With Doom And Crisis Resilience Appears - September 15, 2021
Taking for granted significant civic institutions is a mark, say historians, of inevitable decline. Citations are extensive, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union. In post-modern times, dismay at failures of Orange Revolutions and the Arab Spring to stem civic decline is palpable. Causes differ and are complex. Science, physics in particular, grants metaphysical truth. Objects at rest tend to fall apart: the Law of Entropy.

Online Investigators Uncover Massive Corruption, Then Get Punished - December 16, 2019
Whistleblowers don’t always make news, just sometimes. That a person comes forward from within an organization or community to reveal malfeasance, corruption or crime reveals an ethical depth often at odds with common wisdom: go along to get along. Reality, of course, can be dramatic. Confidential sources are protected by journalistic ethics, alive and well in most places. Like journalists who look into their claims, whistleblowers face retribution.

Foreign broadcasters not welcome - December 11, 2008
International broadcasters are either warmly welcomed or shunned entirely by host governments. When most listeners and viewers use radios and TVs of the terrestrial kind that’s the place broadcasters want to be. But politics, nationalism and greed are making those frequencies off limits to the people with a message from afar.

The Millstone Around Russia - June 23 2008
Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan – all on Russia’s edge – are pushing media repression to new lows. With all broadcasting and most print media firmly under State control, the Web is the current target. Dictators on Russia’s borders perplex even Russian media.

Pimp your satellite dish - December 15, 2007
span class="bgtext">Yes, the basic garden variety – or rooftop – satellite dish is one ugly sight. In a recent beautification movement Turkmenistan’s president ordered them removed. Media watchers question whether he finds the dishes so ugly or the programs they receive.

There’s something about Kazakhstan - September 6, 2007
Russian/Swedish television giant CTC Media reached into Kazakhstan for its latest venture. The investment, said company CEO Alexander Rodnyansky, is “an attractive opportunity.”

Ogulsapar Muradova Died Violently Last Week. She Was a Journalist - September 18, 2006
Just less than 90 days after being arrested by Turkmen authorities, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) free-lance reporter died in prison. She had been convicted at a trial lasting 10 minutes and sentenced to serve six years, effectively a life-time. She was 58 years old.