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(03-07 11:26)

The head of the powerful US gun lobby railed against American media Thursday, saying it was biased and lying about the heated debate on regulating weapons. One of America's greatest threats is the national news media that fails to provide a level playing field for the truth,'' NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre told an annual conference of conservatives just outside Washington, AFP reports. Congress failed to pass a hotly contested gun control law last year, despite a series of recent mass shootings that shocked the nation. The failure came after stiff opposition by the National Rifle Association and other gun groups, which mounted a successful counter-campaign and warned members that the US government was bent on taking guns away. The political and media elite are lying to us,'' LaPierre told the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. LaPierre, whose group counts about five million members, said the media ''hate us, just for saying out loud and sticking up for what we believe, as if we had no right.'' But their moral indignation, it should be directed right into their own makeup mirrors,'' he added. His comments echoed criticisms often made by conservatives about the mainstream media, which former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin once memorably dubbed the lamestream media.'' LaPierre vowed that NRA members will never, and I mean never, submit or surrender to the national media.'' Recalling that the right to bear arms is enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, LaPierre declared that standing with the NRA is a massive declaration of individual rights.'' And he promised a bare-knuckle street fight'' for this November's mid-term elections. US President Barack Obama, a Democrat, issued targeted executive orders and actions aiming to tighten rules for gun ownership and to help states provide information about the mentally ill for federal background checks. The rules were announced after the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting that left 20 young children and six staff dead in December 2012. The massacre relaunched a push for gun control laws in America and a handful of states have since tightened gun rules. But the national measures Obama sought, including a plan for enhanced background checks on gun buyers and a ban on assault-style rifles, failed in Congress. The NRA will not go quietly into the night. We will fight. I promise you that,'' LaPierre said.

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Defiant US gun lobby rails against media moral indignation

The Chennai District Election Office has set up a media cell and media centre to detect and control paid news in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. Based on directions from the Election Commission of India, the media cell and centre, located at Ripon Buildings, commenced operations on Wednesday.

Starting this week, the media cell will screen all news stories in broadsheet newspapers and tabloids to spot news stories likely to have been influenced by political parties using monetary rewards. It will also track all news stories on electronic and social media ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The members will include city-based journalists and district election officials.

The cell will send reports of paid news stories to the District Election Officer on a daily basis. News stories that favour a particular candidate during the elections are likely to be under the scanner for content associated with paid news.

The cell will also keep a record of all news on candidates. Estimates of money spent on elections will also be made based on the assessment of records.

The District Election Office will initiate action against violations of the model code of conduct by political parties. The media centre will include a helpline and call centre.

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Media cell in Chennai to track cases of paid news

The recent arrest of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn has thrown an international media spotlight on Mexican drug cartels and the acts of violence associated with them. What is less talked about, however, is how over the past decade increased access to the Internet, cellphones and other digital media have drastically changed the landscape of the so-called "drug war" in Mexico.

In a new article published in "Latin American Perspectives," Carnegie Mellon University's Paul Eiss examines how both sides of the drug war -- the cartel operatives as well as government and security forces -- have used and responded to digital and social media. Eiss, associate professor of anthropology and history in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, explores the nature and implications of what he calls the "narcomedia," forms of digital messaging that have become central elements of, and even motivations for, the horrific acts of violence that have become commonplace in Mexico.

In Mexico, "narcomensajes" or narcomessages, are handwritten signs left by drug traffickers, often accompanied by gruesomely disfigured human remains. They have been used by traffickers, like Guzmn's Sinaloa cartel, since 2006, and typically are interpreted as ways for rival groups to "settle the score" or claim territory. From the moment of their first emergence, the narcomensajes and "narcovideos" were clearly intended for digital reproduction and transmission to YouTube and other platforms, thus bypassing the control of traditional media in a time when more and more Mexicans were using the Internet. Access to the Internet among Mexicans increased from 5 percent of the population in 2000 to 33 percent in 2010.

Eiss traces the emergence and spread of the narcomedia throughout Mexico and uses a 2008 episode from Yucatan to illustrate how the use of diverse kinds of narcomessaging politicized the battle between the cartels and the government. He shows how in some cases the tactics of the narcomedia seem to have been adopted by government and security forces as well. For instance in 2009 security forces killed another cartel leader, Arturo Beltrn Leyva, and disseminated images of his symbolically desecrated body.

Attempts by the government and media companies to restrict the circulation of the narcomessages in mainstream media have caused a crisis in the news media as newspapers and journalists have been subjected to an unprecedented level of physical attacks by traffickers as well as police and security forces.

"I call my analysis of the narcomedia a 'reader's guide,' because it is meant to provide a different way to read the narcomedia, and by extension, episodes of drug war-related violence in Mexico," said Eiss, who also directs CMU's Center for the Arts in Society (CAS).

"Against depictions of the drug war in black and white, as a fight of good guys against bad guys, the narcomedia reveal the conflict to be painted in shades of gray -- leaving many observers asking 'Who is who'? Against rosy depictions of the social media as an engine of progressive social change, the narcomedia show them used just as powerfully as a tactic of violence.

"At the same time though, in a climate of censorship and open physical assaults on the press, the narcomedia -- or the blogs that mine them for information unavailable in the mainstream media -- paradoxically also offer an increasingly important resource for the Mexican public as it seeks information and critical perspective on the conflict, and ways to respond," Eiss said.

CAS is a research center in the Dietrich College and College of Fine Arts that explores the role of the arts in society. Eiss was inspired to investigate the Mexican drug cartel's use of Internet and digital media in part by the center's Media Initiative, which is focused in part on the role that new media -- digital, networked, computer-mediated and social media -- now play in social life, cultural politics and political mobilizations.

"I like to think that this project, like those supported by the center's Media Initiative, engages contemporary issues in new ways even as it draws deeply on the longstanding core concerns and methodologies of the humanities," Eiss said.

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How social media shaped the 'drug war' in Mexico

Pretoria, South Africa The murder trial of South African Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius has attracted unprecedented media attention. The coverage of the story, however, has not been without problems.

Pistorius' closely watched murder trial is the first major South African criminal trial to be broadcast live from within the courtroom.

The trial is being played on local radio stations and two South African news providers have started a cable channel dedicated entirely to the case.

But critics say the media attention has had significant issues. Among the critics is the trial's judge, Thokozile Masipa.

On day two of proceedings, Masipa lashed out at local media for publishing a photo of a witness who did not give broadcasters permission to film her testimony. In doing so, Masipa showed while that she may talk very softly, she carries a big stick.

"I must say this is very disturbing, I am warning the media if you do not behave you are not going to be treated with soft gloves by this court," she said.

Media mistake

University of the Witwatersrand journalism professor Anton Harber said the media outlets, including a prominent TV news station that ran a photo of witness Michelle Burger on screen along with her testimony, made a mistake.

"I think it was very foolish of the media to run a picture of the witness when it is clear that courts were trying to protect her. I think technically they may not have been in breach of the rules and regulations, but they were certainly in breach of the spirit, and that is a rather silly thing to do when the judge has her finger hovering over the control button for public broadcast," said Harber.

Pistorius has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, 2013. He said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her four times through a locked bathroom door.

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South Africa: Pistorius Trial Judge Notes Pitfalls of Media Attention

Statement From Scoop Media Limited Publisher Alastair Thompson

Scoop Media Ltd. regrets that an investment from Sublime Group in Scoop Media Limited will not proceed at this time.

On Monday 24 February operational control of Scoop Independent News returned to the Scoop Media Limited shareholders.

The team running Scoop has now returned to normal, Scoop Co-Founder Alastair Thompson has returned to Scoop as Publisher and Editor, Gordon Campbell continues on as Political Editor & Werewolf Editor and Lyndon Hood remains News Editor.

Scoop co-founder Alastair Thompson said today:

"Scoop Media Limited's shareholders regret that the investment proposition which we had been working on for the past year has been unable to proceed at this time.

"In 2014, Scoop Independent News will report on its 6th election. It is fast shaping up to be the most interesting and important election Scoop has been around to report on.

"In this election year Scoop's mission to report without fear or favour on New Zealand news and provide an open public platform for all voices ( excepting those who engage in defamation and hate speech ) remains as important as it has ever been.

"Looking towards the 2014 Election Scoop has recently enhanced products and services which enable businesses and civil society to participate in the National Debate.

"Scoop has a highly experienced political & digital communication team which can help provide effective marketing and communication solutions which reach New Zealand's influencers."

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Statement From Scoop Media Limited