Documentary filmmaker claims PBS shows bias
‘Islam vs. Islamists’ examines pressures on moderate Muslims

Canadian novelist and veteran documentary filmmaker Martyn Burke is not someone you’d expect to get into an ugly ideological spitting match with the folks who run PBS.

Burke, who lives and works in the heart of the Hollywood creative community, considers himself neither conservative nor liberal. But “Islam vs. Islamists,” the documentary he made about how moderate Muslims are being silenced and intimidated by Islamist extremists, will not be part of “America at a Crossroads,” PBS’s new 11-part, six-night series about post-9/11 America that begins Sunday night at 9.

Executives at WETA in Washington, D.C., the public station overseeing the series for PBS, say the documentary was cut from the “Crossroads” lineup because it wasn’t completed in time and because it was “alarmist” and not objective. PBS says it may run it at a later date.
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From a speech by Priscalla Jana, South African Ambassador to Ireland, at the launch of the Irish Delegation to 5th wrold summit on media for children (20th March 2007).

One of the first international conventions that the new South African Parliament ratified was the “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child”. I had the privilege to chair the parliamentary committee on the UNCRC.

South Africa fully subscribes to the principles of the UNCRC for the Survival, Development, Protection and Participation Rights of the Child. South Africa has also ratified the African Charter on the Rights of the Child.

However, there is yet much to be done in respect of children’s rights in my country and other parts of the world. As we talk here children are being abused and denied their basic rights. Children do not have a voice. It is paramount that children be given a voice and that society lends an ear to their voices.

The role of the media in respect of this is indispensable and extremely relevant. The fifth “World Summit on Media for Children” will provide children with a voice and an opportunity to be heard. It will enable children to express their dreams and their aspirations. It will provide children with a forum to articulate their challenges and their fears. This forum will create an opportunity to share best practices and to engage a learning experience.
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AFP, Google sign content deal

Agence France-Presse and Google signed a licensing agreement Friday giving the search engine the right to post AFP news and photos and settling a lawsuit filed by AFP two years ago. A joint statement by the companies said the accord allows the internet giant to post AFP content on Google News and other services.

AFP agreed to withdraw a lawsuit filed in March 2005 accusing the world’s number one internet search engine of copyright infringement for allegedly posting AFP headlines, news summaries and photographs without prior permission.

AFP chairman and Chief Executive Officer Pierre Louette said the accord also goes further. ‘The agreement will allow uses of AFP’s content in ways that go beyond its typical use of content in Google’s services, which features just headlines and snippets of text to provide just a taste of what an article offers,’ Louette said. He did not elaborate.

Source: AFP via Yahoo News, via EJC.

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