cafebabel.com

Digital native 'stars' of Serbia, Belgium, Germany and France to watch

('Hades',) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 16:00:00 -0000

Dude, where's my wi-fi code? They grew up with the internet and feel home at places where they can access the intenet directly. They are those nerds or hipsters who you imagine could spend almost twenty-four hours online. They are the talk show experts on all things web. Four famous European digital natives to watch

Women journalist quota in Germany: it's just charity

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 17:18:18 -0000

An initiative launched by 350 female journalists in Germany is promoting a quota of 30% of women in top media positions within five years. Aren't we forcing the question, girls?

Hungary, ‘Orbanistan’ and French media sensationalism

('Alice Jones',) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:48:25 -0000

What can be said of the international media frenzy that followed the Hungarian constitution coming into effect on 1 January, which described prime minister Viktor Orban's government as 'fascist' and even evoked Hungary's exclusion from the EU? For some Hungarians, such headlines are the product of a caricature, a lack of understanding even, of their country’s history. For others, the international press has flagged up wider concerns

Frédérique Ries: from journalist in Luxembourg to MEP in Brussels

('Andrew Burgess',) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:21:30 -0000

After fifteen years in journalism, the 52-year-old decided to make her mark at the European parliament. A decade on and she's still going strong. Portrait of a passionate figure whose passage into politics has not been without its pitfalls

Slovenian journalist: death threats after arms trade trilogy

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:18:09 -0000

In Slovenia, a trilogy published between summer 2011 and spring 2012 has exposed the secrets of the arms trade during the Balkans war and the role of the country's politicians in it. It's been an ache in the sides of those in power and with money and interests whom the book denounces. Co-writer Blaz Zgaga, 38, may be in hiding but he won't stay down

Paul Lewis: call him ‘special projects editor’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:05:22 -0000

At The Guardian, the award-winning British-Spanish journalist, 30, handles investigative news in an innovative method via social networks and micro-blogging sites – it even helped him crack stories about two murders. Interview

Journalist Irakli Berulava: ‘Georgia has lost opportunity that rose revolution created’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:00:04 -0000

‘Gloomy’ is how the correspondent of reporters without borders (RSF) in Georgia describes the media situation in the South Caucasus countries. Self censorship, governmental pressures and democratical regression after the rose revolution of 2003 are mining the field of journalism, says the man who is also a blogger, film director and producer

Post revolution new media: journalists face uncertain future

('Louis',) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 18:09:06 -0000

The recent Arabic revolutions have highlighted significant changes in the way stories are covered, but what are the implications of these changes, where are we heading and should we be scared?

Hungary media law: France journalism cases no better

('Carol Howard',) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:30:00 -0000

On 15 March tens of thousands of Hungarians protested against the government's planned media law. Even the European parliament's socialist, liberal, ecologist and far left politicians adopted a resolution asking for the suspension of the law, which 'needs re-examination'. Republication of an interview with a Rue89 journalist

Life as a journalist in Montenegro: punchbags and missionaries itching to do their job

('Carol Howard',) — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:30:00 -0000

Physical threats or threats of court action, unstable salaries and a lack of recognition. In a country which only ranked 104th on the 2010 world press freedom index compiled by reporters without borders (RWB), the journalist’s profession entails quite a number of downsides. This is one of the many paradoxes in Montenegro, for given the lack of political opposition the journalist is also the sole representative of the public interest. So they tell us

Vox-pop: Being a young journalist in Montenegro

('Jovana Zivkovic',) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 16:57:19 -0000

I want to intern at a fashion magazine. I want to stop the assassinations of Montenegro's journalists. I want to wake the people up to the freedom that they have. Three twentysomethings from the capital, Podgorica, explain honestly why they chose journalism in a sometimes bleak Balkan world

Caustic ‘Kataryna’ – outed ‘empress of Polish blogosphere’

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:00:00 -0000

The Warsaw-based political blogger saw her identity revealed by warring ‘traditional’ journalists in 2009, some who accused her of having a ‘male’ view and of meddling in political scandals. Exclusive interview from the thirty-something NGO director, who has been blogging anonymously since 2004

Birgitta Jonsdottir, Iceland's woman politician blogger

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:30:00 -0000

The politician, blogger and Wikileaks ‘friend’ from Reykjavik, 43, proposed a law which aims to convert the island into a model of digital transparency and safe haven for journalists; it was passed in June. Interview with a mother-of-one who is ‘everything but your traditional politician’

Internet platform Wikileaks divides EU media

('eurotopics',) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:20:24 -0000

On 25 July, the Sweden-based organisation co-operated with three major media sources to publish secret reports about the war in Afghanistan. The Austrian, British, Swiss and Estonian press disagree on this new transparency

Cinema review: Danish documentary Armadillo

('Alison Frank',) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:15:00 -0000

To make this documentary, Danish director Janus Metz Pedersen spent three and a half months at the allied camp on the front lines of southern Afghanistan. There's a tenuous division between fiction and reality in a film which finds the cruel violence of the fighters unbelievable

Bloggers in Romania, hailed by President Terminator

('Caroline Prosser',) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 12:00:00 -0000

Between fierce entrepreneurs, A-listers, history re-writers and new media journalists, bloggers are thriving in Romania. It's hailed by the president, but not well liked by other media stalwarts. The country, one of three ‘partially free’ medias in the EU (alongside Bulgaria and Italy), ranks a poor 50th on the European press freedom index

Satirists Clark and Dawe take on eurozone crisis - in 2 minutes 35

('English language version of cafebabel.com',) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 13:30:00 -0000

We're always a bit baffled by the ins and outs of the eurozone here at cafebabel.com - so it was nice to catch this little Youtube video circulated by the FT's chief economics commentator. Hilarious, though frightening

'Free', 'partly free', 'not free': press freedom in Europe

('Andrew Burgess',) — Wed, 12 May 2010 10:30:00 -0000

American NGO Freedom House uses three categories to rank the degree of press freedom in countries across the world. On 3 May 2010, world press freedom day, each region of Europe learnt its category: the press in western Europe is 'free', central Europe is 'partly free' and in eastern Europe the press is 'not free'. But there are signs that the trend could change

Three Croatian journalists to remember on world press freedom day

('Josipa Pavli\xc4\x87',) — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:45:35 -0000

When renowned sports journalist Zarko Susic died a natural death aged 95 on 26 April, it was almost a shock that his passing wasn't suspicious. The US-based watchdog Freedom House ranks Croatia 85th in the world for its lack of press freedom

AFP and the cruelties of web journalism

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:08:00 -0000

Heinz Fischer, prime minister of Hungary. On 24 April, a French press agency dispatch which wrongly earmarked the Austrian president as Hungarian PM made the rounds in the French-speaking media. We understand

The European politicians who insult journalists

('Amanda Mulligan',) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 08:00:00 -0000

Media and politics has always been a love-hate thing. From Livingstone to Berlusconi, a brief outline of some of the most memorable insults that Europe’s elected officials have directed at both defenceless and sometimes-deserving journalists

Guide to Twitter tongue

('Nicola Potter',) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:30:00 -0000

Tweet tweet. During both world wars carrier pigeons relayed short, sometimes vital messages, backwards and forwards when the electricity lines were out. Today, it’s Twitter’s 140 character posts which play the role of social network messenger…as long as you can master its language. So what are the basic ABCs of European Twitter?

Europe falls in press freedom rankings

('James Friscia',) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:00:00 -0000

If the old continent believes it still represents the paradigm of press freedom, then it is in for a rude awakening: in the worldwide rankings of freedom of the press published by Reporters Without Borders, many European nations are in a state of free fall. Yet a defence organises for what Kant called 'freedom of the pen'

Julien Frisch: quick chat about blogging in Europe

('James Friscia',) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 10:00:00 -0000

Believe in the European concept? Fantasise about a more transparent bureaucracy in Brussels? The answer is to blog. Well, this German does. The Berlin-based editor of bloggingportal.eu, a European blog portal, predicts what online European news will bring us in the coming years

Book review: the strange case of Ryszard Kapuscinski

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 18:55:06 -0000

The moment I heard that the biography of the late Polish 'journalist of the century' was being written, I knew there'd be some debate. I was right. Because if in Poland someone is 'great', he is also an untouchable saint

Sarkozy affair: why the Brit media and co were interested

('Andrew Burgess',) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:00:00 -0000

Whether it is fact or fiction, the rumours of extramarital romantic affairs relating to the French president first-born on Twitter has impassioned the European media, despite the notable absence of newspaper treatment in France. Are European news networks coming to the rescue of national censorship?

Europarl TV: 'technology is more fast-paced than the institutions'

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:15:00 -0000

In September 2008, the TV channel started streaming parliamentary sessions and news features on MEPs and their speeches on the European parliament’s webpage. The challenge is to give the institutions a human face - press service chief Jean-Yves Loog tells us how

Anderlecht, Molenbeek, Schaarbeek: spot the crime in Brussels

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:21:47 -0000

Petty crime and unemployment rates (17.6%) are high in inner city Brussels, which registers a low violent crime rate in Europe. Nevertheless, police arrested 12 Belgian Albanians linked to a crime gang on 15 February*, whilst certain districts remain dangerous. Is this down to the crisis?

Almost 50 journalists behind bars: 'all young Iranians are potential journalists'

('Jude Lister',) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:00:00 -0000

On 11 February 2010, both opponents and supporters of Ahmadinejad were in the streets to celebrate the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution. We speak to the Iranian lawyer and 2003 nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi

The Italian malaise: 'a country for old folks, run by old folks'

('k8transl8',) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:21:59 -0000

The 27 stories in Italian journalist Sergio Nava's 'Brain Drain' (2009) share one common thread: every single interviewee decided to leave Italy. In the book-cum-blog, the 34-year-old tries to find the origins of an injustice now afflicting young Italians, and speaks of the angst of a generation who have felt forced to export their talent abroad - and successfully at that. Interview

France: burqa bandits, burqa ban

('euro topics',) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:37:42 -0000

On 26 January, a French parliamentary committee recommended that the so-called 'burqa', or Muslim full-body veil, be banned. While this could check the spread of fundamentalism, it is also humiliating for those affected by it argue German, French and Swiss commentators

The 'M' word: breaking the Bulgarian complex

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 16:27:34 -0000

In January 2009, Sofia’s then-mayor and current PM banned anti-government protests after citizen disillusion with the country’s corruption; Bulgaria is officially the poorest EU state, according to Transparency International. One year on, the remnants of a ‘protest culture’ lie in the urban, cultural and mediatic fragmentation of a society rooted in tradition, the past - and the mafia, to an extent

Olga Rodríguez: 'Journalists tend to be very individualistic'

('Helen Swain',) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 10:43:33 -0000

On a famed terrace close to Madrid’s Palacio Real (Royal Palace) at nightfall, the 34-year-old Spanish award-winning journalist talks about two of her passions, the Middle East and journalism

Spot.us: 'anarchist' American news website that will save journalism

('Alexandra Baxter',) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:32:33 -0000

Only 11% of readers currently pay for online news sites. Of the remaining 89% who don’t pay, another 11% think that they would be able to start paying for their services within the next 12 months. A glance across the Atlantic at the community-funded journalism alternative set up by a young American

Europe's fictional politicians

('Aatish Pattni',) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0000

Horst Schlämmer is to Germany what Brüno is to Austria. Yet while the candid fashionista can be seen grinning down from billboards across Europe, his German counterpart is happy to keep a lower profile

'La frontière intérieure' documentary: French architects take on Iron Curtain

('Andrew Christie',) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 10:27:17 -0000

One stretch of border, one place, one person. The French documentary film 'La frontière intérieure' ('The Interior Border') is to have 40 public viewings throughout this summer along the former Iron Curtain. Seven portraits aim to highlight the obstacles, both physical and mental, preventing the people of Europe from understanding each other. Interview

Eta: 'ignore European terrorism', 'stay on holiday in Majorca'

('euro topics',) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 12:45:00 -0000

Presumed terrorists of the Basque underground organisation Eta set off a total of four bombs in the Spanish holiday resort of Palma on Majorca on 9 August. Only ten days ago Eta carried out an attack on the island in which two police officers were killed. The Spanish, German, Hungarian and Czech media respond

Notes: mid-twenties crisis of a journalist going round the world

('Lydia Bigos',) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:22:18 -0000

The day that I turned 25, I decided to just leave everything - work, my family, the flat I rented with some friends. I bought a round the world ticket and embarked on a year-long journey. Summary of a blog recognised by as 'the best non-English language blog' at the 'Lonely Planet travel bloggers’ awards

Crisis in European journalism

('Helen Swain',) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:48:28 -0000

Between the precarious nature of the work and fear for the vocation, journalism hardly dares to testify anymore against its patrons, the big communications companies. The public’s right to information is decreasing alarmingly as a result of the current economic crisis

Alison Smale: 'by learning languages I could escape the boring life I had been living as a child in England'

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 01:15:00 -0000

The former German and Politics student at Bristol university is the first woman to lead the Paris-based International Herald Tribune. The multilingual managing editor talks European elections, languages and journalism

Post-elections: chain reactions on Europe's new colours

('Joss Corner',) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:45:12 -0000

Green is the colour for victorius ecology in France and Germany, blue is the colour of the conservatives tightly tucked into the European blanker whilst the socialist pink rubs off the dye. Red deep blush for the abstainers! Correspondents from Poland to Italy comment on the 7 June results of the EU elections

EU elections 2009 record abstention: no ‘europeanisation’ of countries

('Hayley Worsley-Carter',) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:42:17 -0000

A participation level of just 43.5% is the product of a European election campaign that was too focused on national issues. Mainstream media makes European politics seem a depressing subject, leaving only the web to provide us with passionate and beneficial debates surrounding the concept of Europe

Turnout won't be 45% at the European elections this time!

('Nabeelah Shabbir',) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:38:02 -0000

We were sulky voters in 2004. It was the worst case in the history of the European parliament. Only 45% of Europeans made the effort, despite the fact that this assembly is the one making the decisions affecting our everyday life. Lame!

2-0 in Spain-England friendly friendly, but who is more racist?

('Chriomford',) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:00:00 -0000

Spanish racism or Spanish humour? Slitty eyed gestures - is it something the Brits fail to get? Anglo-Spanish relations are far from perfect: accusations, aggression and insults fly in both directions. Even before kick-off the bad press Spain has received affected the friendly between England and Spain on 11 February

Anne-Marie Autissier: ‘Albania was the North Korea of its time’

('Helen Moorhouse',) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:00:00 -0000

The French senior lecturer at the Institute of European Studies and former cultural attaché to Albania, 50, has her finger in every pie with one common factor: a cultural Europe

Erasmus for journalists, European elections for bores

('Jessie L.',) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:00:00 -0000

European journalism comes face to face with the European elections: a lack of interest, problems and solutions discussed during a meeting of Spanish women journalists in Cadiz

Reporters Without Borders: Bulgaria ‘worrying’

('Fiona Herdman Smith',) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:46:43 -0000

Luxembourg, Iceland and Norway rank joint first in the 2008 worldwide press freedom index - but why is Bulgaria lagging behind the rest of Europe? Interviews

Press review: the European right after Jörg Haider's death

('euro topics',) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:14:54 -0000

Following the death of the Austrian politician after a car accident on 11 October, the European press speculates on the consequences for coalition negotiations in the country. Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria could now possibly reunite with the Freedom Party of Austria

Michal Zygmunt: 'By 2010, Poland will be talking commercial gay movement'

('Olia Yatskewich',) — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0000

30-year-old author of the book ‘New Romantic’, the journalist and editor of gay magazine ‘Dik Fagazine’ talks politics, left-wing politics and emotion-drained religion

God bless our babelblogs

('Natalia Sosin',) — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:00:00 -0000

From Prishtina to Kiev with our new reporters project, via Istanbul and the US along the comic soundtrack of Europe - by Groucho Marx and Tim Burton