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The French are nothing if not evocative. It’s in the language. It’s in the culture. So much drama. We are grateful for this.
Cannes - on the French Rivera - evokes the enduring glamour of films. It’s not an act. For more than seventy-five years the special dynamics of the Cannes Festival have created that certain scene for stardom. There are spin-offs; TV and, of course, advertising. Cannes is the spot, particularly for showing off that yacht.
Next year will be a new entry, so to speak. The Cannes Gaming Festival Awards day will be held next October, announced organizers Antoine de Tavernost and Robin Leproux, reported Nouvel Obs (October 13). It is important, they said, because video gaming makes more money than cinema and appeals to half the world. There will be an “international” jury of "legitimate, well-known and passionate personalities.” The following year it will be a five-day event.
Video games have evolved since PacMan, before most Zoomers were born. Now video games are primary entertainment, some artfully produced, all available on mobile devices. Mark Zuckerberg is betting the metaverse on virtual reality goggles just right to transport gamers right into the action. The rest of us are just trying to avoid teens walking down the street playing games and paying attention to nothing else. (See more about digital transitions here)
“We want to breathe life into the industry and the recognition it deserves,” said M de Tavernost, quoted by >Le Monde
A year after Taliban extremists took over the country, proclaiming the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, media watchers detailed the dearth of independent news coverage in the country. Media workers were detained or arrested. Media outlets closed. Conditions continue to decline.
The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture has designs on revising the country’s media laws. Specifically, the practice of journalism will be addressed. “We will make some changes in the culture and religious sections,” said government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid, quoted by Khaama Press News Agency (September 7). The Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC) expressed “deep concerns.” (See more about media in Afghanistan)
In recent weeks Taliban extremists again turned their attention to foreign reporters. Banned from the country earlier this month was freelance reporter/photographer Stefanie Glinski, whose work has been published by the Guardian, Foreign Affairs, the Economist and Die Zeit. After four years in the country, her visa was revoked. “I can’t go back,” she posted to social media, quoted by VOA (October 13). “Over the past years, journos in AF have largely been operating freely. This has drastically changed.” (See more about journalism here)
As independent news outlets closed, partly from threats and partly over financial issues, media workers either went into hiding or left the country. Prominent TV news outlet ToloNews lost its director this past week. "I’ve given decades of my life to protect (and) advance free press (and) journalism in Afghanistan, but in the past month, I felt that I couldn’t continue," he posted to social media, quoted by The New Arab (October 15). “I left Kabul with a heavy heart.”
Racing toward final signatures is a constitutional amendment in Turkey to criminalize “spreading misinformation on purpose.” Understanding the country’s realities clarifies the purpose. Elections are coming next year and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of president Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to ensure political longevity.
Parliamentary debate on the law began in earnest last week (October 4) and developed much as to be expected. Media workers and civil society advocates have been trooping to the meetings wearing black masks. This week the president of Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS) Ankara branch Sibel Hurtas was banned from the proceedings, reported Balkan Insights (October 12). “We were punished for protesting with black masks against the censorship law in the parliament,” she said. (See more about censorship here)
“It seems that our speaker of parliament started the implementation of the law before the law was enacted,” said deputy chairperson of opposition Republican People’s Party Engin Altay. News media and civil discourse in Turkey is already severely limited. With the exception of the few surviving critical outlets, news media in Turkey is controlled by supporters of Mr. Erdogan.
Human rights and media freedom monitor Freedom House designated Turkey as “not free” this year, along side Russia and North Korea. The Committee to Protect Journalists referred to Turkey as “the biggest jailer of journalists in the world.” Prominent journalist Sedef Kabas was detained in January for insulting president Erdogan. (See more about media in Turkey here)
The proposed laws defines “spreading misinformation” as a crime. Specifically noted is “false information regarding internal and external security, public order and the general welfare of the country, in a way that breaches the public peace, simply for the purpose of creating anxiety, fear or panic among the population.” Jail terms up to three years can be imposed, more if the accused is part of an illegal organization.
By mid-week (October 11) the parliament had passed 15 of 40 articles of the bill. The most recent allows the Directorate of Communications to revoke press credentials at will. "Directorate of Propaganda" should not decide who should be regarded as journalists, said People's Democratic Party (HDP) National Assembly member Mehmet Rustu Tiryaki. Currently, the Directorate of Communications issues a “disinformation bulletin” weekly pointing out news reports with which they have a disagreement, noted CNN Türk (October 12).
For two weeks news reporting headlined the thousands of conscription age Russians fleeing by car and, even, foot to any visa-free destination. TV and newspaper photos showed 30 km lines at borders from Lithuania and Kazakhstan to Georgia and Turkey. The Russian super-elite long ago boarded their super-yachts for points unknown, bags of money neatly stowed. For the regular Moscow elites, with money and contacts, life goes on as it has.
Russian authorities brought charges last week against well-known TV show host, actor, political figure and socialite Ksenia Sobchak for spreading disinformation, reported Meduza (October 3), quoting state news agency TASS. She has a YouTube channel and had interviewed Moscow International Film Festival director Vitaly Mansky who intimated financial improprieties at that organization. He has been arrested. (See more about media in the Russian Federation here)
Ms Sobchak has spoken out favoring women’s right and gay rights in Russia and has been ambiguous on the invasion of Ukraine. Her father - Anatoly Sobchak - was the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg and a law professor of Vladimir V. Putin. He passed away in 2000. Because of this some in Russia have held that she has had “protected status.” After a failed attempt for political office, her notoriety has been limited to the tabloid gossip pages. In April she acquired Israeli citizenship. This week she was spotted boarding a flight to Istanbul, which she denied, saying she is working “with her band” in Tel Aviv.
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