Luanda: Mais Uma Manifestacao

Post relacionado:

Luanda: Fim de Semana de Manifestacoes

Post relacionado:

Luanda: Fim de Semana de Manifestacoes

SADC: On The Role of Civil Society in the Regional Integration Process

[Postado a proposito desta materia]


Posts relacionados:

The Professional

O Cidadao em Angola

Falando de Geracoes

[Postado a proposito desta materia]


Posts relacionados:

The Professional

O Cidadao em Angola

Falando de Geracoes

Media Freedom(s): Quo Vadis? (I) [R]*

Why do so many journalists find it so hard to handle public criticism? If you’re an athlete, you’re used to it. If you’re an artist, critics will regularly take you down. If you are in government, the pundits and now the bloggers will show no mercy. If you’re in business, the market will punish you.

In all these cases, the seasoned professional learns to deal with it. But over and over today, we encounter the sorry spectacle of distinguished reporters losing it when their work is publicly attacked — or columnists sneering at the feedback they get in poorly moderated web comments.

I would argue that the difficulty journalists have with hearing or responding to criticism lies in the profession’s pathological heritage of self-abnegation. We say, “To err is human,” right? But journalists too often work inside an institutional culture which says to them, “Be inhuman.” Do not have opinions — and if you do, for god’s sake don’t share them. Do not attend protests or take stands on issues. Do not vote; or, if you do, don’t tell anyone whom you voted for.

The good soldier journalists buy into this acculturation. They suppress their own individuality and perspectives. They subsume their own work into the larger editorial “we,” and learn to refer to themselves as “this reporter” instead of using the personal pronoun. When something goes wrong with the system they are a part of, when the little piece of journalism they have added to the larger edifice comes under attack for some flaw, they count on the edifice to protect them.

But no longer. Reasonable criticism of news coverage can now be published as easily online as the original reports, and the public expects media outlets to respond. Many editors and reporters understand that a new approach to accountability simply makes sense. So the institutions have begun, haltingly but significantly, to open up.

But many individual journalists find themselves at sea when called upon to explain mistakes, defend choices and engage in discussions with their readers and critics. Nothing in their professional lives has prepared them for this. In fact, a lot of their professional training explicitly taught them that all of this was dangerous, unprofessional, bad. They grew up thinking — and some still think — that the professional thing to do, when questioned in public, is (a) don’t respond at all; (b) respond with “no comment — we stand by our story”; or if things get really bad (c) your editor will do the talking.

Unfortunately, this means that the typical blogger has more experience dealing with criticism — measuring a reasonable response, managing trolls and restraining the urge to flame — than the typical newsroom journalist.

The next time you see some seasoned journalist lose his bearings when called upon to discuss or defend his work, chalk it up to inexperience, not stupidity or rudeness.

[here]

Principles of Media Criticism

Media criticism is in an undeveloped state, today, largely because the mainstream media allows virtually no open discussion of the subject. Some criticism does get to the public, of course, but most of it is corrupted by the same forces that have turned the rest of the media into a source of manipulation.
The selections below attempt to correct this conspiracy of silence by offering readers an introduction to the field that will allow them to see the larger trends that define much of the media. The selections focus on the following characteristics of contemporary culture and society:

* The fact that all centers of power today rely on media and that all use sensory manipulations and simulations, along with story lines, rhetoric, and performances to sell audiences products, candidates and ideas.

* The fact that most media, today, from news to advertising, rely on spectacle, simplification and exaggeration to grab and hold audiences.

* The fact that much of media is beset by idealization and demonization in which media manipulators depict themselves and their allies as heroes and saints, and their opponents or targets as villains, fools and disturbed characters, both to create exciting stories and win battles.

* The fact that the media today is pervaded by missing information. What is missing is precisely the information above, which would discredit the system and result in reforms that would lock out many of those who now work the system for their own benefit.

* The fact that the news media has become a part of the power and economic system that it is supposed to report on. Instead of standing at a distance from events and trying to provide an accurate account, all too often it is just another inside player manipulating information for its own ends. This not only means that media companies have a conflict of interest but also that journalists who would prefer to be honest end up subordinating themselves to those in power in their own organizations and shaping their coverage accordingly. It also means that media criticism that isn't afraid to report on what is taking place is now essential to the maintenance of democracy.

* The fact that all media today is a form of action. Stories, rhetoric, sensory images and manipulated impressions are all efforts to influence people's perceptions and action, evoke fears and desires, and play to values. The omission of information from the media is a form of action, as well.

* Finally, the fact that the media today is also full of efforts to get at the truth, which are often disguised or limited in various ways. Many of these efforts to tell the public the truth can be found in the fictions of movies and television which openly depict the con artist culture we now live in and the corruption of the media.

These propositions have to form the core of any theory of media criticism and any theory that seeks to describe contemporary society. The following selections are intended to provide overviews that will introduce and expand on these ideas.

[here]

*[First posted 24/09/10]

Why do so many journalists find it so hard to handle public criticism? If you’re an athlete, you’re used to it. If you’re an artist, critics will regularly take you down. If you are in government, the pundits and now the bloggers will show no mercy. If you’re in business, the market will punish you.

In all these cases, the seasoned professional learns to deal with it. But over and over today, we encounter the sorry spectacle of distinguished reporters losing it when their work is publicly attacked — or columnists sneering at the feedback they get in poorly moderated web comments.

I would argue that the difficulty journalists have with hearing or responding to criticism lies in the profession’s pathological heritage of self-abnegation. We say, “To err is human,” right? But journalists too often work inside an institutional culture which says to them, “Be inhuman.” Do not have opinions — and if you do, for god’s sake don’t share them. Do not attend protests or take stands on issues. Do not vote; or, if you do, don’t tell anyone whom you voted for.

The good soldier journalists buy into this acculturation. They suppress their own individuality and perspectives. They subsume their own work into the larger editorial “we,” and learn to refer to themselves as “this reporter” instead of using the personal pronoun. When something goes wrong with the system they are a part of, when the little piece of journalism they have added to the larger edifice comes under attack for some flaw, they count on the edifice to protect them.

But no longer. Reasonable criticism of news coverage can now be published as easily online as the original reports, and the public expects media outlets to respond. Many editors and reporters understand that a new approach to accountability simply makes sense. So the institutions have begun, haltingly but significantly, to open up.

But many individual journalists find themselves at sea when called upon to explain mistakes, defend choices and engage in discussions with their readers and critics. Nothing in their professional lives has prepared them for this. In fact, a lot of their professional training explicitly taught them that all of this was dangerous, unprofessional, bad. They grew up thinking — and some still think — that the professional thing to do, when questioned in public, is (a) don’t respond at all; (b) respond with “no comment — we stand by our story”; or if things get really bad (c) your editor will do the talking.

Unfortunately, this means that the typical blogger has more experience dealing with criticism — measuring a reasonable response, managing trolls and restraining the urge to flame — than the typical newsroom journalist.

The next time you see some seasoned journalist lose his bearings when called upon to discuss or defend his work, chalk it up to inexperience, not stupidity or rudeness.

[here]

Principles of Media Criticism

Media criticism is in an undeveloped state, today, largely because the mainstream media allows virtually no open discussion of the subject. Some criticism does get to the public, of course, but most of it is corrupted by the same forces that have turned the rest of the media into a source of manipulation.
The selections below attempt to correct this conspiracy of silence by offering readers an introduction to the field that will allow them to see the larger trends that define much of the media. The selections focus on the following characteristics of contemporary culture and society:

* The fact that all centers of power today rely on media and that all use sensory manipulations and simulations, along with story lines, rhetoric, and performances to sell audiences products, candidates and ideas.

* The fact that most media, today, from news to advertising, rely on spectacle, simplification and exaggeration to grab and hold audiences.

* The fact that much of media is beset by idealization and demonization in which media manipulators depict themselves and their allies as heroes and saints, and their opponents or targets as villains, fools and disturbed characters, both to create exciting stories and win battles.

* The fact that the media today is pervaded by missing information. What is missing is precisely the information above, which would discredit the system and result in reforms that would lock out many of those who now work the system for their own benefit.

* The fact that the news media has become a part of the power and economic system that it is supposed to report on. Instead of standing at a distance from events and trying to provide an accurate account, all too often it is just another inside player manipulating information for its own ends. This not only means that media companies have a conflict of interest but also that journalists who would prefer to be honest end up subordinating themselves to those in power in their own organizations and shaping their coverage accordingly. It also means that media criticism that isn't afraid to report on what is taking place is now essential to the maintenance of democracy.

* The fact that all media today is a form of action. Stories, rhetoric, sensory images and manipulated impressions are all efforts to influence people's perceptions and action, evoke fears and desires, and play to values. The omission of information from the media is a form of action, as well.

* Finally, the fact that the media today is also full of efforts to get at the truth, which are often disguised or limited in various ways. Many of these efforts to tell the public the truth can be found in the fictions of movies and television which openly depict the con artist culture we now live in and the corruption of the media.

These propositions have to form the core of any theory of media criticism and any theory that seeks to describe contemporary society. The following selections are intended to provide overviews that will introduce and expand on these ideas.

[here]

*[First posted 24/09/10]

Desculpe Senhora Ministra, mas...

... O seu discurso e'...

A Ministra da Família e Promoção da Mulher, Genoveva Lino, recomendou, ontem, em Luanda, ás famílias angolanas, a frequentarem a Igreja e ouvirem mais a palavra de Deus, como uma forma de alimentarem a sua espiritualidade.
Genoveva Lino falava depois da celebração eucarística, feita pelo Cardeal Franc Rodé, realizada na Paróquia da Nossa Senhora de Fátima, que contou com a presença dos bispos de Angola, membros do Executivo, sociedade civil e fiéis.
Genoveva Lino disse que quando as pessoas se guiam pela palavra de Deus e com muita fé, "ganham mais força para trabalhar no engrandecimento de Angola. Peço às famílias para que tenham fé para que possamos com Deus superar as nossas dores e ter mais força para trabalhar".
A ministra disse ainda que "estamos conscientes que há muito trabalho para fazer, as dificuldades que enfrentamos são enormes mas com ajuda do Senhor e a fé, vamos conseguir vencer". Numa sociedade em crescimento como Angola, as famílias devem seguir a palavra de Deus para que tenham uma vida mais digna. "Não há palavra melhor do que a do Senhor, cada cidadão deve ter, ler e absorver o grande livro sagrado, a bíblia, porque é o livro da vida. E se todos nós o seguirmos, teremos uma vida mais digna, tal como a própria bíblia diz, que feliz é a nação que o próprio Deus é o Senhor", disse Genoveva Lino.

[aqui]

... Inconstitucional!

CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA
Artigo 10.º
(Estado laico)

1. A República de Angola é um Estado laico, havendo separação entre o Estado
e as igrejas, nos termos da lei.

[aqui]

ADENDA

DESCULPEM SENHORES BISPOS, MAS...

A conferência Episcopal de Angola e São Tomé poderá fazer-se representar junto
do parlamento angolano.
Segundo o documento final da II Assembleia Anual da CEAST, o órgão defende a integração na Assembleia nacional de Angola de um representante dos prelados dos dois países, para se fazer ouvir ao mais alto nível da nação.

[aqui]

O bispo Administrador do Saurimo Dom Emanuel Imbamba, secretário da conferência episcopal, defendeu a emenda da Constituição de modo a impedir o alastramento da religião Islâmica em Angola. Este foi um dos temas analisado na II Assembleia Plenária dos Bispos que hoje terminou.
Quando questionado sobre o que teria eventualmente falhado na igreja católica para que tivesse lugar este crescendo, o bispo Dom Imbamba atribuiu culpas ao marxismo –leninismo e à abrupta abertura à manifestação religiosa como causas próximas do actual ambiente.
[aqui]

... As Vossas pretensoes nao so' sao Inconstitucionais como Anti-Ecumenicas!


Vide:

CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA

Artigo 10.º
(Estado laico)

1. A República de Angola é um Estado laico, havendo separação entre o Estado e as igrejas, nos termos da lei.
2. O Estado reconhece e respeita as diferentes confissões religiosas, as quais são livres na sua organização e no exercício das suas actividades, desde que as mesmas se conformem à Constituição e às leis da República de Angola.
3. O Estado protege as igrejas e as confissões religiosas, bem como os seus lugares e objectos de culto, desde que não atentem contra a Constituição e a ordem pública e se conformem com a Constituição e a lei.


Artigo 41.º
(Liberdade de consciência, de religião e de culto)

1. A liberdade de consciência, de crença religiosa e de culto é inviolável.
2. Ninguém pode ser privado dos seus direitos, perseguido ou isento de obrigações por motivo de crença religiosa ou de convicção filosófica ou política.
3. É garantido o direito à objecção de consciência, nos termos da lei.
4. Ninguém pode ser questionado por qualquer autoridade acerca das suas convicções ou práticas religiosas, salvo para recolha de dados estatísticos não individualmente identificáveis.


Artigo 141.º
(Definição)

1. A Assembleia Nacional é o parlamento da República de Angola.
2. A Assembleia Nacional é um órgão unicamaral, representativo de todos os angolanos, que exprime a vontade soberana do povo e exerce o poder legislativo do Estado.


Artigo 142.º
(Composição)

A Assembleia Nacional é composta por Deputados eleitos nos termos da Constituição e da lei.


Artigo 236.º
(Limites materiais)

As alterações da Constituição têm de respeitar o seguinte:

g) A laicidade do Estado e o princípio da separação entre o Estado e as igrejas;

... O seu discurso e'...

A Ministra da Família e Promoção da Mulher, Genoveva Lino, recomendou, ontem, em Luanda, ás famílias angolanas, a frequentarem a Igreja e ouvirem mais a palavra de Deus, como uma forma de alimentarem a sua espiritualidade.
Genoveva Lino falava depois da celebração eucarística, feita pelo Cardeal Franc Rodé, realizada na Paróquia da Nossa Senhora de Fátima, que contou com a presença dos bispos de Angola, membros do Executivo, sociedade civil e fiéis.
Genoveva Lino disse que quando as pessoas se guiam pela palavra de Deus e com muita fé, "ganham mais força para trabalhar no engrandecimento de Angola. Peço às famílias para que tenham fé para que possamos com Deus superar as nossas dores e ter mais força para trabalhar".
A ministra disse ainda que "estamos conscientes que há muito trabalho para fazer, as dificuldades que enfrentamos são enormes mas com ajuda do Senhor e a fé, vamos conseguir vencer". Numa sociedade em crescimento como Angola, as famílias devem seguir a palavra de Deus para que tenham uma vida mais digna. "Não há palavra melhor do que a do Senhor, cada cidadão deve ter, ler e absorver o grande livro sagrado, a bíblia, porque é o livro da vida. E se todos nós o seguirmos, teremos uma vida mais digna, tal como a própria bíblia diz, que feliz é a nação que o próprio Deus é o Senhor", disse Genoveva Lino.

[aqui]

... Inconstitucional!

CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA
Artigo 10.º
(Estado laico)

1. A República de Angola é um Estado laico, havendo separação entre o Estado
e as igrejas, nos termos da lei.

[aqui]

ADENDA

DESCULPEM SENHORES BISPOS, MAS...

A conferência Episcopal de Angola e São Tomé poderá fazer-se representar junto
do parlamento angolano.
Segundo o documento final da II Assembleia Anual da CEAST, o órgão defende a integração na Assembleia nacional de Angola de um representante dos prelados dos dois países, para se fazer ouvir ao mais alto nível da nação.

[aqui]

O bispo Administrador do Saurimo Dom Emanuel Imbamba, secretário da conferência episcopal, defendeu a emenda da Constituição de modo a impedir o alastramento da religião Islâmica em Angola. Este foi um dos temas analisado na II Assembleia Plenária dos Bispos que hoje terminou.
Quando questionado sobre o que teria eventualmente falhado na igreja católica para que tivesse lugar este crescendo, o bispo Dom Imbamba atribuiu culpas ao marxismo –leninismo e à abrupta abertura à manifestação religiosa como causas próximas do actual ambiente.
[aqui]

... As Vossas pretensoes nao so' sao Inconstitucionais como Anti-Ecumenicas!


Vide:

CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA DE ANGOLA

Artigo 10.º
(Estado laico)

1. A República de Angola é um Estado laico, havendo separação entre o Estado e as igrejas, nos termos da lei.
2. O Estado reconhece e respeita as diferentes confissões religiosas, as quais são livres na sua organização e no exercício das suas actividades, desde que as mesmas se conformem à Constituição e às leis da República de Angola.
3. O Estado protege as igrejas e as confissões religiosas, bem como os seus lugares e objectos de culto, desde que não atentem contra a Constituição e a ordem pública e se conformem com a Constituição e a lei.


Artigo 41.º
(Liberdade de consciência, de religião e de culto)

1. A liberdade de consciência, de crença religiosa e de culto é inviolável.
2. Ninguém pode ser privado dos seus direitos, perseguido ou isento de obrigações por motivo de crença religiosa ou de convicção filosófica ou política.
3. É garantido o direito à objecção de consciência, nos termos da lei.
4. Ninguém pode ser questionado por qualquer autoridade acerca das suas convicções ou práticas religiosas, salvo para recolha de dados estatísticos não individualmente identificáveis.


Artigo 141.º
(Definição)

1. A Assembleia Nacional é o parlamento da República de Angola.
2. A Assembleia Nacional é um órgão unicamaral, representativo de todos os angolanos, que exprime a vontade soberana do povo e exerce o poder legislativo do Estado.


Artigo 142.º
(Composição)

A Assembleia Nacional é composta por Deputados eleitos nos termos da Constituição e da lei.


Artigo 236.º
(Limites materiais)

As alterações da Constituição têm de respeitar o seguinte:

g) A laicidade do Estado e o princípio da separação entre o Estado e as igrejas;

Frei Domingos (R.I.P.)

[Imagem e texto daqui - Obituario aqui]

[Imagem e texto daqui - Obituario aqui]

This Blog Out There

A Comment on Issa Shivji's critique of Mo Ibrahim's Prize

This article, originally published in 2007 as part of my AfricanPath Guest Blogger Series (please note that, regrettably, the original AfricanPath site was discontinued), is now lodged at the Centre for Civil Society's Online Library at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Sex Lies & Stereotypes - Perspectives of a Mad Economist

This post on the title above by Julianne Malveaux has been linked by Ivy League Professor Cornel West at Princeton University, US.

1960 - 2010: "The Year of Africa" 50 Years On

This series is specially featured by my good friend and fellow blogger BRE at Jewels in the Jungle, Germany. As he puts it:

Since the beginning of January a good friend and fellow blogger from Angola has been publishing a special series (in English and Portuguese) on the 50th anniversary of African independence from colonialism.
I do not know how many people have read Koluki’s series since she started the project but what has been somewhat surprising to me is the scarce coverage of this historic year for Africa by much of the news media outside of the African continent. If it were not for contributions online from some talented African journalists, writers and new media producers (including a small group of independent blog authors) along with a handful of international foundations and government websites, Africa’s Golden Jubilee of Independence from Colonial Rule (1960-2010) would go largely unnoticed in many parts of the world.


Other 'joint-ventures':


AfricanPath

Global Voices Online

Jewels in The Jungle

Atlantic Community

Citizen Voices

Knewz from Meroe West

Szavanna

My Weku

Society HAE

A Comment on Issa Shivji's critique of Mo Ibrahim's Prize

This article, originally published in 2007 as part of my AfricanPath Guest Blogger Series (please note that, regrettably, the original AfricanPath site was discontinued), is now lodged at the Centre for Civil Society's Online Library at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa.

Sex Lies & Stereotypes - Perspectives of a Mad Economist

This post on the title above by Julianne Malveaux has been linked by Ivy League Professor Cornel West at Princeton University, US.

1960 - 2010: "The Year of Africa" 50 Years On

This series is specially featured by my good friend and fellow blogger BRE at Jewels in the Jungle, Germany. As he puts it:

Since the beginning of January a good friend and fellow blogger from Angola has been publishing a special series (in English and Portuguese) on the 50th anniversary of African independence from colonialism.
I do not know how many people have read Koluki’s series since she started the project but what has been somewhat surprising to me is the scarce coverage of this historic year for Africa by much of the news media outside of the African continent. If it were not for contributions online from some talented African journalists, writers and new media producers (including a small group of independent blog authors) along with a handful of international foundations and government websites, Africa’s Golden Jubilee of Independence from Colonial Rule (1960-2010) would go largely unnoticed in many parts of the world.


Other 'joint-ventures':


AfricanPath

Global Voices Online

Jewels in The Jungle

Atlantic Community

Citizen Voices

Knewz from Meroe West

Szavanna

My Weku

Society HAE

SOBRE A SOCIEDADE CIVIL ANGOLANA

{Aqui}

{Aqui}

WHEN OIL PRICES SKYROCKET...

OUTBLOGGING @ AFRICANPATH (VII)

ANGOLA: THE RISE OF CIVIL SOCITY

(Read Article Here)

ANGOLA: THE RISE OF CIVIL SOCITY

(Read Article Here)