The International Press Institute (IPI) has an update on the journalists detained after the Israeli seizure of activists aboard the Gaza flotilla:

Israel on Wednesday deported hundreds of activists, and a number of foreign journalists, who had been detained after a Gaza-bound flotilla they were aboard was stormed on Tuesday in an operation that left nine people dead. However, several journalists remained in custody at 15:30 CET.

Full story at this link…

• CPJ: Call for freedom for detained journalists after releases from Libya and Iran
• CNN: Current TV reporters to be tried in North Korea
• Police attack The Australian newspaper over terror raids scoop
• Reuters cameraman killed in Gaza
• Al Jazeera: Reports missing journalist Dorothy Parvaz has been deported to Iran

As noted here earlier this week, blogger Joseph Weissman has been reported to the police for ‘harassment’, after maintaining a website dedicated to scrutinising a Church of England vicar.

Rev Stephen Sizer, of the parish of Virginia Water, lodged a complaint about the site and its author was visited by the West Yorkshire police. The police report states that officers “had a word”, and as a result Weissman “voluntarily removed the blog concerned”.

Rev Sizer is a well-known, published critic of the State of Israel and of “Christian Zionism”. There are legal, religious and political aspects to the story; and related posts are being summarised and collated at Modernity Blog.

This is the short police statement given to Index on Censorship:

As a result of a report of harassment, which was referred to us by Surrey Police, two officers from West Yorkshire Police visited the author of the blog concerned. The feelings of the complainant were relayed to the author who voluntarily removed the blog. No formal action was taken.

Harassment is defined in English Law by the 1997 Protection from Harassment Act :

Harassment of a person includes causing the person alarm or distress; and a course of conduct must involve conduct on at least two occasions.

In a case of ‘harassment via Facebook’ two years ago, Michael Hurst was brought to trial for allegedly contacting his ex-girlfriend Sophie Sladden online, but he was cleared by Magistrates in Birmingham after the prosecution failed to prove the charge.

The definition of harassment above is deliberately wide-ranging, as it was introduced with the main aim of facilitating action in cases of domestic harassment. Is this law being used appropriately?

For the media and for bloggers, a harassment complaint in circumstances where there has been no documented physical threat or alleged ‘stalking’ incident is worrying.

The police have approached the Weissman’s university and spoken to the head of ICT.

Weissman deleted his website without any formal charges being brought, an action which a professional journalist may not have taken without at least obtaining legal advice. As non-professional and independent reporters develop a more significant place in the media, how do we ensure that their position is not compromised, and what responsibilities should they take on in return?

And, finally, is this an acceptable application of the 1997 Harassment Act?

• dot.Rory: ‘When blogging meets policing’
• NUJ speaks out against Met Police ‘heavy-handedness’ at Greek Embassy Protests
• NUJ Release: Journalists thank the people of West Yorkshire
• BBC News controller defends interview with wheelchair-using protester Jody McIntyre
• MEN journalists respond to news of arrested photographer

Christian Science Monitor reports on the ‘blood libel’ charge made by Israeli politicians and journalists against a Swedish daily newspaper, Aftonbladet.

“In the view from Jerusalem, the answer to the controversy is simple: the Swedish government should condemn Aftonbladet, the tabloid which last week printed an article suggesting that Israel snatched the organs of Palestinians who died in their custody.

“In the view from Stockholm, the answer is equally simple: Israel should accept that in a democracy, newspapers are free to print what they wish, and that it isn’t the place of governments to interfere.”

Full post at this link…

• Facebook: Online newspaper’s biggest enemy
• Media Culpa: Swedish blogger fired for pro-Israeli blog gets 32 months salary plus damages
• WikiLeaks director to write column for Swedish tabloid
• The Local: Free Dawit Isaak, says Swedish newspapers
• Aftonbladet to offer readers social network style profiles

America has lost a top celebrity anchorman, whose news delivery was so influential, he came to be called ‘the most trusted man in America’.

He died peacefully at his home, on Friday July 17, at the age of 92.

Walter Cronkite was an anchorman for CBS Evening News from 1962 to 1981, reading news including a wide range of historical events: the moon landings, Watergate, John F. Kennedy’s assassination and the Vietnam war.

He had a reassuring manner of delivering the news that inspired confidence and trust in the audience. Every evening 70 million Americans heard him deliver his broadcast, which invariably concluded with the parting words “And that’s the way it is.”

He was born Walter Leland Cronkite Jr on November 4th, 1916 in St. Joseph, Missouri, the son of a dentist. As a teenager, his family moved to Houston, where he had his first junior reporter job at The Houston Post – and at the same time delivering the very paper for which he worked.

Known for his trademark clipped moustache and grave voice, he was affectionately known as Uncle Walt, owing to a resemblance to Walt Disney. Despite his popularity, Cronkite was uncomfortable with his celebrity status and declined a proposal for a Walter Cronkite fan club saying: “I don’t think news people ought to have fan clubs.” He also brushed aside suggestions for him to stand for vice-president, even president. The only job he had ever wanted was that of reporter.

No amount of friendship or adulation could compromise Cronkite’s journalistic integrity. Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once said, “When I wanted to make a point Cronkite was the first person I would call. I was sure I was getting a fair interview – tough but fair.”

Some of Cronkite’s finest moments:

• 1963: Assassination of President John F . Kennedy: Walter Cronkite famously displays a rare show of emotion, taking off his glasses to fight back tears as he announces the death of President Kennedy. Video below:

• 1968: Vietnam War: After visiting Vietnam in 1968, he called the war ‘a stalemate’ and made his pro-peace stance clear. His views were so influential that, having watched the broadcast, the then US President Lyndon Johnson reportedly said, “I’ve lost Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.” Two weeks later  Johnson resigned and announced he would not stand for re-election. Walter Cronkite on the Vietnam War.

• 1969: Apolo 11′s landing on the moon: His coverage of the landing made CBS’ footage of the first moonwalk a favourite in America. Walter Cronkite and the landing on the moon.

• 1977: Cronkite’s interview with Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin led to Sadat visiting Jerusalem and signing the peace accords the following year at Camp David.

Cronkite retired from from the CBS evening news programme in 1981, handing it over to Dan Rather, but continued producing special reports for the CBS network and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honour. In 1983 he covered the general elections in the UK for ITV and interviewed Margaret Thatcher.

He is survived by a son, two daughters and four grandsons.

Useful related links:

• CBS News Special Pays Tribute to Cronkite

• ‘Walter Cronkite, 92, Dies; Trusted voice of TV News’ – NY Times obituary

• Walter Cronkite 1916-2009 : a slideshow (HCBS TV)

• ‘Legendary Newsman Dies at 92′ – The Huffington Post

• ‘He inspired trust in a way today’s news anchors can never repeat’ – Dan Kennedy (Guardian)

• What did Walter Cronkite think about online journalism?
• The NYT’s Cronkite mistakes and the paper’s ‘top 20′ error rate list
• Time.com: Jon Stewart comes out top in ‘America’s most trusted newscaster’ poll
• Editors’ Weblog: Details of Associated Press search landing pages
• AEJMC: Study: What skills are online-only and ‘traditional’ news organisations looking for?

• What happens when you find yourself as the only English-language television broadcaster at a breaking news scene?

• What happens when that breaking news scene is a major war in the middle east?

That’s exactly what happened for Al Jazeera journalists Sherine Tadros and Ayman Mohyeldin earlier this year when Al Jazeera English found itself the only major English television broadcaster allowed inside Gaza.

A 12-day ban prevented other Western media networks entering the area – although the BBC used two producers already on the ground. Read this post by the POLIS researcher Nina Bigalke, on Charlie Beckett’s blog, for a fuller context. “If 12 hours are a very long time in the world of journalism, 12 days seem like an eternity,” Bigalke writes.

Journalism.co.uk first met Tadros and Mohyeldin, who reported from Gaza throughout the conflict, in February:

“To be the only English channel on the ground could be a ‘one-off experience’ during her career, [Tadros] said. While she thrived on being part of the only English-language media team on the ground – ‘everything we did was exclusive’ – Tadros was aware of the responsibility to cover as much as possible for an English speaking audience.”

Now it’s your chance to join in and put your questions to the pair. Visit this site at 2pm (GMT +1). Journalism.co.uk will be putting a series of questions, via CoverItLive, to Tadros and Mohyeldin about their experience. Was it liberating to find themselves without the BBC working alongside? Was it a daunting responsibility?

Leave your own questions in the comments below this post and they will be included in the interview. See you at 2pm (4pm Doha time). You can also submit questions to @journalism_live on Twitter.

UPDATE 15.00 BST: THIS EVENT HAS NOW FINISHED. Thank you for your questions and thoughts. Please leave additional comments on the subject of media coverage in Gaza below this post. If you participated and wish to comment on the use of CoverItLive in this format please send your feedback to judith at journalism.co.uk. Did it seem a good way to present an interview? Was the balance of questions between Journalism.co.uk and users about right? Many thanks in advance for your help.

• Gaza, African coverage and tonight’s RTS awards – breakfast table chat with Al Jazeera
• OJR: Promoted tweets – the AdWords for live news?
• BuzzMachine: ‘Cable companies, add Al Jazeera English NOW!’
• Update on Al Jazeera coverage of Gaza: mapping and incident lists
• A week of innovation from Al Jazeera ends with launch of mobile sites

This live stream ‘Live Gaza Action’, hosted on Ustream, is fast attracting attention and comments (hat tip: Al Jazeera’s head of new media, Mohamed Nanabha, @mohamed via Twitter).

According to the stream’s description, the stream is coming from Ramattan and NanaLive, ‘a Gaza news camera contractor and a Israeli news organization respectively.’

“It seems there are large blocks of Live stream of the war zone, but you’ll also see commercials and news commentary like any normal news organization,” the description says.

The stream is embedded here, but follow this link to follow the fast-paced comments alongside the live stream.

Free TV Show from Ustream

• Media release: Al Jazeera launches new social media show The Stream
• #ds10 – Follow the Digital Storytelling 2010 event
• Nieman Journalism Lab: News content is ‘a stream’
• Going it alone: Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondents live interview FRIDAY 2pm (GMT+1)
• Live Twittering from the Oxford Media Convention

Media Culpa reports that a man employed at the Swedish Migration Board since the 1980s has been fired for running a outspoken blog about the conflict between Israel and Palestine – but has received 32 months salary plus damages, totalling 1.3 million Swedish Krona, or US$165,000. Full story...

• csmonitor.com: Israeli officials seek Swedish government condemnation of organ theft story
• Aftonbladet to offer readers social network style profiles
• Swedish Journalism Awards winner… for YouTube Rock
• Aftonbladet rolls out social network for readers
• Media Culpa: Promoting Facebook groups is breach of Swedish broadcast act

AP reports that Joe the Plummer, the man from Ohio who became a ‘household name’ during the US presidential campaign, says he is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for the conservative Web site pjtv.com. Full story…

• Index on Censorship: Conservatives pledge support to libel reform campaign
• Chicago Tribune: US Tribune papers to shun AP content for a week
• BBC taken to task by bloggers for treatment of National Bullying Helpline
• NYTimes.com: New York Times releases first API
• Huffington Post: National Enquirer entry accepted for Pulitzer prize

Was there a ‘veil of silence’ over international media when it came to covering the buildup up to Israel’s recent invasion of Gaza or has coverage been biased in favour of Palestine, readers’ letters to E&P ask.

• FollowtheMedia (Write On): A look at Al Jazeera English coverage of Gaza
• International Press Institute: Israel releases some journalists; others remain in detention
• Update on Al Jazeera coverage of Gaza: mapping and incident lists
• Media Culpa: Swedish blogger fired for pro-Israeli blog gets 32 months salary plus damages
• Spanish judge to travel to Iraq to visit scene of cameraman’s death

Reuters has said it is ‘disappointed with and dissatisfied by’ an investigation by the Israeli military into the death of its cameraman Fadel Shana.

The Israeli tank crew who killed Shana in the Gaza Strip four months ago will not face legal action as a result of the investigation.

Troops could not determine whether Shana, who had covered events in Gaza for Reuters for three years, was carrying a camera or a weapon, but were ‘nonetheless justified’ in firing the shell, a letter from Israel’s senior military advocate-general to the news agency said.

“I’m extremely disappointed that this report condones a disproportionate use of deadly force in a situation the army itself admitted had not been analysed clearly. They would appear to take the view that any raising of a camera into position could garner a deadly response,” said David Schlesinger, Reuters editor-in-chief, in a press statement.

Reuters has responded to the findings with a letter to the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) asking why the tank crew did not attempt to find out if Shana was a cameraman as his blue flak jacket marked ‘PRESS’ suggested.

According to the army, the troops could not see this sign.

“These findings mean that a journalist with a camera is at risk of coming under fire and there’s not that much that can be done. That’s unacceptable. It’s difficult to believe (…) that the IDF took the necessary precautions to avoid causing harm to civilians – as it is obliged to do under international law,” said Joel Campagna from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The video from Reuters below shows the last seconds of footage shot by Shana before his death:

• Reuters cameraman killed in Gaza
• Reuters runs safety training course for Gaza journalists
• Wired: Army intelligence analyst arrested over leaked video of Iraq helicopter attack
• Blood and Dust: Vaughan Smith on the rescue teams saving lives in Afghanistan
• Watch Al Jazeera’s Shooting the Messenger on YouTube

Behind the reported events of last week’s earthquake in China, a story of a citizen journalism was emerging.

Ronen Medzini, an Israeli student, affected by the earthquake in the Chengdu area was quoted by the Associated Press on the crisis in the area.

Medzini’s role in reporting the disaster, which was quickly picked up by other mainstream media, was in itself newsworthy – he reported the devastation around him in a text message sent to the AP, a citizen journalist breaking news on a mobile.

But how to detect this thread within the mass of reporting? Ian Cairns from Managing News, has blogged about how the system, which tracks and analyses mainstream and social media sources, did just this.

What is particularly interesting – and crucial – about how Managing News worked in this situation, is the collaboration between two of its features: a map displaying geotagged news items on a topic (in this case breaking news) and a tag cloud.

Investigating the tag cloud next to the map of news coverage of the earthquake, tags for both ‘Ronen Medzini’ and ‘cellular’ showed up, as such highlighting the cit-j element of the story which would otherwise have been buried.

Interesting how the visual representation of news trends, in this case, allowed the observer to quickly pick up on new leads in the reporting.

• Breaking news coverage on Twitter of fire in East London
• Nieman: AP Interactive and a visual future for breaking news
• #media140 – Get messy with mobile journalism, says Adam Westbrook
• #Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk – Twitter lists for breaking news stories
• UGC links for Chile earthquake recovery

The Guardian has removed a video from its website showing a suicide bomb attack in Israel after more than 550 complaints were made about the footage.

The piece, which was selected from a package of footage and text supplied to the paper by Reuters, showed the wounded being taken to hospital, as well as statements from the Palestinian agriculture minister and a Hamas spokesman. It was removed four days after being posted to the site.

Writing about the decision to remove the video from the site, Siobhain Butterworth, readers’ editor, says most traffic to the video came from the site Honest Reporting, which criticised the lack of an Israeli spokesperson in the footage.

In response Butterworth points out that at the time no Israeli sources featured in the Reuters package.

She also directs complainants, readers and Honest Reporting to the paper’s other online coverage of the event:

“Honest Reporting linked only to the video; it ignored the rest of the Guardian’s coverage. It didn’t mention that the story published on the day of the bombing (and which the video accompanied) began with comments from the Israeli prime minister and included statements from an eyewitness, a doctor at the scene and a police spokesman. Stories about the event in the following days also included statements from Israeli sources.”

However, with regards to the video in question, Butterworth admits there was ‘an editing error’, which may have lead to a perceived Palestinian bias. While this was the reason the piece was removed, this was not ‘a deliberate attempt to give a one-sided response to the event’, she adds.

• Online video: Reuters wants to offer more raw video to clients
• Video from Beet.tv: How Reuters used social media in Iran to source video
• Guardian.co.uk: Handling reader responses in a ‘digital age’
• Event: Reuters hosts social media Q&A with Lib Dem’s Nick Clegg – take part!
• Reuters ‘dissatisfied’ by investigation into death of Fadel Shana