JCT0072 - Radio, Voice And Journalism - The Zangara Times - Journalism Assignment Help

Assignment Task

SITUATION 1-
The Holy Prophet Illustration incident

Background-
In late 2008, a Zangarian writer had trouble finding an illustrator for a children’s book about the life of a Zangarian prophet. Illustrators turned down the
job because they feared repercussions from the rising fundamentalists, as depiicting the Zangarian Holy Prophet is considered blasphemy under the
primary religion, Dotari. In other incidents, translators of a book criticizing the Zangarian religion did not want their names to appear on the book cover, and a gallery withdrew an installation by an avantgarde artist inspired by the religion. The editor of the leading Zangarian newspaper, Zangara Times, felt that there were examples of self-censorship and considered them negative development in the freedom of expression.
 

How it unfolded
The editor of the Zangara Times, in response to what he viewed as a negative development in freedom of expression, wrote to memberrs of the Association of Zangarian Illustrators (AZI)m asking them to draw the Holy Prophet as they envisioned him. Half of the members responded to the invitation. The illustrations were subsequently published in the newspaper on 25 September 2009. These illustrations caricatured the Holy Prophet in various drawing styles but they typically poked fun at the common stereotypes of the religion. One illustration in particular caused a lot of anger among the religious community for a connotation of terrorism. These illustrations created an unprecedented controversy and uproar that some called the worst crisis in Zangara in recent years. Several weeks after the publication, several neighbouring countries formally complained in writing to the Prime Minister of Zangara, The matter was then brought up again a couple of months later in December of the same year during a meeting at the Group of Nations which has members from 10 countries with similar linguistic and religious background. Now the issue escalated to an international level. The following is a snapshot of events during that period: 29 Dec 2009: The Foreign Ministers of the Groups of Nations issues a statement criticizing the publications and the inaction by the Zangarian government 26 Jan 2010: The Kingdom of Zusha recalls their ambassador to Zangara and starts to boycott Zangaran goods. An official communiqué from Zanadu, the capital of Zusha, threatens stronger action 29 Jan 2010: The Editor of the Zangara Times appears on TV to explain his position on the matter 31 Jan 2010: The Zangara Times formally apologizes for the conflict and tensions caused by the cartoons, but not for the publication of the cartoons themselves 1 Feb2010: Newspapers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain reprint the illustrations in solidarity with the Zangara Times 5 Feb 2010: Demonstrators set the Zangara embassy on fire in Zanadu The “Holy Prophet Illustration Incident” has given a lot of food for thought on the debate between freedom of expression and press freedom, and the issue of cultural sensitivity or respect for others’ customs and beliefs. Both sides have valid arguments. On the one hand, some in the religious world were displeased that religious sensitivities were ignored by the so- called “liberal” press who blindly upheld their right to freedom of expression. On the other hand, the Zangara Times and several liberal newspapers argued that the increase in self-censorship due to fear of retaliation by
religious extremists is threatening freedom of expression, and by extension the very core of the modern democratic system. Many people were hurt, physically and emotionally by the incident. It was a very precarious and complicated situation indeed!

QUESTION 1

You are the Editor of The Zangara Times. You know that depicting the Holy Prophet pictorially is not allowed in the local religion (Dotari); but you are also an editor of a major newspaper that is supposed to be defending and promoting freedom of expression and free press.
What should you do? Would you publish the illustrations? Or wouldn’t you? Explain your decision and present your case.

SITUATION 2-
The Govt of Zangara’s ‘Take down’ notices

Background
More and more information is becoming available on the internet now. In order to access information online we are relying more and more on Internet search engines such as Google.com, Bing.com and others. Thesesearch engines find and list the most relevant websites in relation to the keywords you have provided, according to a predetermined algorithm or formula. As such, Internet search engines have become very important in our lives. Over time, they have also taken on the function of being the gatekeepers of information. A gatekeeper is a metaphor for anybody who has the power to decide what information could be allowed to “flow through” and what is not allowed. In other words, an Internet search engine provides online information for its users but also has the capability of restricting online information. Many countries demand search engines companies and Internet Service Providers (ISP) censor or block certain websites. An ISP is usually a local company which connects a local user’s computer or network to the global Internet for a fee. A search engine company could be located anywhere in the world. The attempts to block a website could be politically motivated or based on a sociocultural precept. The aim is to control the flow of information in the country and restricting the kind of information the local users may access.
The OpenNet Initiative (http://opennet.net) based in Canada estimates that more than 40 countries across the globe filter the Internet to varying degrees. Zangara is probably among the most recent to join the club.

How it unfolded
Zangara’s government is much divided regarding what kind of information could be made available to the local users. On the one hand, there are politicians who argue for more control to avoid people using the Internet as a way to incite hatred and violence. On the other hand, they are those who argue that the Internet should be as free as possible. This policy affects the local ISPs as well as international and local search engines. Search engines that do not filter and exclude certain keywords are not allowed to continue to operate in the country. Recently a Zangarian court demanded a popular search engine to block certain sites that were deemed too controversial in Zangara’s multiethnic, multireligion and multilingual society. For this purpose, the Zangarian authorities have been issuing ‘take down notices’ to the ISPs and asking for search results to be expunged or blocked by search engines. Non compliance will mean the Zangarian government initiate legal action, including the possible action of
banning the ISP from operating, or blocking the search engine completely. In fact, Zangarian authorities also demanded that the search engine turn over personal details of certain users in order to identify the person who uploaded sensitive materials to the Internet. Zangarian authorities argue that it is only reasonable to ask companies (foreign and domestic) to obey local laws and customs which include not providing links to topics deemed too sensitive on the internet. However, Zangara also represents an extremely lucrative market for Internet companies because it is the fastest growing market in the region.

QUESTION 2-

You are the CEO of the most popular search engine in Zangara and you want to invest a lot of resources in the country - but the government’s condition is that you must censor certain words and websites. Would you comply with this demand? Would it be okay to self-censor in this instance? Explain your decision and present your case.

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