Today’s MediaWireWorld roundup of journalism news from outside the U.S. Send tips to Kristen Hare: khare@poynter.org
U.K.
On Monday, The Guardian’s Roy Greenslade wrote about a blog post from journalism professor Tony Harcup on the Oxford University Press site. “The best and worst things about journalists” includes nine of each.
Here are a few of the best:
5. We juggle complex intellectual, legal, commercial and ethical issues every day, simultaneously and at high speed, all while giving the impression of being little deeper than a puddle
8. Our gallows humour keeps us going despite the grim stories we cover and the even grimmer people we work with
And here are a few of the worst:
1. We have a tendency to tell young hopefuls that all the quality has vanished from journalism compared to when we started out (journalists have been harking back to a mythical golden age for well over a century)
8. Our insistence that we are something of a special breed is a bit rich given that most journalistic jobs have more in common with The Office than with All The President’s Men
Saudi Arabia
A Saudi Arabian court increased the sentence for blogger and human rights activist Raef Badawi “to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of 1 million riyals (200,000 euros),” Reporters Without Borders reported Monday.
Badawi, one of the founders of Liberal Saudi Network, was arrested in 2012.
“The severity of the sentence is shocking,” said Reporters Without Borders research director Lucie Morillon. “We urge the authorities to release Badawi and to quash his conviction, which is emblematic of the way freedom of expression and information are suppressed in Saudi Arabia.
“The authorities must stop putting pressure on all those who dare to voice opinions that are at variance with those permitted and must stop systematically using religious grounds to gag all political opposition.”
Costa Rica
This July, women in Costa Rica can practice journalism and yoga, The Costa Rican Times reported on Saturday. The newspaper will host the internship, teaching women to write, shoot photos and videos, and they’ll spend some time volunteering at the local animal shelter. Plus, there’s yoga.
Normally this program is co-ed but this summer’s program has been specially designed for women. The Costa Rican Times has brought on some of the best yoga instructors in the area to give classes 2 times a week for the female program attendees. They have also brought on a surf instructor to give classes a day each week. All of this has been added to an already incredible journalism internship program.
Austria
Conchita Wurst made the front of many newspapers in Europe on Monday. She won the Eurovision Song Contest, a first for Austria in 48 years, according to Caroline Davies in The Guardian.
Bearded drag act Conchita Wurst, who secured Austria’s first Eurovision win in 48 years, received a jubilant welcome home to Vienna on Sunday as she pledged to promote tolerance.
“It was not just a victory for me but a victory for those people who believe in a future that can function without discrimination and is based on tolerance and respect,” Wurst told reporters.
Among many newspapers, she’s on the front of Kurier, in Vienna (courtesy the Newseum):
