Tyrants who care about the planet

by Alan Mairson on September 2, 2010

National Geographic will begin publishing an Arabic edition in October, with distribution covering 15 countries — including Libya.

According to Menassat, a Beirut-based organization that focuses on press freedom in the Arabic-speaking world:

Muammar al-Gaddafi, who spearheaded a coup in Libya in 1969 — and who has controlled the country ever since.

Libya has one of the worst press freedom records in the Arab world. Reporters without Borders classifies the press situation in Libya country [sic] as a “very serious situation” – the bleakest category in their classification. It occupies rank 152 out of 168 in their Index of Press Freedom. … The World Press Freedom Review by the International Press Institute notes that Libya is “home to one of the world’s worst human rights regimes and, wholly devoid of any independent media; indeed, it is consistently referred to as having one of the worst press freedom environments.” Furthermore, the report states that “journalists are not free to express criticism of the state, the political system or the country’s leader and many sensitive topics, such as the plight of the Berber minority or high-level corruption are considered off-limits.” According to the Committee to Protect Journalists Libya belongs to the ten most censored countries in the world. The Freedom House report on Freedom of the Press states that “Libyan journalists continue to operate under some of the most restrictive laws in the world and in an extremely repressive climate. Press freedom, like all other public political activity, is illegal, and harsh laws impose life imprisonment and even death sentences on those who dare cross the regime. A public opponent can face a firing squad if he commits vaguely defined violations such as tarnishing Libya’s image abroad or disseminating information that opposes the principles of the constitution.”

What is it about today’s National Geographic which enables it to receive such a warm welcome by Colonel Gaddafi, Libya’s Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution?

How did a magazine that in 1976 published a feature story called Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Freedom end up in this despotic neighborhood?

And perhaps most important: What has our Society sacrificed or changed in recent years to pass muster with “one of the world’s worst human rights regimes”?

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≡  photo of Colonel Gaddafi via Wikipedia

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Eliminating those pesky “cultural influences”

by Alan Mairson on September 1, 2010

In October, National Geographic magazine will launch its new Arabic edition, which will be distributed to 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including the United Arab Emirates.

Also in October: the United Arab Emirates plans to cut off Blackberry service within its borders.

Why do UAE officials welcome National Geographic but want to ban Blackberries? According to one columnist, the government considers its population “vulnerable to foreign cultural influences.” Blackberries exacerbate that vulnerability, but evidently NGM does not. Which is logical when you consider the feature stories in this month’s issue of the magazine:

King Tut’s DNA (more Egyptian mummies from our friend Zahi Hawass)
A Fabled Aussie Island (landscapes)
Madagascar’s Pierced Heart (natural resources)
Dazzling Insect Eggs
The Mystery of Eels

Of the 92 photographs in this issue, only 24 of them include people, and most of those people are not named. They’re just local folks, faceless natives — without a voice, without an identity, and without a point of view. By removing people from the pages of NGM and focusing instead on The Planet, our Society has eliminated those pesky “cultural influences” that might restrict the growth of our global media brand into regions where democracy and freedom of speech are not priorities.

He must love those stories about insect eggs and eels.

Short term, we see the logic: NGM gets to publish in places like the UAE, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. But this globalizing mentality distorts the Magazine’s content, and infuriates plenty of former Society members who have kissed National Geographic goodbye.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (above) — one of the richest men in the world, and President of the UAE — is smiling.

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The future of journalism can wait…

by Alan Mairson on August 30, 2010

… until Mary Carillo has concluded her remarks:

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“Enable community”

by Alan Mairson on August 29, 2010

In a recent post at Buzz Machine, Jeff Jarvis offers eight ideas on what magazines must do to survive — and this one tops the list:

Jeff Jarvis

1. Ignore print. Enable community. Yes, print is where the revenue is today. But it’s only going to shrink. Preserving print — and the past — is no strategy for the future. The physical costs of production and distribution are killing. The marketing cost of subscriber acquisition and churn is hellish. The editorial costs of maintaining gloss are wasteful if not sinful. So concentrate instead on your relationships with your like-minded souls among the people formerly known as your audience. In a social (post-brand, post-search) market, these magazines still have tremendous if very perishable value if you know how to unlock it because their people care about the same stuff. Enable communities to build and meet and create value around their interests….  Enable them to do what they want to do and follow along. Before you follow the money, follow the passion.

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

But here’s the question for NGS: What community has the National Geographic Society enabled that allows members to look not at the stage (where the ads are displayed), but sideways to other members? How can we find out who else is part of this (nominal) community?

Any thoughts, John Fahey? Tim Kelly? Chris Johns? Robert Michael Murray? If so, please feel free to share in the comments, below.

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The Story We Stopped Telling

by Alan Mairson on August 25, 2010

“That’s what makes New York special and different and strong….”
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg (:34 to :42)

As National Geographic prepares to launch its Arabic edition in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen (among other countries), we think yet again about the disastrous editorial trade-offs we’re making.

Which makes us all the more grateful when a public figure takes a principled and risky stand to embrace the story and the values that are vital to our society — and which once mattered to our Society before it aspired to become a global media brand.

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PixBoomBa: Thinking Beyond the Yellow Rectangle

by Alan Mairson on August 25, 2010

PixBoomBa is a new project from two talented photographers who figured out that although National Geographic is a big part of their past, it need not be the biggest part of their future. (Good luck with it, guys.)

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Democracy Matters

by Alan Mairson on August 22, 2010

Six Degrees of People Who Don’t Eat Bacon. Plus a finale featuring Charlton Heston. It’s must-see TV:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c
Extremist Makeover – Homeland Edition
www.thedailyshow.com

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Why did Joan Kroc show NPR the love — but not NGS?

by Alan Mairson on August 22, 2010

The good news: Vivian Schiller, CEO of NPR, and John Fahey, CEO of NGS, will be appearing on a panel together next month.

The bad news: It’s being moderated by a lawyer who is paid by both NPR & NGS, which doesn’t suggest a rigorous Q&A.

Nonetheless, we have hope — and would love to see Mr. Newman highlight key differences between the business models at NPR & at NGS.

To that end, we encourage him to ask a simple question: Why do Ms. Schiller & Mr. Fahey think Joan Kroc deemed NPR to be a safe place for her $200+ million bequest, but no philanthropist has considered NGS to be an equally safe bet?

(For a hint, read this.)

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Recommended Reading: NGM & …

by Alan Mairson on August 19, 2010

In related news:  The Mystery of the Missing Story

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Off topic? Or video metaphor? You make the call!

by Alan Mairson on August 16, 2010

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