U.S. accused of shutting down Iranian news site

January 26, 2005 by

Via BBC: Iran charged the United States with asking an Internet provider to stop hosting an online news agency. The Planet, which hosts the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA), had been offered no explanation, only an e-mail from the U.S. service provider, saying the Web site would not function after 48 hours. The shutdown comes in a series of incidents that has propelled Iranian online media into the limelight, including the imprisonment of 20 bloggers and journalists since summer. (See related brief.) Other news sites in Iran fear similar fates and the incident has sparked fresh appeals for Iran’s own communication technology.

Filed Under: Events
About Aarthi Sivaraman

Aarthi graduated with a Master's degree in print journalism from USC's Annenberg School for Communication in May 2005. She holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from India and enjoys good music, traveling and reading.
Aarthi has written for the Cape Times in South Africa and the Los Angeles Business Journal, besides serving as a section editor for OJR for two years.
She is now a reporter for Reuters in New York.

Tsunami e-mail hoaxer jailed

January 25, 2005 by

Christopher Pierson, the man who e-mailed around 35 people claiming their relatives had died in the Asian tsunami, was sentenced to six months in jail, according to dotJournalism. Pierson used bulletin boards on Sky News’ Web site to target already panic-stricken families. Judge Daphne Wickham said Pierson’s act had caused “indescribable” pain and grief to unsuspecting relatives. Pierson later admitted his mistake and was charged under the Malicious Communication Act.
Please see related brief.

Filed Under: Events, The Repeater Tagged With: , , , , , ,
About Aarthi Sivaraman

Aarthi graduated with a Master's degree in print journalism from USC's Annenberg School for Communication in May 2005. She holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from India and enjoys good music, traveling and reading.
Aarthi has written for the Cape Times in South Africa and the Los Angeles Business Journal, besides serving as a section editor for OJR for two years.
She is now a reporter for Reuters in New York.