Fortress Of Freedom Board
Bringing The Mass Media To The Masses!
 
 FAQ  Search  Usergroups  Memberlist  Profile  Log in to check your private messages  Register  Log in
Finding Our Place In The World

 
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Fortress Of Freedom Board Forum Index -> Exclusive Reports From Fortressoffreedom.com
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Maurice Ali



Joined: 14 Nov 2003
Posts: 7655
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Mon Feb 02, 2004 12:45 am    Post subject: Finding Our Place In The World Reply with quote

Finding Our Place In The World

By Maurice Ali, Journalist


Quite by accident.....I found myself looking at the competition for the first time since the inception of these two sites, and it occurred to me that we had just entered a new phase of development.

I had just finished updating important pages to reflect our new corporate identity and also "fine tuning" with index and navigation pages to a more consistent style in each site, and a related look between the two sites. I then naturally started to look at some similar web sites (found in Google) and our place in the "grand scheme of things" started to take place.

Here is an organization called the "Committee To Protect Journalists". This place has a budget of 2.8 million a year and a board of directors numbering about thirty five (we can go up to 50.....). They have a staff of 22 to 25 people, which is very comforting given our humble numbers..... that organization was founded in 1981 as a non-profit organization and attempts to protect and report journalist abuse around the world. An organization with a purpose.....but 2.8 million a year?

Here is another one called the "Society To Protect Journalists". This organization has been around for the past 90 years in the U.S.A. and is: ".....the nation's largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism and stimulating high standards of ethical behavior. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ also promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry: works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists: and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press." Membership fees go from 36 dollars to 72 dollars a year.

The "International Federation Of Journalists" is the world's largest association of journalists. I purports to have 500,000 members in over 100 countries and took it's present form in 1952. This organization supports journalists and their unions and: "The IFJ does not subscribe to any given political viewpoint, but promotes human rights, democracy and pluralism." Sound familiar.....anyway, this organization is closely connected to the unions as can be seen in it's application form.

Closer to home, we have the "ONA" which is an online news association founded in 1999. membership is between 25 and 50 dollars and you need to be approved before you can join. I am still not entirely sure what it is they do there.....maybe they aren't too sure either.....

These are a few of the major players in the journalistic field. I must say that I am more than a bit disappointed in the similarity of web design.....are there no web designers that have any creativity? I will say that after being abused by excessively complex home pages.....a flip to our page was a shock! I have to admit to you that the presentation of our home pages - particularly the IAIJ page - could lead the uninitiated to quickly go somewhere else (43 percent of new people to our site leave after that first page). With this in mind; I added some colorful links at the end of each selection on the IAIJ page to make it a bit more interesting and will keep our performance parameters.....the best we can do.....

All of these organizations get money from membership and some go out of their way to tell us that they do not accept money from governments (hurray.....). From what I could see - none of these organizations support the amateur journalist and none of them supply identification in the form of a "press card" or credential verification on the internet. We also allow people to post stories and be verified as a journalist online.....something I have not seen anywhere else so far. IAIJ does have something unique to offer the world, that was the most heart warming part of this venture. We are entering a new phase in the development of this project and organization. Like a child; we are starting to explore our world and find our place in it. So far, things are looking good!


Comments And Discussion
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.    Fortress Of Freedom Board Forum Index -> Exclusive Reports From Fortressoffreedom.com All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group

affiance theme by sparsely