The future of Newspapers

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As journalists we are constantly dealing with the changing media environment. Just wanted to share this article about the future of newspapers:   http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1004/p09s01-cojh.html?s=hns Coming up I got a posting on music piracy and what it brings to developing countries. Have a wonderful day and enjoy my mobile morning view! (And please don’t blame me if you fall asleep).    
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Obama for president?

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US-Senator Obama visited Kenya. The media were full about his visit. What surprised me most, was that Obama spoke out about a lot of things and that his ideas were taken just as if he was a veteran statesman. But he wasn’t, It felt just as if he was hired to do so. But is a US-senator supposed to criticize the government of the country where his father was born? Obama’s only connection with Kenya is, that his father migrated to the United States long time ago, but he was
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Exploring East Africa

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Just back from exploring East Africa, Tanzania. For the second time in a few weeks I visited Spice Island Zanzibar. Poetry: The starting point of Livingstones Travels. But also politics: although not in the open. A lot of poverty, people are not happy because a lot of tourism money is going into the pockets of freshly elected local politicians. Ok, thats is nothing new. What struck me was the mountains of garbage, left by hotels and lodges just outside Stonetown, the capital on the west coast of this beautiful island. Also: tension under the
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Contact

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Newspapers, magazines, ngo’s, radio stations, companies, feature bureaus, press agencies: For assignments, brainstorming, share ideas or talking about interesting ways of working together: please send an email to info AT africareporter DOT net When I am in Kenya (which is not always the case, sorry for that) please call me or send me a text message on: +254(0)736 569 528. Payments/donations: attn: A.E. Westra, Bodegraven, Netherlands, Bankaccount: Postbank nr: 5764861 BIC: PSTBNL21 IBAN: NL04PSTB0005764861
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Moving: the future is here! ;-)

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Dear visitor, due to travelling and moving from one hosting service to the other, I have not been able to do any postings. From now on, you are welcome on this completely renewed Blog. It’s still heavily under construction, sorry for that inconvenience. Please also visit the links above. It shows where ‘things’ are going. Newspapers, magazines and feature-bureaus: Please contact me the usual way for assigments. And: Comments are welcome.
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(1) Pictures Mozambique: market in Chimoio

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Back in Nairobi after a few week trip overland from Johannesburg, South Africa to Nairobi, Kenya. Observations bring the dilemma’s and always the question: why does development not  get through onto this continent and: should development get through here anyway? The dualism in the answers on the question why? It’s people’s own fault, it’s ‘the West’, it’s their leaders, it’s people’s own mentality, it’s past leaders, it’s culture, it’s development aid that made people lazy. But I realized: there are no clear answers. Observations while traveling overland go so many
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Waiting, waiting, waiting…

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One of the things travelling overland from Johannesburg to Nairobi is the fact that people in most countries I travelled spend a lot of time waiting: waiting for electricity, to be connected to the water network, waiting for a better future, waiting for that one customer (like the people of the small family hotel in Dar es Salaam where I’m staying). It’s an art. I made this impression of the Lilongwe busstation (capital of Malawi).. Days ago while i waited for a bus up North. And it came… finally after
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Dutch newspapers: Stories available

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Stories available now on request (in Dutch, English transloation on request):   Bushmen being trained as security gards in South Africa: report 1200 words and photographes available. Everything in Dutch. Please contact me on email: arjenwestra@gmail.com.    
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