Nepalese Bloggers, Journalists Defy Media Clampdown by King
By Mark Glaser
After the Royal Takeover in Nepal, King Gyandendra censored the media, arrested journalists and cut communications. But tech-savvy journalists are using their blogs to get news out to the rest of the world.
"Communications are still cut off. And the future of the country, people and our journalistic career look glum." -- Radio Free Nepal blog, Feb. 2, 2005
In the Internet Age, powerful rulers have little chance to operate in a media blackout. They can shut the newspapers, the TV stations and even block Web sites and telephone lines. But eventually, news leaks out, an e-mail here, a Web site there and eventually a Weblog fighting for the cause of the repressed.
In Nepal, King Gyandendra took power February 1 from Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, putting ministers under house arrest and immediately censoring and threatening the free press. But a few days later, after phone lines were back up, journalists were getting news out via Weblogs -- either anonymously posted or under their own names. [read more]
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