In The News

Young Adults Don’t Follow News, It Follows Them

Susan Moeller May 19, 2011
A few decades ago, the well-informed relied on doorstep delivery of a newspaper or two. As the computer age dawned, the young roamed the internet, often searching for news sites reinforcing their view of the world. Newsgathering is undergoing another phase of evolution with the advent of social media. Journalism professor Susan Moeller describes youths “sitting like spiders in the middle of a...

In Singapore, Political Campaigning Goes Viral

Seth Mydans May 13, 2011
Singapore, known for its restrictive rules and regulations, has allowed more political discourse on the rough-and-tumble internet. Observers, particularly in China, may not be encouraged by the drastically reduced margin of victory for the ruling party in the parliamentary elections that followed. Writing for the New York Times before the results were known, Seth Mydans reports on Singapore’s...

China Establishes New Internet Regulator

Michael Wines May 5, 2011
In China, a new agency will police that nation’s internet, punish abusers and oversee telecommunication firms that provide online access. “The mushrooming growth of China’s Internet business has spawned a sort of land rush for regulatory turf by government agencies that see in it a chance to gain more authority or more money, or both,” reports Michael Wines for the New York Times. China already...

US Products Help Block Mideast Web

Paul Sonne, Steve Stecklow March 31, 2011
As protests rage in the Middle East, some software companies help the young protesters in circumventing censorship and others assist the dictators in exerting control. Global media reports show forces in Bahrain, Libya, Syria and Yemen arresting and attacking unarmed protesters with teargas, while outspoken bloggers are jailed. This Wall Street Journal article identifes the Western firms that...

Internet Alone Cannot Free the Middle East

Evgeny Morozov March 30, 2011
Like pen and paper, the internet is another tool that’s used for good or evil. Scholar Evgeny Morozov argues that the internet may have been less influential over recent uprisings in the Middle East. Savvy, repressive governments use the internet too, lifting bans on social media sites while jailing the most outspoken critics or baiting protesters with fake events followed by prosecution. “The...

Now Feeling Free, But Still Without Work, Tunisians Look Toward Europe

Scott Sayare March 28, 2011
Zarzis and other cities of Tunisia celebrate new openness and freedoms since the 14 January departure of longtime dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. But jobs and economic promise have been slow to materialize. The revolution and fears of violence even exacerbated economic challenges, including a slowdown in tourism and investment, reports Scott Sayare for the New York Times. Sayare adds that youth...

America Should Not Prosecute Julian Assange

Joseph Nye March 9, 2011
US efforts to prosecute the founder of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, for espionage and exposing confidential US State Department cables are not in line with democratic values or support for a free and open internet, argues Joseph Nye, author and a former US assistant secretary of defense. Around the globe, news organizations, both big and small, review and disseminate the leaked cables. US...