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Is Googling a new journalist’s name fair?
Curiously, I’ve read several articles recently by editors looking to employ journalists full time or freelance who’ve said that the first thing they do is search for the applicant’s name and ‘journalist’, and if they aren’t the first link that Google throws up, they’ll delete the application. It came up in the Guardian’s recent web…
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Madonna’s Malawi charity squandered millions
Nuff said really. Via the Guardian.
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Machaworks
I mentioned a while back that I was going to blog about Machaworks, after visiting them while I was in Zambia, and then never got round to it. This is why: Blogging from the bush: How ICT-led development is working in rural Zambia. There’s tons of stuff I ddin’t mention in that piece though –…
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Goodbye Katine
Last night I went to a seminar organised by Sound Delivery and Third Sector PR about the end of the Guardian’s Katine project. For those who don’t know, Katine was the first attempt by a major media organisation (that I’m aware of) to answer critics who say foreign correspondents never do follow ups. Over three…
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Guardian to launch global development website
Interesting tip-off from Dan Gril today – the Guardian are advertising for an editor to look after a new site dedicated to global development. The job brief sounds very intriguing – and promising for any writer with lots of international development stories and few opportunities to place them…
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Kyrgyz ex-leader’s son claims asylum in the UK
I wrote a piece for the Guardian today expressing anger at the lack of international response in Kyrgyzstan. I wish now I’d spent the time doing the other thing I had thought about following up – the whereabouts of Maxim Bakiyev, son of the ousted president of Kyrgyzstan who is wanted on charges of fraud…
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Power to the people
I’ve almost finished the feature for The Guardian, and although I hope to write more on Kyrgyzstan soon, it feels sad that this particular adventure is coming to an end. So here’s a final post about an incredible art project to round things up for the time being. It’s easy to forget, living in post-Blair…
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Kyrgyz pictures up…
Lots up on my Flickr site. Enjoy.
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A song from Osh
Jamilya started the self help co-operative in Gulbaar village near Osh, not only runs the sewing group which makes school uniforms and local craftwork, but also volunteers for the Red Crescent and helps reach out to abused women in the area. Thanks to her, many women have been able to escape from illegal, forced marriages…
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The Kyrgyz Red Crescent
There’s lots of stories which will be told from the trip to Kyrgyzstan in print, but it’s unlikely that all the people from the Red Crescent will get quite the credit they deserve. So here’s a thank you for their generosity and helpfulness in putting up with a British journalist nagging them all day with…