Ticker: Afghanistan elections, danger at the polls

21/07/2009

Global for menews ticker


Today’s freelance story ticker

Afternoon, bloggers.

A quick little ticker from the Global for me main website today. Although it’s about a month from now, we’re looking ahead to the Afghanistan presidential election.

Kit of the GFM Team pitched the following on our main website:

Will Afghanistan make it to the polls? by Jerome Starkey

KABUL, Afghanistan – On the 20th of August 2009, the Afghani people head to the polls in order to elect their President. However deteriorating security, with July one of the bloodiest months of the campaign so far, is raising concerns that the elections which have already been delayed once, may not be able to take place as scheduled. Read on.

Does this sound like an interesting story to you? Let GFM know, and we’ll e-mail Jerome. Don’t hesitate to throw in your two cents on what else you’d like to see from Afghanistan, and what format you’d like to see the report produced in.

Jump over to our Exclusives blog page to see what GFM followers have accomplished in the past with crowd funded journalism.

And if you’d like to do a little research on Jerome as a correspondent, head over to his Global Radio News profile as well as his YouTube channel.

Cheers! The GFM Team continues to work hard to connect you to the reporter behind the news desk. Special thanks to Jerome for working hard in the field in Afghanistan. Be careful, mate.

Till tomorrow,

Kim

–GFM Team


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Bastille Day ’09 in London, a celebration for all (French)

21/07/2009

Global for meen français…


Global For French Bastille Day London video report

Afternoon, bloggers!

Weeks ago, we launched our French version of our main website, as well as pitched a potential French-only story about Bastille Day celebrations in London. Our French readers answered in gusto.

So here it is. Catherine of Global for French has finished her Bastille Day in London report. We’ve uploaded it onto our YouTube channel for easy viewing, but if you want to see it in higher quality, head over to our VieBlogger page.

A message from Catherine…

Global For French vous présente son premier reportage vidéo consacré à la communauté française de Londres célébrant sa Fête Nationale à Battersea Park un dimanche de juillet…

Bastille Day London, un reportage de Catherine Tonero, Simon Fisher et Fabian Mofid.

Commentez, partagez et surtout donnez-nous vos idées pour de nouveaux reportages!

Merci,

Catherine & Kim

–GFM Team


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Head over to our Global For French blog page.

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Global for me: now mashed on Mashable

21/07/2009

Global for meoff the press


Global for me in the news

Morning, bloggers!

A little press update, Global for me was featured last week on Mashable, the online social media guide.

Mashable’s Leah Betancourt wrestled the many issues and obstacles GFM and its fellows face in Is Crowdfunding the Future of Journalism?

A sample of the article…

Crowdfunding, or getting many people to donate small amounts of cash to fund a project, startup, or service, is nothing new. Think public radio or television pledge drives. Think political campaigns. Think tip jar. Now, as the media landscape changes and traditional revenue sources are beginning to disappear, some forward-thinking journalists and entrepreneurs are starting to apply the crowdfunding concept to the news. A new crop of sites are combining crowdfunding with volunteer and professional contributions in order to source news that people want to read.

There are two issues with crowdfunded sites that also have volunteer journalists, however: who’s going to pay for it and who’s going to write it. These sites are experimenting with ways of answering these questions…

Read on for your curiosity if it has yet to be sated. And many heartfelt thanks for our GFM readers, commentors and supporters.

Spread the word on crowd funded journalism, and connect to the reporter behind the news desk.

Cheers,

Kim

–GFM Team


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Ticker: Kim Jong Il, Sri Lanka concentration camps, Mexican drug trade, Iraq withdrawal, cyber warfare

16/07/2009

Global for menews ticker


Today’s Freelance Story Ticker

Good morning, bloggers.

We have a slew of story possibilities for our ticker today. All of these are stories submitted by our freelancers – as the drill goes, if enough interest surfaces, we can roll out the story. If not, the stories will pass on and fade out.

A lot of stories simply go unreported, simply because there is no funding for them. GFM seeks to change that by using a crowdsourcing model to fund hardworking reporters – in other words, we need you.

It’s all about connecting you, the readers and viewers, to the reporter behind the news desk. Sometimes mainstream media simply miss other stories in the world that arise. Our goal is to bring them to you, and to support our freelancers that work hard to research and produce them. No middle man or coroporate interest involved. It’s news that goes straight to your inbox – it’s you from then on who chooses how to distribute it.

Read more about our mission here, or visit our main website.

For today, here is our story ticker, courtesy of Kit of the Global for me team. Click on the links below to read the full story pitch or view each correspondent’s Global Radio News profile.

What happens after Kim Jong Il’s Death? by Jason Strother

N. KOREA – News leaked via a South Korean newspaper that Kim Jong-Il has pancreatic cancer has been greeted by many with suspicion, despite recent speculation about his health due to recent photographs showing him looking frail. Read on.

Sri Lankan concentration camps by Florence Muchori

SRI LANKA: At the Manik Farm in Sri Lanka, displaced Tamils from the recent civil war are being detained- 1,400 people are dying every week. The Sri Lankan government is calling them “welfare villages”. The Sri Lankan government has asked the Red Cross to scale down their operation. The government claims to have the situation under control. Is this really the case? Read on.

Mexico: the affects of the drug trade by Ioan Grillo

MEXICO – Mexican gangs have left eight dead, tortured bodies by a motorway. At the same spot last week they left four. Since President Calderon came to power in December 2006 over 12,300 people have died in drug related violence. Is this a futile war? Whilst the US has pleged £860 million to battle the cartels, this is but a drop in the ocean- the Mexican drug trade is worth £25 billion per year. Read on.

How is Iraq coping alone? by Neil Arun

IRBIL, IRAQ – As US troops recently withdrew from Iraqi cities, citizens celebrated. A national holiday was declared. However there has been an upsurge in violence by those who wish to derail the transition. As the regular news outlets become numb to the daily violence in the middle east, and Iraq slides down their agenda we wonder… Will Iraqi forces be able to cope? With hindsight how do the Iraqi people feel about the withdrawal? Read on.

Cyber warfare: US, S. Korea versus N. Korea? by Nancy Youssef

N. KOREA – US and South Korean governmental websites were recently attacked by a virus known as Mydoom. It wreaked havoc, taking some websites out of action for days. Blame initially was laid at the door of North Korea. Could it really have been them? Investigations have shown that in fact a server in Britain was orchestrating the attacks. But was this just a smokescreen? Read on.

If any of these stories caught your attention, piqued your curiosity or inspired another story idea, don’t hesitate to tell us or pass the word along. We rely on word-of-mouth, not corporate advertising. It’s telling the story and supporting freelancers – in the crowdsourced way. An experiment in journalism, and one that we use for them and you.

Cheers,

Kim

–GFM Team


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View our story ticker on our main website.

Join today’s discussion on Twitter. @GFMEditor

Sound your voice…
Let yourself be heard in the comment box below. Liked a story? See something we missed? Don’t hesitate to let us know. We’re listening.

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Global for French just got a little more colorful

15/07/2009

Global for meen français…


Photo gallery for Global for French

Afternoon again, bloggers!

Busy day for the GFM Team, but we have one more thing to share with you today.

We updated our Global for French blog page with photos from South Kensington, the French area of London. Take a look.

A little preview, click the image to head to the Global for French blog page.

Until next time, au revoir.

Sincères salutations,

Catherine & Kim

–GFM Team


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The GRN Live team proudly presents our YouTube channel

15/07/2009

Global for metune in!


Global Radio News launches a YouTube channel.

Afternoon, bloggers!

Members of our parent company, Global Radio News (also known as GRN Live) have been working hard on its YouTube channel debut.

The GlobalRadioNews YouTube channel is set to include various content from our reporters across the world. Most recently, a new promotional video has been released in two languages so far, including French.

We’d like for you, the viewers, to submit ideas, comment, rate, subscribe and post video responses to our videos. With your help we can provide stories that can only be seen here.

It’s all about connecting the readers (or in this case, viewers) with the reporters behind the news desk.

If you’re not familiar with YouTube, head on over to our GRN channel and have a look for yourself and you’ll be able to catch on quickly.

Don’t be shy. We want your feedback so we can provide the best content for all of you to witness.

Here’s an embed of our English version, click here to listen/view to our French.

Global Radio News English Promo

Thanks,

Paul

–GFM Team


E-mail your story ideas to  

Click to read @GRNLive updates on Twitter.

• Visit, view and comment on our YouTube channel. Let us know what you want.

• Visit our parent company’s main website, globalradionews.com.


Sound your voice on climate change issues!

15/07/2009

Global for menews bits


On [Earth Journalism Awards].

G’morning, bloggers!

Once again, we’re flagging down all journalists (professional, amateur and citizen alike) and the environmental-savvy to step up and sound out on climate change issues.

We received more information from our partner on the upcoming Earth Journalism Awards.

So here’s a little more info about the competition…

Professional journalists and citizen journalists from around the world are invited to apply to the Earth Journalism Awards through the EJA website (http://awards.earthjournalism.org) where they will be able to upload their climate change reports in any media until September 7 2009.

Internews’ Earth Journalism Awards encourages high-quality local climate change coverage leading up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference, December 8-18 2009 in Copenhagen (COP15). An independent international jury will select the Earth Journalism Award winners, who will be invited to participate in training, as well as given expert and logistics support so that they can accurately and efficiently report on the negotiations at the COP15.

The follow awards are available:

  • Negotiation Award
  • Human Voices Award
  • Climate Change and Energy Award
  • Adaptation Award
  • Forests Award
  • Climate Change and Nature Award
  • Regional Award
  • Global Public Award
  • MTV Positive Change Award

Partners and sponsors of the Earth Journalism Awards include the COP15 host country, the Government of Denmark; MTV International; The World Bank; the Italian Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Territory and Sea; the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation; the Edgerton Family Foundation; the Global Campaign for Climate Action; Flip Video Spotlight; and the Global Forum for Media Development.

Spread the fire through all channels. (Figuratively speaking, of course.) This is a great opportunity for journalists from all walks of life to participate.

In addition, Global for me will be hosting online climate change debates up until the Sept. 7 deadline. Speak out and let your voice be heard, and we’ll connect you with one of our journalists.

It’s all about connecting people like you to the reporters behind the news desk. No middle man or corporation involved.

Think on it. Let us know. E-mail us, comment on our blog or join us on Twitter with @GFMEditor.

Spread the word. The Earth Journalism Awards are coming.

Sincerely,

Kim

–GFM Team


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Join our discussions on Twitter. @GFMEditor

List o’ Links:

• Our first post about our partnership with the Earth Journalism Awards.

• The list of our journalists on the Global Radio News website.

Click for more information as well as competition rules from the EJA website.

Create an account at the EJA website to upload your work. All submissions are valid if produced after Dec. 15, 2008.

Earth Journalism Awards

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We’ve partnered up! GFM and Internews shake hands for upcoming Earth Journalism Awards

14/07/2009

Global for menews bits


On [Earth Journalism Awards].

Calling all science, professional, amateur, citizen and journalist supporters alike!

Listen up! Global for me has partnered up with Internews.

Big deal, why does that matter? You may ask.

It’s big. We’re now in the midst of a huge competition for journalists from of all walks of life. The topic? Earth.

The Earth Journalism Awards is challenging journalists to report on climate change issues – ranging from extremely local to overwhelmingly global. The limits are pretty much limitless at this point in time. But really, don’t let us bore you, EJA lays it all out very nicely on their website.

(If you’re already interested in such a competition, skip ahead to EJA’s rules. If you already have something finished as of after Dec. 15, 2008 hurry up and create an account to submit your work! You lose nothing from just losing. You get nothing from not trying at all.)

But here’s the thing: GFM wants to take a different approach with this. Earth journalism is literally a bountiful topic, with endless story possibilities. Let’s discuss what you’re interested in, what you want to know about climate change or climate action.

…Is it a specific region of the world, such a shrinking ice at the North Pole?

…Or is it local farm communities, coping with new weather patterns?

…Are you more interested in affected coastal towns, or arguing politicians?

…Are you interested in the nitty gritty details of Earth’s climate, and whether climate change is manmade at all?

Remember, GFM’s ultimate goal is to connect readers to the reporters behind the news desk. No corporate interest or middle man. Just journalism – good ol’ freelance journalism.

As you can see, EJA’s topic is a daunting one. So many angles are possible. So GFM is pushing for news readers, bloggers and journalists alike to pitch the story ideas onto the table, bang them out and submit them into the competition.

Spread the word. The Earth Journalism Awards are coming.

Sincerely,

Kim

–GFM Team


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P.S. – expect an Earth Journalism blog page with climate discussions very soon.

Earth Journalism Awards

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Much a-Twitter about the G8 and climate change

09/07/2009

Global Twittertweets today


Blogging the tweets from Twitter.

Morning, bloggers!

When the Global for me office wakes up in the morning, the western hemisphere is still asleep. Regardless, Twitter is always wide awake and all a-flutter over the world’s current issues.

Today, one of the major Twitter trends was the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy. Simply put, it’s always a big story when the world’s most powerful leaders gather in one place – with the exception of Chinese President Hu Jintao, respectively. The headlines from Xinjiang keep coming in.

But a whole other flurry of tweets erupted from G8 conversations: climate change. So we joined the fray to hear what other Twitter users think.

Our question…

@GFMEditor: The G8 Summit hammers out a new climate change bill. What do you want to see on it?

@kim_bach massive investing in getting rid of fossile fuels: highspeed trains, moving cargo by trains and ships that are windpowered

Which led to…

@GFMEditor Climate change is always a touchy subject among the big powers. What about developing countries?

@theginlady If India/China fail to sign up, it is coz Industrial world have failed to communicate their own mistakes. Clean Tech is better.

@Societas_ as many Developing Nations are rich in renewable energy resources Developed Nations work with them on joint on projects.

@Societas_ we propose that tackling energy issues will also help tackle conflict issue – giving nations greater energy security.

Another user brought up the proposed 50% reduction of emissions, but the BBC reports that some G8 leaders have proposed for rich countries to reduce carbon emissions by 80%. By 2050, that is.

She had this to say…

@Barros_Isabel Very, very ambitious. A reduction of 80% doesn’t even seem viable. Lot’s of work to be done…

And of course, we couldn’t stay quiet on Iran for too long…

@GFMEditor 156 dead in Xinjiang, but news coverage quantity doesn’t equate the election protests in Iran. Strange, or not?

@berkgun It’s not strange. Iran is a political issue for USA and UK but they don’t really care death bodies of innocent people.

This particular tweet was retweeted by @iranfreelection.

Have something to say? Tweet us. But for now – thus concludes our morning tweets, only because 12 o’clock noon is only 20 minutes away!

Sincerely,

Kim

–GFM Team


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Bonjour! Global for me is now available in French

08/07/2009

Global for Frenchlanguage


New: Global for me is also in French.

Afternoon, bloggers!

We received requests to pitch our stories in French. We’ve been working on a translation for French readers and we’re posting it live today.

From now on, whenever there’s a French flag on our main website or blog, a French translation is available. We’ve also created a small tab here on the blog where we’ll keep up with the latest stories translated into French.

We created an example story about Bastille Day, coming July 12. Take a look and see.

We’re glad to work with you, thanks for the challenge!

Sincères salutations,

Catherine & Kim

–GFM Team


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