“There’s a deal you make when you become a journalist in the UAE: in exchange for a reasonable salary and a good position, you keep your nose out of meaty stories. If you don’t like it, you can leave,” writes Dana El Baltaji.

El Baltaji should know, having worked for Emirates Today (later Emirates Business 24/7) – a paper to challenge the status quo of censorship in the region, which according to this writer has ‘genuinely disappointed’ in this aim.

As such, will CNN’s new Abu Dhabi bureau report freely on the United Arab Emirates despite strict laws restricting coverage on the royal family and its businesses, asks this piece.

Full story at this link…

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Following the recent relaunch of its website, broadcaster CNN has created a new ‘newsgathering hub’ based in Abu Dhabi.

The new online and TV production facility will be the central point for seven newsgathering operations in the region: Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai, Jerusalem, Kabul and Islamabad.

It will also enable CNN to broadcast its first daily live news show from the Middle East – PRISM, hosted by Stan Grant, pictured below:

More than 24 staff will run the operation, which according to a press announcement includes a four-camera digital studio and fully integrated newsroom.

“This region unquestionably plays an integral part in world affairs, and the new hub in Abu Dhabi gives us the opportunity to get to the heart of the rich and diverse stories across the political, business, social and cultural spectrums.”

“The establishment of a permanent broadcast and production centre in the Middle East by CNN is a significant and unique move by a Western news broadcaster. It gives CNN a powerful base from which to coordinate seven regional bureaus and showcase a new daily news show from the Middle East,” Tony Maddox, managing director and executive vice president of CNN International, said at the launch.

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Advancing the Story reports on attributes required by CNN for its all-platform journalists (APJs) in the US. Victor Hernandez, director of coverage, said that the organisation has had trouble finding people with the necessary skills.

Speaking to broadcast journalists at an Radio-Television News Directors Association workshop Hernandez said he is looking for people who exemplify four core attributes:

• Strong editorially

• Technically superior

• On-air presence

• Exceptional mindset

Full post and video at this link…

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After eight years of operating undercover, the BBC can report ‘openly and legally’ from Zimbabwe.

Clandestine operations have to be a last resort, says Jon Williams, in this post.

Now the corporation can look at setting up a bureau in Harare.

Full post at this link…

Update: The Zimbabwe Times has reported that CNN’s reporting ban has also been lifted.

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Multiple sources of information feeding in to CNN’s coverage of Iran led to two specific quotes in a report being lifted from individual tweets and attributed to ‘a source’ rather than Twitter.

CNN has admitted it was a mistake, but are there dangers in news stories such as the recent Iranian elections of ‘noise’ drowning out the ’signal’ of verification/corroboration of sources?

Full post at this link…

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The role of amateurs, citizen journalists and non-professional media in the coverage of the Iranian elections and subsequent protests has been significant, both in its provision of material and insight to traditional news organisations, who have had their reporting restricted; and in its use of social media tools.

CNN’s citizen journalism site, iReport, has received 3,866 submissions on Iran since coverage of the elections began, with 1,600 from last Saturday and Sunday alone, according to a press release.

Of these, 131 have been used on air or online by CNN, after producers have carried out verification checks.

It is apparent that the reason for this astonishing increase in iReports is because of the strong views felt towards this specific case. Likewise during the election of Barack Obama CNN also saw an increase in iReports.

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In this article and video (below), James Cox, the creator of Twitter account @CNNbrk, gives his thoughts on working with big news organisations and what having greater access to news means to the user.

NB: Since the Nieman story was published, @CNNbrk has broken the one million follower mark.

Full article at this link…

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CNN has confirmed to Silicon Alley Insider that it has now taken control of @CNNbrk – the Twitter account started independently of the news organisation, which now has close to 1 million followers.

According to the report, CNN has been working with its founder James Cox for more than two years.

“This is no-brainer for CNN, and we hope they paid Cox a lot of money for the account he’s nurtured. By adding more stories to the feed — and links to CNN’s site – CNN.com could generate hundreds of thousands of extra pageviews per day. (CNN isn’t sure if it’s going to add links in the near-term.),” writes Dan Frommer on Silicon Alley Insider.

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Stinky Journalism has unraveled a tangled web involving CNN, its parent company Time Warner, an anchor for a rival broadcaster and infomercials run without proper identification, as required by the Federal Trade Commission in the US.

Full story at this link…

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Should journalists report, explain, but also ‘make news’, asks American Prospect’s Ezra Klein.

Klein refers to assertions made by CNN’s Ed Henry about a recent Obama press conference, in which Henry said his strategy was to ‘make news on something unexpected’ – a tactic that lead to the story on overturning the policy at Dover Air Force Base preventing media coverage of coffins returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Full article at this link…

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