Press freedom debate

There was a very interesting piece on Channel 4 News on Tuesday night about The Guardian's publication of the US security service leaks from Edward Snowden.

First they showed an item about editor Alan Rusbriger being questioned by a parliamentary committee, where MPs suggested that he had behaved unpatriotically and betrayed his country.  Then they followed this up with a very spirited debate between legendary journalist Carl Bernstein and Conservative MP Julian Smith on the limits of press freedom.  The substance of the debate is of interest to us on this module in itself, but the role of Jon Snow as journalist and supposedly neutral interviewer is also worth thinking about.

Incidentally, on the same edition, there were several reports about protests around the world, and a news analysis piece asking 'What is driving the protests in Kiev and Bangkok?' in which Paul Mason links the protests to recent uprisings in Brazil and Turkey, and argues they have been "driven by a rising middle class in opposition to what looks like a brutal and corrupt elite". 


Jen

political image

A municipality worker holds a banner during a rally against state sector layoffs demanded by the country’s international lenders, in central Athens. The banner reads: ‘No to layoffs’ (top) and ‘I can’t take it any more.’ (Reuters)

Images of Occupy

Here are some images of the recent occupy movement protests, which took place in cities all over the world. What do the images say? what Ideographs are they challenging? Are they successful?

 This first image features the famous anonymous mask that Jen mentioned in the last post. But what does this particular iteration say?

Josh

Anonymous: what is the message of the mask?

Searching for 'anonymous' on Google images returns an interesting set of pictures - visually most are remarkably similar, but some have added text. 

What does the mask signify for you?  Does the text reinforce, jar with or alter that perception?
 

Greenpeace whaling

To help with the DeLuca reading for seminars, here is another example of the Greenpeace Zodiac boats that he discusses:

Do you agree with his analysis of how this image communicates its message?  Do you think you would have taken the same meaning from the image without his explanation, or does the power of image depend on supporting arguments in words?

There are many other Greenpeace pictures and videos on their youtube channel and their website. 
A whole section of the website is dedicated to multimedia - why do you think this is so important to them?  Do you think this section is more effective than the more typical news section (which also includes lots of pictures!)?

Jen

Barack Obama: Family Man

A very nice staged image of Barack Obama portraying his ordinary "family man" credentials. I do find the choice of suit odd, though. Does that do anything to the image?

Tony Blair: Sleeves up, Man of Action?

In preparation for this weeks lectures and seminars, I wanted to share this image of Tony Blair giving a speech for the Troops during the Iraq War. I'm interested in the choice not to wear a suit jacket or tie, and to opt for an open collar and rolled up shirt sleeves. In the context of war, and surrounded by soldiers, what do these choices say about Blair?

Cheers,
Josh