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	<title>Free Media Online</title>
	<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog</link>
	<description>Supporting free media worldwide</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Feb 2012 15:04:38 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>VOA Public Relations does a number on Lipien, 1Amendment responds</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Voice of America Office of Public Relations responded to Ted Lipien&#8217;s op-ed in The Washington Times. We post Lipien&#8217;s opening paragraph with the link to the article. The VOA Public Relations Office response is posted below as well as a reply to it from 1Amendment. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/10/voa-public-relations-does-a-number-on-lipien-1amendment-responds/</link>
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		<title>Voice of America Director Ensor’s ‘Getting It Right in Russia’ explanation misses the main point</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary Commenting on the Voice of America director David Ensor&#8217;s response to the posting of a fake interview on the VOA Russian website, one veteran VOA journalist observed that for a good reporter like Ensor, it is very short on specifics. It would force CNN viewers to switch channels. It misses the main point of what led to the posting of a fake interview on the VOA Russian Service website]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/10/voice-of-america-director-ensor%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98getting-it-right-in-russia%e2%80%99-explanation-misses-the-main-point/</link>
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		<title>Washington Times Op-Ed warns about pro-Putin bias in Voice of America Russian programs</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In a Washington Times Op-Ed, a Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting member Ted Lipien warned about a pro-Putin bias in the Voice of America Russian programs. Lipien reported that a highly respected independent journalist in Russia hired by the Broadcasting Board of Governors to evaluate the VOA Russian website concluded last year that it has a pro-Kremlin bias and downplays human rights reporting. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/washington-times-op-ed-warns-about-pro-putin-bias-in-voice-of-america-russian-programs/</link>
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		<title>CPJ Internet Channel: Can selective blocking pre-empt wider censorship?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Last week, Twitter provoked a fierce debate online when it announced a new capability--and related policy--to hide tweets on a country-specific basis. By building this feature into its website's basic code, Twitter said it hoped to offer a more tailored response to legal demands to remove tweets globally. The company will inform users if any tweet they see has been obscured, and provide a record of all demands to remove content with the U.S.-based site chillingeffects.org ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/cpj-internet-channel-can-selective-blocking-pre-empt-wider-censorship/</link>
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		<title>Kazakhstan &#8211; Make rights key to good relations, says Human Rights Watch</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The rights organisation is concerned about the violent crackdown on protesters and online censorship that occurred following a strike in the oil-rich town of Zhanaozen.]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/kazakhstan-make-rights-key-to-good-relations-says-human-rights-watch/</link>
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		<title>Kazakhstan &#8211; Twenty-nine IFEX members call for release of independent newspaper editor</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Twenty-nine IFEX members have signed a letter to the Prosecutor General about the detention of editor Igor Vinyavsky, whose detention is believed to be politically motivated, calling for him to be released and for the evidence leading to his arrest to be made public.]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/kazakhstan-twenty-nine-ifex-members-call-for-release-of-independent-newspaper-editor/</link>
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		<title>United States &#8211; Censored, prosecuted and on terror list, filmmaker denied First Amendment rights</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Filmmaker and environmentalist Josh Fox is to appear in court on 15 February on a charge of “unlawful entry” following his arrest in Congress on 1 February, when he was prevented from filming a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment on the grounds that he lacked press credentials. Offering no resistance, Fox was handcuffed, led away and then released without bail. Fox is making a sequel to his acclaimed 2010 documentary film Gasland , in which he revealed the scale of the contamination of ground water resulting from the use of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” to extract natural gas from oil shale. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/united-states-censored-prosecuted-and-on-terror-list-filmmaker-denied-first-amendment-rights/</link>
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		<title>Belarus &#8211; Partner organization targeted by state TV hate propaganda</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Reporters Without Borders condemns a state TV attempt to smear the Minsk-based Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ), a Reporters Without Borders partner organization and International Federation of Journalists affiliate that is the country's only autonomous association of media workers. The protection and support that BAJ provides to independent journalists and its constant defence of the freedom to report news and information have never been so valuable as in the past year, when the government has cracked down in an unprecedented manner on Belarusian civil society]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/belarus-partner-organization-targeted-by-state-tv-hate-propaganda/</link>
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		<title>Absentee member Michael Lynton pushed to become temporary Broadcasting Board of Governors chair</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Sources tell BBG Watch that Democrats on the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) are pushing for Michael Lynton, an absentee member, to become temporary BBG chair until a permanent chairman is named, whenever that may be. Lynton has distinguished himself for being the worst absentee board member. He has missed at least five BBG meetings, including the January one]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/absentee-member-michael-lynton-pushed-to-become-temporary-broadcasting-board-of-governors-chair/</link>
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		<title>Cowards and Bullies &#8211; The Federalist</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by The Federalist We hear that a certain member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has been bellowing about BBG Watch, its contributors and people commenting on the posts to the site as “cowards.” &#160;We have a good idea ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/08/cowards-and-bullies-the-federalist/</link>
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		<title>Whispering campaign against anti-Putin lawyer Alexei Navalny continues among some Voice of America Russian Service staffers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary and Appeal for Action In their private conversations, some staffers in the Voice of America Russian Service are calling an anti-corruption Russian lawyer and opposition leader Alexei Navalny a liar and repeat these accusations, also in private, ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/07/whispering-campaign-against-anti-putin-lawyer-alexei-navalny-continues-among-some-voice-of-america-russian-service-staffers/</link>
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		<title>Voice of America undermines anti-Putin opposition at US taxpayers&#039; expense</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary Early last year, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), a federal agency which manages the Voice of America (VOA), paid a highly respected independent journalist in Russia a few hundred dollars to review the VOA Russian news ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/07/voice-of-america-undermines-anti-putin-opposition-at-us-taxpayers-expense/</link>
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		<title>Apologize if you can&#039;t help it but don&#039;t report and don&#039;t reform</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Russian Service did not report on the &#8220;fake&#8221; interview with a Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which was posted and then withdrawn with an apology to Navalny by the Russian Service of the Voice of America. ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/06/apologize-if-you-cant-help-it-but-dont-report-and-dont-reform/</link>
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		<title>&#039;Fake&#039; interview on Voice of America part of a bigger problem at BBG and VOA Russian Service</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The posting on the Voice of America Russian website of an allegedly fake interview with a Russian anti-corruption lawyer, human rights activist, opposition leader and blogger Alexei Navalny is part of a larger problem of how the Broadcasting Board of ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/06/fake-interview-on-voice-of-america-part-of-a-bigger-problem-at-bbg-and-voa-russian-service/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governors:  Borsch &#8211; The Federalist</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by The Federalist In recent days, the independent employee and volunteer-run BBG Watch website has posted a series of articles based upon a reported horrendous gaffe by the Voice of America (VOA) Russian Service. &#160;An entry appeared on the website ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/04/broadcasting-board-of-governors-borsch-the-federalist/</link>
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		<title>Voice of America English website still ignoring VOA Navalny &#039;alleged interview&#039; controversy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Voice of America English website has not reported yet on the controversy involving the posting of an interview with a Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which he called &#8220;100% fake.&#8221; The alleged interview was posted on the VOA Russian ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/04/voice-of-america-english-website-still-ignoring-voa-navalny-controversy/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governor&#039;s policies blamed for fake Voice of America interview</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One can make a very good argument that going all web and eliminating Voice of America (VOA) Russian radio and TV broadcasts by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) contributed to the fake interview with the Russian opposition figure by ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/03/broadcasting-board-of-governors-policies-blamed-for-fake-voice-of-america-interview/</link>
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		<title>Where is IBB/BBG&#039;s alpha wolf Richard Lobo?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a BBG Watch commentary. Lobo means wolf (Canis lupus) in Spanish. Wolf (Lobo) is a noble name. It implies strength, intelligence, and action. Richard Lobo is the Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB). He was appointed to ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/03/where-is-ibbbbgs-alpha-wolf-richard-lobo/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governors website ignored Voice of America&#039;s 70th anniversary</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We could not find any reference to VOA&#8217;s 70th anniversary on the official home page of the BBG website or any official statement from the Broadcasting Board of Governors to honor VOA journalists on February 1, 2012, 70 years after ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/02/broadcasting-board-of-governors-website-ignored-voice-of-americas-70th-anniversary/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governors: Walter Isaacson Exits The BBG &#8211; The Federalist</title>
		<description><![CDATA[by The Federalist On Friday, January 27, 2012 Walter Isaacson announced his resignation as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). &#160;Mr. Isaacson’s stated reason for resigning was to pursue a new book project, closely following his bestselling biography ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/01/broadcasting-board-of-governors-walter-isaacson-exits-the-bbg-the-federalist/</link>
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		<title>Numbers Don&#039;t Lie &#8211; radio play about Voice of America</title>
		<description><![CDATA[&#8220;Numbers Don&#8217;t Lie&#8221; is a fictional, satirical one act radio play of how the name Voice of America &#160;was discarded seventy years ago during the war with Nazi Germany and Japan because modern audience research techniques were used. This is ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/02/01/numbers-dont-lie-radio-play-about-voice-of-america/</link>
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		<title>BBG insider&#039;s comments on MountainRunner.us</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Matt Armstrong&#8217;s post on his public diplomacy blog MountainRunner.us, &#8220;Discussing the BBG’s (dys)function,&#8221; generated a comment from a VOA/BBG insider. There is also a response from Armstrong who used to chair the now defunct U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/bbg-insiders-comments-on-mountainrunner-us/</link>
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		<title>Twitter and internet freedom: distinguish democracies from dictatorships</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Reports that Twitter is planning to ‘censor’ the content of certain tweets has caused alarm amongst pro-democracy bloggers and other cyberactivists. "If Twitter censors, I'll stop tweeting,” China’s dissident artist Ai Weiwei tweeted in response to the news. But there is a world of difference between a democracy banning speech on “security” grounds and a dictatorship banning “security”-infringing speech by autocratic fiat, writes Richard Fontaine, a Senior Advisor at the Center for a New American Security. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/twitter-and-internet-freedom-distinguish-democracies-from-dictatorships/</link>
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		<title>Victor Ashe says treatment of contract employees by BBG executives amounts to abuse of the system</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In an open challenge to Broadcasting Board of Governors executives who can&#8217;t stand him, BBG member Victor Ashe told the Knoxville News Sentinel newspaper (&#8220;Victor Ashe advocates for contract workers&#8220;) that some contract employees at the Voice of America (VOA) have been working there 18 to 25 years. &#8220;To me, it&#8217;s an abuse of the system. They are not represented by unions or an association,&#8221; Ashe said. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/victor-ashe-says-treatment-of-contract-employees-by-bbg-executives-amounts-to-abuse-of-the-system/</link>
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		<title>Will fundraising for Obama get Dick Lobo chairmanship of Broadcasting Board of Governors?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary There have been rumors that Richard Lobo, the current director of the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), is being considered by the White House for the position of the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). IBB and Voice of America (VOA) are some of the elements of the BBG, which manages all U.S. government-funded civilian international broadcasting and Internet news operations. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/will-fundraising-for-obama-get-dick-lobo-chairmanship-of-broadcasting-board-of-governors/</link>
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		<title>CUSIB Statement on the Resignation of BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The independent Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB), which supports media freedom abroad and was opposed to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) plans to end Voice of America (VOA) radio and television broadcasts to China, has issued a statement on the announced resignation of the BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/cusib-statement-on-the-resignation-of-bbg-chairman-walter-isaacson/</link>
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		<title>Breaking news: Walter Isaacson stepping down as Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch, the independent BBG employee website, is reporting that the Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Walter Isaacson is stepping down from his BBG position. According to Isaacson&#8217;s email to his senior staff, he informed the White House about his decision and said that he is involved in a new writing project. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/breaking-news-walter-isaacson-stepping-down-as-broadcasting-board-of-governors-chairman/</link>
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		<title>Russia and the West: why democracy threatens Putin</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A new two-part BBC series on Russia’s democratic regression is essential viewing for anyone seeking to understand the origins and evolution of Putin’s authoritarianism. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-and-the-west-why-democracy-threatens-putin/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governors member lashes out against domestic critics, calling them ‘cowards’</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary We have just heard that the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors Walter Isaacson is stepping down from his post at the BBG. He is not responsible for any calls for censorship against BBG Watch and is regarded as a supporter of transparency. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/broadcasting-board-of-governors-member-lashes-out-against-domestic-critics-calling-them-%e2%80%98cowards%e2%80%99/</link>
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		<title>Voice of America hushed up mistakes by former CNN employees</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary We have reported earlier that former CNN employees, who lack experience in international broadcasting, speak no foreign languages and have poor management skills, have been making embarrassing decisions and undermining employee morale at the media entities managed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). We are not referring here to BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson, a talented writer, or Voice of America Director David Ensor, an accomplished reporter with extensive experience in covering international affairs. Both were formerly with CNN. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/voice-of-america-hushed-up-mistakes-by-former-cnn-employees/</link>
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		<title>Russia &#8211; Office of opposition newspaper destroyed in firebomb attack</title>
		<description><![CDATA[ Reporters Without Borders strongly condemns the arson attack that ravaged the editorial offices of the weekly Vecherny Krasnokamsk in the Perm region in south-west Russia on 28 January. ]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-office-of-opposition-newspaper-destroyed-in-firebomb-attack/</link>
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		<title>Russia &#8211; Independent newspaper suspends publication in response to pressure</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the general director of "Moi Gorod-Kostroma", the paper was subjected to various inspections while its staff was repeatedly detained by the police.]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/31/russia-independent-newspaper-suspends-publication-in-response-to-pressure/</link>
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		<title>Isaacson was an absent leader, a BBG insider&#039;s view</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This comment from a BBG insider was originally published in response to Matt Armstrong&#8217;s post, Looking for Part-Time Work? The Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors just opened up on his MountainRunner.Us blog, about the resignation of the Broadcasting ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/28/isaacson-was-an-absent-leader-a-bbg-insiders-view/</link>
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		<title>Broadcasting Board of Governors member lashes out against domestic critics, calling them &#039;cowards&#039;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[BBG Watch Commentary We have just heard that the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors Walter Isaacson is stepping down from his post at the BBG. He is not responsible for any calls for censorship against BBG Watch and ...]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/28/broadcasting-board-of-governors-member-lashes-out-against-domestic-critics-calling-them-cowards/</link>
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		<title>RSF releases press freedom index for 2011/2012</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Arab world was the motor of history in 2011 but the Arab uprisings have had contrasting political outcomes so far, with Tunisia and Bahrain at opposite ends of the scale.]]></description>
		<link>http://freemediaonline.org/freemediaonlineblog/2012/01/27/rsf-releases-press-freedom-index-for-20112012/</link>
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