隐性采访法律调整探析

隐性采访已被广泛采用,也由此引来一系列法律问题。新闻立法应当承认隐性采访的合法性,并在此基础上对隐性采访予以适当调整。具体而言,应当建立隐性采访的采访者从业资格制度;严格隐性采访器材管理制度;采访内容应限定在公众有权知晓但显性采访却无法获得的信息;采访应基于维护公共利益之目的。同时,应加强新闻审查机制对隐性采访的规范作用。     

The Network Society as Seen From Italy

Italy was behind the European average in internet development for many years, but a new trend, which has brought considerable change, emerged at the end of 1998 and showed its effects in 2000 and following years. Now Italy is one of the top ten countries worldwide in internet hostcount and the fourth largest in Europe. Density of internet activity on Italy in proportion to population is still below the average in the European Union, but growing faster than Germany, the UK and France--and faster than the world-wide or European average. From the point of view of media control there are several problems. Italy has democratic institutions and freedom of speech, but there is an alarming concentration in the control of mainstream media (especially broadcast). There are no officially declared restrictions in the use of the internet, but several legal and regulatory decisions reveal a desire to limit freedom of opinion and dialogue--and-or gain centralized control of the net.     

Historical Fabrications on the Internet

Summary

Although the Internet provides access to a wealth of information, there is little, if any, control over the quality of that information. Side-by-side with reliable information, one finds disinformation, misinformation, and hoaxes. The authors of this paper discuss numerous examples of fabricated historical information on the Internet (ranging from denials of the Holocaust to personal vendettas), offer suggestions on how to evaluate websites, and argue that these fabrications can be incorporated into bibliographic instruction classes.     

Editorial Note

One pressing issue in libraries today is the censorship of information. This theoretical essay uses Kurt Lewin's gatekeeping theory to examine the decision-makers as well as the different pressures and constraints that are at issue in decisions regarding challenges and censorship attempts that occur in regards to library collections. Knowing who the decision-makers, or gatekeepers, are in the decision-making process, whether it is library boards, library directors, or public officials, is crucial to the understanding of censorship in public libraries. Without a clear understanding of the function of gates and gatekeepers in the decision-making process, libraries may allow unintended censorship of ideas and information to persist.     

Use of social networks and information seeking behavior of students during political crises in Pakistan: A case study

This study was undertaken to investigate the use of social networks and political activism on the Internet by the students of three universities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi during the political crises for the last one year and the emergency imposed by the Government of Pakistan on November 3, 2007. The findings conclude that Internet use by the students promoted democracy, freedom of expression and greater awareness about their rights during the political crises in Pakistan.

The survey method of research was used to collect data. The sample consisted of 420 students studying at the Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, and International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. The questionnaire was sent to the students by email. The survey was administered through SurveyMonkey website. The response rate was 72.23%.

The paper is a useful source of information about how the social networking tools have been influencing and changing communication channels in Pakistan.     

“Not Censorship but Selection”: Censorship and/as Prizing

This essay calls for a fresh critical approach to the topic of censorship, suggesting that anticensorship efforts, while important and necessary, function much like literary prizing. The analysis draws especially on James English’s recent study The Economy of Prestige. There are two central arguments: first, that the librarian ethic of “selection”––introduced by Lester Asheim in 1953 as a counterpoint to censorship––has contributed to the unfortunate construction of the censor as a “moron”; and second, that anticensorship efforts more generally tend toward uncritical canon-making, attributing value to books simply because they’ve been censored or (more typically) challenged.