Ticker: two trials- Amanda Knox and Alberto Fujimori

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[Story Ticker] September 16 update

Hi, Global for me followers!

There are two new stories up on the GFM ticker- we’ve been following two intriguing trials.

The murder of Meredith Kercher.

Over in Italy we have the reopening of trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, which has been making the headlines but here at GFM we are wondering if she is really getting a fair trial or if the media’s fascination with portraying her as the femme-fatale “Foxy-Knoxy” has biased the case. Read the page.

Alberto Fujimori.

Meanwhile over in Peru a scandalous case involving corruption at the highest echelons of power. Former Peruvian President, Alberto Fujimori, who is already serving a 25 year sentence for alleged human rights abuses in his war on drugs and embezzlement of state money- is due to take to the stand again. Over in Peru, suggests that the majority of the population feel he warrants a pardon- can this happen? Fujimori is adamant that the charges are politically motivated. Read here– if you want to find out more.

Help get these stories told and many more at Global For Me.

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Ticker: Beruit’s lost treasures, Roman ruins knocked down for development

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[Story Ticker] August 04 update

Afternoon, bloggers.

Our story ticker updates again today with a story that may prick the conscience of those interested in preserving history.

Here’s the full pitch from Kit on our main Global for me website:

• Beruit’s lost treasures by Austin Mackell

LEBANON – In downtown Beirut and further across the Middle East a desecration is occurring. Rebuilding in Lebanon by a construction company has uncovered a series of Roman ruins along the way. We’ve seen them…

So what happens once they find them? They knock ‘em down and build on top.

How has this been allowed to happen? Is there a blatant abuse of political power going on? Is the building company connected with other ongoing projects in archaeologically significant areas like Baghdad, Ammam and Agaba, what further treasures has the region lost? Critics are incensed.

Who is behind this? Are there murkier dealings going on?

Global for me correspondent Austin Mackell is ready to investigate. Having seen the ruins first hand, spoken to critics and looked into the history of the company and deals involved, he believes there is a story to be told. Help him here at Global for me by pledging to make a donation for this story, now. Read the page.

This story was suggested by Austin himself. If you’re interested in helping make this story come to light, here’s what you can do:

• First, spread the word.

Global for me is crowdsourced – in other words, we need your support. Help build a crowd that will support and help produce this story. E-mail, tweet or call your friends that you know would be interested – get the story out.

• Second, Suggest & Fund.

Global for me is crowdfunded, meaning that the money that produces the stories comes from interested users like you. Donations can range from pennies to pounds or euros or dollars, it’s all about supporting the journalist for their work.

• Third, get the word out.

We’re not kidding. We need you to spread the fire on each of our suggested stories so they may come to light. For more info about how this works and what we’re trying to do, visit our FAQ and Mission & Challenge pages.

• Fourth, be apart of the process.

Send us your feedback. E-mail us. Comment on the blog. Tweet us. Send us a smoke signal on Facebook. Let us know what you want from the story, when you want it, and how. We’re working alongside you.

Also, if you may notice, our story ticker page has updated with little thermometers that look something like this:

This little thing is a Fund-o-Meter, you may have seen the likes of it before. It’s a new indicator of how much has already been donated to a story, and how close the story is to production.

We’re growing, but we still need help. That is what crowdsourcing and crowd funding is about. Many thanks to those that have e-mailed, commented and supported us thus far. It’s appreciated more than you know.

Thanks for your support,

Kim

–GFM Team

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E-mail your story ideas to  

Join our discussions on Twitter. @GFMEditor

• Read our Global for me mission and challenge. Make the news work for you.

• Check our story ticker daily for updates.

• Help out by suggesting or funding a story.

Ticker: child kidnapping, bombs in Philippines, Lebanese-Israeli border and 16 new ministers for Bulgaria

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[Story Ticker] July 29 update

Afternoon again, bloggers.

Our story ticker has been updated today with 4 new additions.

For newcomers, Global for me is a crowdsourced, crowdfunded journalism project by Global Radio News. Our mission is connecting you, the user, to the reporter behind the news desk.

Read our mission as well as challenge to the journalism industry for more information, and feel free to contact us with questions.

Also, the ticker has been condensed into one, singular post that will be updated daily. Have a look, we hope we’ve made it easier for you.

Onto the stories…

• Child sacrifice and kidnapping in Uganda by Duncan Woodside

KINSHASHA, Congo – The abduction of children in Uganda has surged by nearly 40% compared to figures for 2006. The country has long been bedevilled by kidnapping, with the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army specialising in the enslavement of children as soldiers. But the latest rise in abductions – to an annual rate of more than three hundred – is not due to the rebels, who have been largely exiled to neighbouring Congo; instead, it seems that the rising popularity of ‘child sacrifice’ is to blame. Read on.

• Despite peace pledges, bombs in southern Philippines by Simon Roughneen

Singapore – Government and Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines both signed ceasefires over the weekend, renewing hopes that a stalled peace deal could be implemented, giving autonomy to Muslim regions in the largely Catholic country’s south, after three decades of on-off fighting and multiple kidnaps of foreigners. Read on.

• The Lebanese-Israeli border by Austin Mackell

TEHRAN, Iran – Tensions are escalating along the Lebanese border with Israel. A new Israeli outpost on the border has apparently upset both Hezbollah and the Lebanese army and reports suggest that they have come very close to engaging with Israeli’s near the outpost. Read on.

• New PM Borisov has picked 16 ministers for the next Bulgarian government by Jordan Jordanovich

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Boyko Borisov, leader of the GERB party and the future Prime Minister of Bulgaria, has announced the names of the Ministers for the new Bulgarian government. At a special ceremony at the Bulgarian Presidency, Borisov handed back to President Georgi Parvanov the mandate to appoint a new cabinet. The new Bulgarian government consists of 15 Ministers. Including former senior World Bank economist Simeon Djankov as the new Minister of Finance. Read on.

All of these have been added to our growing ticker. Check it daily to see updates.

If you’re interested in suggesting or funding a story, see our Suggest and Fund page.

Happy reading,

Kim

–GFM Team

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E-mail your story ideas to  

Join our discussions on Twitter. @GFMEditor

• Read our Global for me challenge. Make the news work for you.

• Interested in helping make this stories come to light? Hop over to the Suggest and Fund page.

Welcome. Click on to read the international news stories in our ticker. Suggested and funded by users like you, updated daily.

Ticker: X-Factor odds with special guest Tony Cowell

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Today’s freelance story ticker

Afternoon again, bloggers!

Today, our story ticker is drumming up a nice surprise for all you X-Factor and celebrity fans.

The Global for me team plus a certain special someone is proud to present the following story pitch:

• X-Factor odds by the GFM Team and special guest Tony Cowell

The new series of X-Factor doesn’t begin until next month but already the bookies have been giving odds.

Paddy Power is offering odds for a winner from one of the younger categories- 7/4 that the winner is from the boys group and 15/8 for a girl winner. No group has ever won X-Factor but they are being backed at 3/1 with the over 25’s least favourite at 4/1.

All these odds, numbers and demographics pose the question, what does it really take to win X-Factor? With huge amounts of cash at stake- is there a formula for success? Where does the power lie- with the judges or the public?

We welcome to the Global For Me team, Tony Cowell, brother of X-Factor judge and creator Simon. Tony has over the years had unparralled X-Factor access and knows better than anyone the inner workings of the X-Factor machine.

For the inside track on all things X-Factor at GFM we can deliver the backstage stories and more.

Read the original pitch on our main website.

As some may already know – yes, Tony Cowell is the older brother of famed X-Factor, American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent TV personality Simon Cowell. Read more about the endeavors of Tony Cowell on his official website.

This is another unique opportunity to connect to the reporter behind the news desk. E-mail or comment your interest to GFM right away if you’re interested… X-Factor is soon to return to television, so there’s a bit of a deadline with this one!

Also, don’t forget to browse our other story tickers for this week. Here’s a list of some of the proposed topics below:

• Will Afghanistan make it to the polls? by Jerome Starkey
• What happens after Kim Jong Il’s Death? by Jason Strother
• Sri Lankan concentration camps by Florence Muchori
• Mexico: the affects of the drug trade by Ioan Grillo
• How is Iraq coping alone? by Neil Arun
• Cyber warfare: US, S. Korea versus N. Korea? by Nancy Youssef

Interested? Drop us a line. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you’re curious about the Fund-a-Story process.

All the best,

Kim

–GFM Team

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E-mail your story ideas to  

Join our discussions on Twitter. @GFMEditor

• Read our Global for me challenge. Make the news work for you.

• Interested in helping make this stories come to light? Hop over to the Fund a Story page.

Ticker: Afghanistan elections, danger at the polls

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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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E-mail your story ideas to  

Join the day’s discussion on Twitter. @GFMEditor

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

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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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E-mail your story ideas to  

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.

Day two of Xinjiang province protests – why the violence?

ticker: China

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Afternoon, bloggers!

China’s Xinjiang province is topping news headlines again today with a second day of violent protests. Today, our story ticker brings up this story for readers like you and for our correspondents in China.

The developing story, from our main website…

Following the riots in the Xinjiang region on Sunday by Muslim Uighurs which left 156 dead, racial tensions in the region have reached tipping point. As 10,000 Han Chinese marched through Urumqi on Tuesday afternoon the potential for further catasrophic tragedy seems ever more likely…

The Uighur people claim that they have been repressed for years by the Chinese government. They say that their plight has been ignored – due to the success of Chinese propoganda. They allege that the Chinese have successfully portrayed them to the West as Muslims with links to al-Qaeda and simultaneously to Muslim majority countries as pro-west Muslims, as not true Muslims. So that no one is interested in the truth…

In a nation as economical with the truth as China, do you want to know the real story in Xinjiang? What has really been taking place and who is really responsible?

Find out here at Global For Me, where we have the reporters in place to find the answers to your stories…

So here’s the catch…

In order to make this story happen, GFM needs interest as well as donations to get the story done. The idea is all about crowdsourced journalism, as well as connecting directly with the reporter behind the news desk.

Read through our list of Global Radio News freelance reporters who work inside China. One of those correspondents could potentially work for you.

Remember, GFM’s goal is to create journalism for you, and support freelancers working hard all over the world to deliver the news.

If you’re already interested, contact us right away, or comment below.

Sincerely,
Kim
–GFM Team

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A call for investigative journalism: Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme – GFM Story Ticker

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Afternoon, bloggers!

Kim here, we have a story ticker alert. Our ticker will always sound when our Global for me users send us story ideas.

Remember, if GFM receives enough user interest as well as donation pledges, we can ring up one of our worldwide correspondents to pick up the story for you.

It’s all about connecting to the reporter behind that news desk.

Enough ado. Here’s what GFM received from Ivor Sutton:

E-mail Header

To: Global for me
Sent: 29 June 2009 19:54

Submitted Headline

Banking Abuse of Governments ‘Loan Guarantee Scheme‘

Story Pitch (full text)

The Governments SFLGS (Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme) was produced with the objective of giving ‘the many’ an opportunity to start-up their business ideas. The banks were given the incentive of a government 75% guarantee to implement this ‘scheme’ and the sole task of confirming the ‘viability’ of a business plan and thus providing the necessary funding. Over the last 5-years or so there has been strong evidence that some High Street Banks have ‘Abused the SFLGS’ through banking Maladministration combined with a total lack of ‘customer care’ during the banks funding procedure. IBAS (Independent Advisory Service) has a whole web page devoted to this rather appalling issues that failed to be addressed by politicians, particularly those who were part of a government who were in bed with the bankers throughout this period. Goto: www.ibas.co.uk/SFLGS.htm (for details). In 2004 my business start-up was confirmed ‘viable’ by a Bank and then the basis or product that enabled the opportunity for funding (SFLGS) was ‘Abused’ by this particular bank. Delays at the start, eventually lead to extreme delays. A funding procedure that was meant to take only 5-weeks – took 5-months to complete – and thus proved financially detrimental to the viability of my business. My business manager resigned his post and my business partner and I were left with the ‘burdon of high delay cost’ created by the bank, and the stress and frustration of what ACTUALLy happened. The bank FAILED in the way in which it presented its ‘procedures’ and its ‘customer’ care’ – this in itself was an intolerable failing! My viable business was no longer ‘viable’ as the ‘high cost of delays’ created by this bank created many issues that prevented trading. Everything had in fact ‘changed!’ The financial forecast that was once successful and in full agreement with this bank, was no longer a ‘passage of opportunity’ – instead, it was a ‘root for failure’. And, as a result of this ‘Banking Abuse’, I lost my ‘viable’ business – and eventually my Home. The Financial Ombudsman Service seemingly did all it could to uphold this banking culture. As one of their Adjudicator’s was responsible for dealing with my case – and later I found out that this same Adjudicator was responsible for dealing with similar cases from individuals I did not know at this particular moment in time. It was therefore very strange that this Adjudicator should conclude in all 3 cases that ‘the bank did nothing wrong!” Investigative Journalism is not as active as it should be. Its decline does more to deny the ‘rights’ of redress for many individuals in our communities. In fact, its decline does little to uphold our Democracy – enabling Unfairness and Injustice to grow and thus minimising the Trust and Confidence that is needed in order to strengthen the connection between Politics and the Public, and to weaken the disconnection and dissillusionment that can lead to crime. The aim for me and the others who have suffered a similar fate as me, is to have the support of an Invetsigative Journalist. It is with this type of Journalism that could provide the answers of ‘quantification’ based on the amount of similar cases that the FOS has on record. As you are aware, the Financial Ombudsman Service is not bound by the ‘freedom of Information Act’. Yes, this is a Disgrace! Especially given that their relationship with bankers are also part of this appalling ‘culture’. I am sure you will agree, that the fate that was placed at those who resided from disadvantaged backgrounds is an appalling level of injustice that cannot go unmeasured and untreated. The banks remain arrogant and dismissive while many try to keep the roof over their heads. the fight should have been with political support on our side. However, though their was a brief debate at Westminister Hall in May 2009, it also failed to address these issues in its entirety. Finally, as I, and my contacts, remain strong with full knowledge and evidence of the actual events that took place in our cases, we remain confident that Investigative Journalism will get to the heart of the matter and provide the opening for Truth and Justice to teh many who have been failed by this appalling banking culture.

Thank you, Ivor. If this story is to become reality, there is a laundry list of things to do.

To Ivor, as well as our other GFMers, what do you think?

• Are there others interested in an investigative story into the British Parliament’s Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme, or SFLGS?
• What format would you like a story like this produced in?

Don’t hold back. E-mail us you ideas or simply comment below.

And as a quick note…

Note our ticker format: story suggestions are posted as is, unedited – and personal contact information is withheld unless otherwise specifed. This is to maintain the integrity of the journalism process, as well as not spread personal e-mail addresses around!

Again, many thanks to Ivor. Expect future updates should this story move forward…!

Kim

–GFM Team

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E-mail your story ideas to  

GFM would like to thank Flickr user casey.marshall for the stopwatch graphic used in this post. Retrieved and adapted under the Creative Commons license, 1 July 2009.

Requested attribution to the work:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rsdio/ / CC BY 2.0

Thank you!