OneWorld and The Global Centre Launch Major Portal on Media Issues
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PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release 3 February 2000 OneWorld and The Global Centre Launch Major Portal on Media Issues MediaChannel.org (www.MediaChannel.org), the first web portal dedicated to global media issues and the premier Internet source for analysis and information about the media, is to be launched on 3 February 2000. Driven by content from a network of more than 300 international media organizations and contributors, MediaChannel explores areas such as freedom of expression, citizen access to media, trends in media ownership, and the intersection of media and politics. MediaChannel.org is a joint public interest project of two leading not-for-profit groups, OneWorld (www.oneworld.net) and The Global Center in New York. "We created MediaChannel in response to the crisis in the media world," explains Danny Schechter, MediaChannel Executive Editor and an Emmy award-winning former ABC News and CNN producer. "The 'dumbing down' of news and trivializing of information is not just an American phenomenon, but a global one. Our mission is to involve site visitors as citizens first, to encourage more public involvement in improving the media order." Echoing MediaChannel's concern for objectivity and integrity in journalism, MediaChannel advisory board member, newscaster Walter Cronkite, urges the public "to make MediaChannel.org your portal to the Internet." In particular, he applauded MediaChannel's "encouragement to people inside the media to speak up. Corporate censorship is just as dangerous as government censorship." (Mr. Cronkite's full statement is online at www.MediaChannel.org ). Content on MediaChannel.org is drawn from an international network of hundreds of affiliated organizations and sites, including the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the Project for Excellence in Journalism, the Media Institute of Southern Africa, the Columbia Journalism Review, UNESCO and the Freedom Forum. Current features on the site include essays by South Africa's Nobel Laureate Nadine Gordimer and Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano; a discussion of the media's role at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland; and reports from media watch groups on topics such as AOL's recent purchase of Time Warner. "Discussion, debate and discourse are our hallmarks," said Ken Jordan, MediaChannel's Site Director. "We don't just gripe about what's wrong with the media -- we also explore ways to make it right. We are creating an online action center for media critics, analysts, educators and journalists worldwide." "OneWorld started up on the Internet to help meet the growing concerns of the NGO community and wider civil society that mainstream media fail to provide accurate, unbiased, accessible information about global justice issues. MediaChannel will harness the democratic potential of the Internet to promote more responsible media," said Glen Tarman, OneWorld Publicity Manager. "As citizens we rely on the media for a clear perspective of what is going on in the world and, too often, that is not what we are getting." Global Centre is the non-profit foundation affiliated to Globalvision, Inc., a leading independent film and video production company headquartered in New York City www.globalvision.org. Established in 1987, Globalvision has a 13-year track record of producing award-winning television series, news programming and documentary films. OneWorld is a non-profit organisation whose major portal site on the internet www.oneworld.net focuses on human rights, environment and sustainable development. Featuring a daily news service, radio, tv, campaigns, jobs and a powerful search engine to information on over 600 partner NGO sites worldwide, www.oneworld.net is the most popular gateway for global justice on the web. Note to Editors : For further information on The Media Channel check out the www.MediaChannel.org site and/or contact Danny Schechter, Executive Editor,The Media Channel editor@mediachannel.org VP, Globalvision Inc. 1600 Broadway #700 New York, New York l0019 T:212-246-0202 F: 212-246-2677 As the media watch the world, we watch the media .......... For further information on OneWorld contact Glen Tarman, media@oneworld.net, T +44 (0)20 7735 2100 -ends- |
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