest news organizations are gathering in Washington, D.C., March 22-25, 2011, to examine the status of women in the media.By the time they leave the International Conference of Women Media Leaders, nearly 80 delegates will have signed off on a plan to level the playing field in newsrooms around the globe. The International Women’s Media Foundation and George Washington University’s Global Media Institute are partnering on the conference. jpodesta Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:46:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1296 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1295/international-women-media-leaders-conference-spotlighting-gender-equity.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1295 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1295&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1295/international-women-media-leaders-conference-spotlighting-gender-equity.aspx WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Shining the spotlight on women in the news business, the International Women’s Media Foundation and The George Washington University Global Media Institute are partnering on a groundbreaking conference March 22-25, 2011, bringing together top women media executives from around the world to discuss remaining gender barriers and craft a plan for the future. The first-ever comprehensive global report on the status of women in the news media will be released, analyzing research data from 500 print and broadcast companies in 59 countries. The IWMF commissioned the two-year study – the first detailed research that closely examines the challenges facing women news professionals everywhere. jpodesta Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:37:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1295 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1294/iryna-khalip.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1294 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1294&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1294/iryna-khalip.aspx Under Attack in Belarus: Iryna Khalip's Lawyers Targeted; Secret Trials Begin February 18, 2011 -- While famed Belarus journalist Iryna Khalip remains under house arrest with 24-hour KGB guards, her former lawyers have been stripped of their licenses to practice law. “She is in prison with two guards at home,” her sister-in-law Irina Sannikov told the IWMF. “Her 3-year-old son is with her, but they are under incredible stress. She can’t communicate with anyone or they will send her back to prison.” Sannikov and other Belarus activists came to Washington this week, lobbying for the United States to step up sanctions against authoritarian Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. The U.S. and the European Union have banned travel and frozen assets of Lukashenko and more than 150 of his associates after widespread arrests following his disputed December election. “We want President Obama to speak out against the regime,” said Irina Sannikov, who has organized a website to support the imprisoned activists called FreeBelarusNow.org. “We must not forget Belarus.” Former U.S.S.R. President Mikhail Gorbachev, actor George Clooney, playwright Tom Stoppard, former President of Czechoslovakia Vaclav Havel, actor Josh Brolin and dozens of others have formed the freebelarusnow.org website. They are also planning to expand a Facebook page to press the government of Belarus to meet international human rights standards and release prisoners. Khalip, who is married to jailed opposition presidential candidate Andrei Sannikov, was released from prison and placed under house arrest in recent weeks.  She could face up to 15 years in prison, if she is convicted of charges of inciting a riot. Khalip, an IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner, is a reporter and editor in the Minsk bureau of Novaya Gazeta. Khalip’s father, Uladzimer Khalip, told RFE/RL that his daughter’s lawyers resigned suddenly when Belarus authorities warned them that they would lose their licenses if they continued to represent her.  He believes authorities want to force his daughter to accept a state-appointed lawyer who would be under government control. Belarus faced another wave of protests this week, when opposition activist Vasuk Parfyankow was sentenced to four years in a high-security prison for taking part in a post-election protest on Dec. 19. More than 46 other people – among them four of nine presidential candidates -- are charged in the so-called riot case. The Washington Post editorialized against Lukashenko this week, urging the Obama administration to attempt to persuade E.U. governments “to adopt sanctions against the oil monopoly, Beineftekhim” and appealing to President Obama to personally and publicly condemn Lukashenko. jpodesta Fri, 18 Feb 2011 15:20:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1294 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1293/cbs-correspondent-lara-logan-recovering-from-brutal-sexual-attack-in-egypt.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1293 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1293&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1293/cbs-correspondent-lara-logan-recovering-from-brutal-sexual-attack-in-egypt.aspx CBS correspondent Lara Logan shown here the day she was attacked  in Egypt.  (AP / CBS News) Daring CBS correspondent Lara Logan is hospitalized in the U.S., after suffering a “brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating” by a mob during the Egyptian revolution, the network announced.  “On Friday, Feb. 11, the day Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down, CBS chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan was covering the jubilation in Tahrir Square for a ‘60 Minutes’ story when she and her team and their security were surrounded by a dangerous element amidst the celebration. It was a mob of more than 200 people whipped into frenzy, “CBS reported. “In the crush of the mob, she was separated from her crew. She was surrounded and suffered a brutal and sustained sexual assault and beating before being saved by a group of women and an estimated 20 Egyptian soldiers. She reconnected with the CBS team, returned to her hotel and returned to the United States on the first flight the next morning. She is currently in the hospital recovering. “There will be no further comment from CBS News and correspondent Logan and her family respectfully request privacy at this time, “ CBS reported. IWMF Executive Director Liza Gross said, "The outrageous attack on Lara Logan points up the dangers that women journalists around the world face as they cover the stories that must be told. This brings it home for us as Americans, but I hope we can focus on the broader issue of sexual violence as a tool to intimidate women journalists. Laura Logan is a brave professional, and our thoughts are with her as she struggles through this difficult time." During the past 18 years, Logan’s bold reporting from war zones has won her attention around the world.  Her five-segment series on U.S. Marines on patrol in Afghanistan for the "CBS Evening News" was recently named an RTDNA/Edward R. Murrow Award winner. Since February 2006, Logan has been chief foreign correspondent. That same year she became a correspondent for "60 Minutes" the same year. rkothari Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:53:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1293 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1292/empowering-women-sweeping-media-changes-in-coverage-of-african-women.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1292 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1292&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1292/empowering-women-sweeping-media-changes-in-coverage-of-african-women.aspx At IWMF's Reporting on Agriculture and Women program, Christine Lanyero and Assa Sakiliba talk at a meeting in Mali. A four-year IWMF project to transform news coverage of long-overlooked women in agriculture and rural development in Mali, Uganda and Zambia has surpassed of the expectations of media organizations. Twenty-one women media leaders gathered in Mali with International Women’s Media Foundation leaders in February to examine sweeping changes that have taken place since the program was created nearly four years ago. Under a $2.5 million grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the IWMF worked with news organizations that expanded coverage of the vital role of women in agriculture and created new sections to spotlight their work. The program, which ends in June, has made a lasting impact on the way journalists cover this vital area, organizers report. “The changes we see in the news coverage by these women journalists and media organizations surpassed our expectations,” said Elisa Munoz, IWMF’s director of programs, who traveled to Mali to meet with program leaders. “We see far more coverage of the role of women in agriculture. Media organizations now recognize the importance and value of reporting on these issues.” “Without transparency, it is nearly impossible to solve many of the challenges that face vulnerable populations in less-developed countries. Media that are free to operate and free to report can play a significant role in addressing issues that effect food insecurity, conflict and gender equality,” said Howard G. Buffett, president of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The IWMF “Reporting on Agriculture and Women: Africa” program was funded by the Howard G.  Buffett Foundation, which supports international projects focused on agriculture, nutrition and environment.  IWMF trainers for the project visited Buffett’s farm to learn about agricultural practices and listen to his vision for change in Africa. During IWMF’s visit in Mali, journalists talked about how readers now expect extensive coverage of women in agriculture. Reporters described how they had never connected with rural women in coverage of agriculture until the program was created. The program’s team leader, Célia D’Almeid, assistant to the editor of Radio Klédu in Mali, told the IWMF, “We used to think that these women didn’t talk, but they do. The program has really had an impact on rural life.  Rural women are communicating more and more about what they do and we are responsible for that.” “Before I had no direct connection to rural women. I dealt with women as wives and mothers. Now I cover them as they relate to farming, cattle farming and other issues,” said Assa Sakiliba,  a newscaster at Radio Kledu.  “Because of our reporting, government authorities have become more and more interested in women’s issues.  Our ministers invite us on a visit to a farm.  The women’s farms associations also call us.  As a journalist it has made me more interested in agriculture and environmental issues.  The changes in my career are very visible.  The quality has changed.  I have a weekly article on Thursdays as a result of this program.” Margaret Mangani, the Times of Zambia features editor, described how her newspaper had expanded coverage of agriculture. “Now we have The Art Farming and Times Women features.  These are specific pages and a weekly supplement on gender issues.  When it is not published, we get complaints from our readers,” she said. Program organizer Marian Chigwedere of ZNBC said the project has taught her to “dig deeper” into agriculture issues -- beyond what the government reports. She said going out into the field has been invaluable. Reporters have been able to get many perspectives and angles for stories by talking to farmers and women in the field. L’Essor  reporter Mariam Traore said that after participating in the program, she realized that she had overlooked marginalized women. “It was an eye opener for me,” she said, “As a journalist, I am more motivated to cover topics that relate to women’s fate.  People in the field trust me more. They talk to me when issues arise.” In Uganda, “80 percent  of the country relies on agriculture, but I think there was a gap in agriculture reporting, said Cate Nambi of the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. “ All of the stories were shallow, and reporters just used what was in front of them.  Agriculture was covered as part of the business news and came at the end of it.  With the program, we were able to tell how interesting it can become when you travel out into the field. We were even able to convince our editors that this was important.”   Agriculture and science reporter Lominda Afedraru  of the Daily Monitor in Uganda said coverage has expanded. “ The Monitor already had a farming page, but it was only one page and written by the same male reporter. Now, it is eight pages with the contributions of many reporters.” Afedraru credits the program with changing the way agriculture is reported in the Daily Monitor.  Previous coverage focused on farmers within the city, but now the newspaper covers rural farmers and the issues they confront. Before the program, Afedraru said, “It was the accepted perspective at the paper that women did not talk to the press and that a reporter should always speak with the husband or male head of household only. The reporters have sought to work past this perspective and put forward the opinions of women and women farmers. When I joined the program, I was the only female reporter among many males. Increasingly, women shown interest and were added to the program.”      Edit Content         jpodesta Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:47:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1292 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1291/winners-of-global-digital-news-frontier-grants-announced-by-iwmf.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1291 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1291&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1291/winners-of-global-digital-news-frontier-grants-announced-by-iwmf.aspx For immediate release February 15, 2011 Nadine Hoffman    (202) 496-1992 nhoffman@iwmf.org Winners of Global Digital News Frontier Grants Announced by IWMF Three women-led new media projects to receive funding, training WASHINGTON, D.C.  (Feb. 15, 2011) – The International Women’s Media Foundation announced today the winners of the inaugural Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Digital News Frontier grants. Each grantee will receive $20,000 to launch innovative new media enterprises.  The winning startup projects include a website that brings transparency to the health care marketplace, a local journalism initiative that serves “news deserts” in the Catskills region of New York and a news service that takes a game-changing approach to international coverage. The Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Digital News Frontier grant program -- offered for the first time this year -- is generously funded by the Ford Foundation. The award winners were selected from more than 100 proposals from a diverse array of entrepreneurial women journalists.  Key grant criteria included innovation in delivering the news and a clear business plan for achieving sustainability beyond the year-long grant program. “Promoting women journalists’ professional advancement -- in both traditional and new media -- is a central tenet of the IWMF’s mission,” Liza Gross, executive director of the IWMF said.  “We look forward to working with these pioneering women entrepreneurs as they launch their exciting digital media startups.” “These grants, combined with training the IWMF will be offering, will help women to succeed in new media entrepreneurship, an arena where their numbers have been sorely lacking,” IWMF Advisory Committee Chairman Merrill Brown said.  “Each of the winners offers an innovative way to deliver the news, and they are truly at the forefront of the digital media frontier.”      The winners are: Clearhealthcosts.com, the brainchild of former New York Times veteran editor and reporter Jeanne Pinder, will feature a curated collection of health care pricing information in a consumer-friendly, community-oriented, interactive website that combines reporting, user-generated content and databases to illuminate this largely opaque market. Latitude, conceived by longtime BBC editor and producer and recent Nieman Fellow Maria Balinska, will approach international journalism by exploring connections between Americans and the rest of the world and promoting a deeper understanding of how the U.S. fits into the global news narrative.   NewsShed, a spinoff enterprise of Julia Reischel and Lissa Harris’s regional news aggregator The Watershed Post, will create self-supporting news websites in small rural towns in the Catskills to build a sustainable model of online-only local journalism in these underserved and economically depressed communities. In addition to grant funding, Pinder, Balinska, Reischel and Harris will receive pro-bono coaching from respected new media leaders on the IWMF’s Advisory Committee to ensure that they have the right match of support and skills to thrive as digital news entrepreneurs.   Advisory Committee members and mentors include: Merrill Brown, Founder and Principal, MMB Media LLC; Eve Batey, Editor and Publisher, San Francisco Appeal; Christine Herron, Director, Intel Capital; Ben Metcalfe, Founder and CEO, Swordfish Corp; Neal Mohan, Vice President of Product Management, Google;  Andrew Nachison, Co-Founder and Managing Director, We Media; Shazna Nessa, Director of Interactive, the Associated Press; Mike Orren, Founder, Panlocal LLC/Pegasus News/The Daily You; Lisa Stone, CEO, BlogHer; and Lisa Williams, CEO and Founder, Placeblogger.com.   The winners will also be featured on a panel moderated by The Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson during the IWMF’s International Conference of Women Media Leaders at George Washington University on March 23, 2011. The IWMF will track the progress of the three winning projects’ progress on the IWMF’s website. Founded in 1990, The International Women’s Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in news media worldwide as a means to further press freedom.  For more information, visit www.iwmf.org. rkothari Tue, 15 Feb 2011 19:16:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1291 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1290/matt-winkler.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1290 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1290&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1290/matt-winkler.aspx Matthew Winkler is editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, the global news service he founded with Michael Bloomberg in 1990 when he joined the then eight-year-old financial information company Bloomberg L.P. He became a member of the Bloomberg L.P. board in 2006. Bloomberg News, which includes 1,500 editors and reporters in 150 bureaus serving print and broadcast media throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia, produces more than 5,000 stories daily on the economy, companies, governments, financial and commodity markets as well the arts and sports. Winkler received the 2007 Gerald Loeb Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing ``exceptional career achievements in business, financial and economic news writing,’’ the 2007 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award for business and financial reporting and the 2003 New York Financial Writers' Association Elliott V. Bell Award for making a ``significant long-term contribution to the advancement of financial journalism.’’ He received the National Council for Research on Women award in 2010 for promoting women. The Securities and Exchange Commission's ban on selective disclosure of corporate information, known as Reg FD, was prompted by Bloomberg News' reporting of market manipulation in the 1990s. Bloomberg News has received more than 400 awards, including: the Roy W. Howard for Public Service, George Polk, Gerald Loeb, Overseas Press Club, Sidney Hillman, Investigative Reporters & Editors, Society of Professional Journalists (Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York chapters) and Society of American Business Editors and Writers. Bloomberg News provides content to the weekly Bloomberg Businessweek and monthly Bloomberg Markets magazines; 475 publications in 65 countries; Bloomberg Television and Radio, a 24-hour network reaching more than 350 million households worldwide. Winkler is co-author of Bloomberg by Bloomberg, published April 1997 by John Wiley & Sons and author of The Bloomberg Way: A Guide for Reporters and Editors, published in September 2009 by Bloomberg Press. Between 1991 and 1994, he wrote the Capital Markets column for Forbes magazine. Between July 1980 and February 1990, Winkler was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, and news services of parent Dow Jones & Co. in New York and in London. Winkler was a New York-based reporter and assistant editor at The Bond Buyer (1978-1980); and a reporter for the Ohio-based Mount Vernon News (1976-1977). Winkler was born in New York City in 1955 and is a graduate of Kenyon College with an A.B. in history and an honorary doctorate of laws. He is a trustee of Kenyon College and The Kenyon Review; chairman of the board of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship Program at Columbia University; a member of the Board of Visitors of Columbia College of Columbia University; a trustee of the business journalism program of the City University of New York; a director of the International Center for Journalists; a member of the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists; the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York and the International Advisory Board of the Tsinghua University School of Journalism in Beijing. rkothari Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:56:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1290 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1289/hu-shuli.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1289 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1289&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1289/hu-shuli.aspx Hu Shuli is considered one of the most powerful media leaders in China and one of ten women to watch in Asia. Shuli founded Caijing Magazine and guided it to become one of China’s most authoritative business publications. At the editorial helm for 11 years, in 2009 she left to create the breakthrough new media company, Caixin Media. Shuli is currently editor-in-chief of Caixin Media, China Reform and Century Weekly magazine. Internationally recognized for her achievements in journalism, Shuli received the 2007 Louis Lyons Awards for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. In Nov. 2009, Foreign Policy magazine named her one of Top 100 Global Thinkers, and in 2011, Shuli was one of Time magazine’s “Top 100 Influential People”. She is also a 2012 winner of the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. Shuli earned a bachelor’s in journalism degree from the People’s University of China and an executive master’s in business administration through a program hosted by Fordham University and the China Center for Economic Research at Peking University. rkothari Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:46:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1289 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1288/nadia-bilbassy-charters.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1288 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1288&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1288/nadia-bilbassy-charters.aspx Nadia Bilbassy-Charters is well known reporter in the Arab world. She has been working as a foreign correspondent for over 20 years. She was the first Arab journalist to be based in Africa for a major Arab TV station. Her reporting from trouble spots in Southern Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia, Congo and Eritrea has distinguished her work as original, fair and informative. She was embedded with the 101 Marine Division during the war in Iraq. Since 2003, she has been based in Washington, DC for Al Arabiya TV and MBC TV (Middle Eastern Boradcast Center). She reports on U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis the Arab world. She has covered two presidential elections, and reported from Guantanamo on the cases of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and other 9/11 suspect. She has interviewed many influential politicans including President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair, President Mahmoud Abbas, General Colin Powell, and U.S. Secretary Rice among many others. rkothari Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1288 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1284/international-womens-media-foundation-seeks-nominations-for-2011-courage-in-journalism-awards-and-lifetime-achievement-award.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1284 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1284&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1284/international-womens-media-foundation-seeks-nominations-for-2011-courage-in-journalism-awards-and-lifetime-achievement-award.aspx For immediate release December 1, 2010 For more information: Nadine Hoffman    (202) 496-1992 nhoffman@iwmf.org International Women’s Media Foundation Seeks Nominations for 2011 Courage in Journalism Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award Washington, D.C. – The International Women’s Media Foundation is seeking nominations for the 2011 Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement awards. For more than two decades, the Courage in Journalism Awards have honored the courage of women journalists who have demonstrated extraordinary strength of character in pursuing their profession under difficult or dangerous circumstances, such as government oppression, kidnapping, threats against family and friends and other intimidating obstacles. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a woman journalist who has a pioneering spirit and whose determination has paved the way for future generations of women in the media. Previous Courage in Journalism Award winners include Iryna Khalip, Novaya Gazeta, Belarus; Farida Nekzad, Pajhwok Afghan News, Afghanistan; Jila Baniyaghoob, Kanoon Zanan Irani (Iranian Women’s Center), Iran; Lydia Cacho, CIMAC news agency and Dia Siete, Mexico; Jill Carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, United States; May Chidiac, Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, Lebanon; Anna Politkovskaya (d. 2006), Novaya Gazeta, Russia, and Claudia Duque, Radio Nizkor, Colombia. Previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Alma Guillermoprieto, independent journalist, Mexico; Edith Lederer, Associated Press, United States; Peta Thornycroft, independent journalist, Zimbabwe; Elena Poniatowska, journalist and author, Mexico, and Barbara Walters, ABC News, United States. Nominations for the 2011 awards will be accepted by the IWMF until March 4, 2011. Candidates for the Courage in Journalism Awards may be full-time, part-time or freelance women reporters, writers, editors, photographers or producers currently working in any country. Lifetime Achievement Award candidates may be either working or retired journalists. All nominations must be in English, and all nomination forms for both the Courage in Journalism Awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award must be completed by a professional associate. The IWMF Courage in Journalism and Lifetime Achievement awards carry a cash prize. Awardees will travel to New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for approximately two weeks in October for awards ceremonies and other events, as well as press interviews and speaking engagements. For further information about the awards, visit the IWMF Web site: www.iwmf.org. To nominate a journalist for the Courage in Journalism or Lifetime Achievement awards, please visit http://iwmf.org/honoring-courage/nominate-a-journalist.aspx. Founded in 1990, the International Women's Media Foundation is a vibrant global network dedicated to strengthening the role of women in the news media worldwide as a means to further freedom of the press. The IWMF network includes women and men in the media in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.iwmf.org. ### rkothari Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:23:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1284 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1282/jila-baniyaghoobs-letter-to-prosecutor-jafari-dowlatabadi.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1282 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1282&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1282/jila-baniyaghoobs-letter-to-prosecutor-jafari-dowlatabadi.aspx Jila Baniyaghoob’s sentence of one year in prison and a 30-year ban on working as a journalist has recently been confirmed at the Tehran Province’s Court of Appeal Bench 54. In recent years, this independent journalist has won several international journalism awards including the Courage in Journalism Award (by the International Women’s Media Foundation), the International Freedom of Expression award (by the Canadian Journalists Organization), and the Best Weblog award (by Reporters Without Borders). In an open letter to the Tehran Prosecutor, Abbas Ja’fari-Dowlatabadi, Jila Baniyaghoob has called on him to take up the case of independent journalists and dissident citizens from time to time and to protest against the sentence imposed on her. Here’s the full text of Jila’s letter, published on her weblog, We are Journalists, http://www.zhila.org/spip.php , and also carried by Mr Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s online journal, Kaleme, http://www.kaleme.com/1389/08/10/kl.... Tehran Prosecutor, Mr Jafari-Dowlatabadi, Unlike you, I have not studied law, but I do know about the law at the general level that any citizen should know, and I know that prosecutors are not there only to prosecute journalists or other citizens, but also to prosecute the government when it violates citizens’ rights. Mr Prosecutor, I know that these days you associate mostly with people who approve of you, your attitude and your actions. In such conditions, criticisms of a journalist like me may not have much effect. Without much hope for impressing you and achieving a result, I am writing to you merely to say: “Mr Prosecutor, please prosecute for us too, from time to time.” For several years, your esteemed colleagues have deprived us, professional journalists, from doing our work. This has given me a new opportunity to review Iran’s recent history. These days, I have been reading the memoirs of political prisoners under the Shah’s regime. What I find most amazing is that even the actions of the lower ranking officers and wardens are recorded in these memoirs. Sometimes, a decade after the event, a prisoner praises a warden for a good act in a far away prison, or tells the future generation, namely us, about the bad behaviour of a warden at Evin or Qasr prisons. It is therefore unlikely that history will fail to record the actions of the Tehran Prosecutor. During the past few months, I have met you several times and every time you treated me well; listened to me patiently; and told me the sentence of a thirty-year ban on me working as a journalist imposed by Judge Pir-Abbasi is strange; that it does not conform to legal criteria; and that it will certainly be revoked by the court of appeal. I see no reason why I, a journalist, should be telling you, a doctoral student of law, that nowhere in Iran’s penal system is it accepted to impose a punishment that would lead to defendant’s permanent or long-term deprivation from even one ‘social right’. I see no reason to argue that such a sentence does not even fit in with the Islamic Republic’s own legal standards, because I am sure that you know this better than me. Many of your colleagues may not understand me, but you might, when I say that ‘I don’t live through newspapers, but through journalism.’ At any rate, I am not worried about my professional future, because I know full well that the honorable judge who has issues this sentence has no idea of journalism in the past or now; nor any idea of the global changes in journalism; nor, most importantly, any idea that in today’s world, no one can make a decision about a person’s professional future for the next five, ten or thirty years. How could such judges know what journalism will be like five, ten or twenty years from now? Judges who issue such sentences might not even remember that only a few decades ago there was a law in Iran which required any citizen who wanted to buy a fax machine to obtain a permit first; or that the citizens of this country dreamed of owning video players. Those who passed and enforced such laws could not imagine that one day instead of using the fax machine, citizens could easily send emails to anywhere in the world; receive the signals of hundreds of radio and television stations through their small digital receivers; and that their ‘cyber army’ that spends millions of dollars to jam signals and block internet sites would be defeated by children and young people who produce a new anti-filter software every day. Mr Prosecutor, In a few years’ time, if you and I are still around, I shall remind you that just as some judges and statesmen a decade ago had no idea of satellite signals or the world of the internet, their successors today have no idea of the future of journalism. Merely to record a fact for history, I shall review for you the sentence issued by the Revolutionary Court Bench 26, so that should one day a student of law or history begin researching the era of your service as prosecutor, he or she will see how ‘legal’ such sentences have been. Declaring his intention of proving that I had not worked as a journalist, but as a subversive element in the full sense of the term, Judge Pir-Abbasi says in the first paragraph of his sentence: “Did the Western governments pay attention to her (Jila Baniyaghoob) and give her scholarships and invite her to visit their countries for the sake of journalism? Has the accused engaged only in journalism? Would the colonialist Western world spend money aimlessly? What is the goal for which the Western world has been spending money? How did it recognize that Ms Baniyaghoob would help the West approach that goal?’ I shall ignore the ‘legal’ tone of this verdict and deal only with its content. A scholarship offered to me by a Western university has been cited as evidence my guilt. Although the granting of scholarships by universities across the world is not considered a crime, and every year many Iranian students, experts, university professors and even people affiliated with the Iranian government benefit from such scholarships, I have not accepted any scholarship from any university and have stated this in all the interrogations. All the judge has to say is that a couple of European universities have offered scholarships to me, which of course I have not accepted. Is that a crime? Invitations to visit Western countries, extended to me by those countries, have also been cited as evidence of guilt. I was invited by the foreign ministries of Japan and France to visit those countries and the visits resulted in articles about the lives of people, especially women, in those countries in the daily Yase- Now. None of those visits had a political purpose and I did not have any political activities during those visits. Every year, the French Foreign Ministry invites journalists from across the world, including Iran, for short visits to France. It is interesting to note that not only reformist Iranian journalists, but also journalists working for state-owned and even fundamentalist newspapers have received such invitations, which they have accepted. Several years ago, the Japanese Foreign Ministry invited me for a visit to that country on the basis of a protocol. According to that protocol, the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran invited six Japanese women to visit Iran, and the government of Japan invited six Iranian women to visit Japan. I was one of the six, along with five others: a film director, a photographer, a sculptor, an actress and a musician. How could a visit by six active Iranian women be described as serving the interests of Arrogance [an official term for imperialism]? As I have said in my articles about the visit to Japan in Yas-e Naw, Japanese women repeatedly told us, “We could not believe that Iranian women can work and progress in spite of the hijab.” In fact, in as much as it was in their power, these women acted as Iran’s cultural ambassadors and broke down the stereotypical images of Iranian women. Furthermore, such visits are common in the context of cultural relations among countries. Mr Prosecutor, Although it is not illegal to visit Western countries and write reports about the West, most of my visits have not been to the West, but to countries in the Middle East and the region, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon during the wars in those countries and I have written hundreds of reports about the sufferings of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq during war and occupation for newspapers including Nowrouz, Yase-Now, Hahmshahri, Vaqaye’-e Ettefaqieh and Sarmayeh which could be accessed in a simple search of the internet by the judges or the specialists at the Ministry of Intelligence. If the interrogators and judges do not consider travelling to Western countries to be in line with the profession of journalism, maybe travelling to Lebanon is. But why then does the honourable judge ignore this in my case? I was one of the first Iranian journalists to report on the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. These reports were published in the dailies Nowrouz and Yas-e Now. In the second paragraph of the verdict which led to my sentence of one year in prison and a thirty-year ban on working as a journalist , the honourable Judge Pir-Abbasi says: ‘Did Jila Baniyaghoob’s cooperation with newspapers that have been banned by courts of law speak of performing one’s duty as a journalist? Yes, so it does in a view that regards confrontation with the Islamic government as the correct path.’ Once again, I shall ignore the ‘legal’ tone of this judicial verdict and shall only point out that I used to work with newspapers that were being published with the government’s permission, and that basically, it is not possible to work with a newspaper that has stopped publishing. Was I meant to pass judgment on the newspapers even before they had been accused of any wrongdoing, and stop working with them while they were being published with the government’s permission, in anticipation of their closure? Is so, why did the government give permission to those newspapers? I would like to draw your attention to another paragraph of the historical verdict issued by the presiding judge of the Revolutionary Court Bench 26: ‘Is it among a journalist’s duties to prepare an article under the title “The Majlis of Harems and Harem-dwellers” and announce the lie that “50 per cent of the MPs in the 8th Majlis have two wives”? First of all, the country’s laws allow polygamy. Secondly, that article has predicted that the number of wives would rise to 40. This is nothing more than destroying the image of the Majlis in the minds of the public.’ Mr Prosecutor, it might interest you to know that the article, “The Majlis of Harems and Harem-dwellers”, is not mine at all, and I have said so repeatedly during interrogations. The specialist in charge of my case has produced an article that I did not write as evidence proving my guilt. This article was written by Ms Shokouh Mirzadegi [an Iranian writer living in the US], who has mentioned my name in it. I have said repeatedly that I did not write the article and that I cannot prevent others from naming me in their articles. However, in order to add to the weight of the file, the interrogator has added to it as evidence an article that I have neither written nor published on my website, without giving any reason, and the judge has issued a verdict on the same basis. It appears that the reason why this article has found its way into my case file is that during an internet search, the specialist printed any article which included my name and added it the file, presuming that I must have had a role in the production of any piece of writing that mentions my name. I wish the interrogators knew a little bit more about science in today’s world, including the world of the internet. Mr Prosecutor, please clarify for me only this one point: why has an article that is not mine been used as evidence against me? The other article mentioned by Judge Pir-Abbasi is not mine either, but was written by Ms Fakhrosadad Mohtashamipour, and I re-published it on my weblog, quoting hers. The story said fifty members of the 8th Majlis had two wives, not 50 per cent of them. I said this to the honourable interrogator repeatedly, but do not know whether he could not understand that 50 is different from 50%, or he did not want to understand. Judge Pir-Abbasi’s verdict has other paragraphs also, based on my reports of meetings and rallies held by Ahmadinejad’s rivals [for Iran’s presidency], including the Green Human Chain from the Railways Square [in south Tehran] to Tajrish Square [in the north], and my reports of several protest meetings after the controversial June 2009 election. The judge has considered my reports as evidence that I have insulted the President and has issued a verdict on that basis. On the other hand, the same articles have been sent to the Press Court in a separate file, so that I would be prosecuted there also on charges of having insulted the President. I would like to ask you again, Mr Prosecutor, to prosecute for us too from time to time. Please protest against this unfair sentence. In the words of the first prosecutor of the Revolutionary Court, ‘these posts are not war booty, but tests for the Day of Resurrection.’ Please let people in the years to come describe you as a prosecutor who also prosecuted for the people from time to time, for independent journalists and dissident citizens. ‘Before you, like you, there were many ‘Who wrote in wind, on cobwebs ‘”May this auspicious state last forever.”’ (poem by Mohammad-Reza Shafi’i-Kadkani) Jila Baniyaghoob November 2, 2010 http://www.zhila.org/spip.php?article328 rkothari Fri, 19 Nov 2010 19:14:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1282 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1281/tsering-woeser-threatened-asks-readers-to-spread-news.aspx#Comments 0 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=109&ModuleID=463&ArticleID=1281 http://iwmf.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=1281&PortalID=0&TabID=109 http://iwmf.org/archive/articletype/articleview/articleid/1281/tsering-woeser-threatened-asks-readers-to-spread-news.aspx Washington, D.C., November 2, 2010 -- 2010 Courage in Journalism Award winner Tsering Woeser has posted an urgent post to her blog asking readers to spread news of her latest threat. She cannot get on to her Twitter account. Yesterday morning, Woeser, who is visiting her mother in Lhasa, received a call from the Lhasa City Public Security Bureau “summoning” her to go to the bureau. “I said I would not go. I had no reason to go …” she wrote in her blog, Invisible Tibet. The caller told Weser, “You know what you have done.” Weser replied that she had “not done anything illegal,” and told the caller that the Public Security Bureau could come and see her but they “had to follow the correct procedures.” The caller, responded, “Yes, we will come and we will follow the correct procedures.” Weser remains at her mother’s house where she is being watched by the Public Security Bureau. Read the English translation of Weser’s latest blog. Read Weser’s acceptance speech for the Courage in Journalism Awards. Read an article about Woeser. editor Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:10:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:1281