Blog-Carnival Russian Media
Today we received an interesting item in the mail regarding a mass blogging project to generate diverse debate before the Russian parliamentary elections. This appears to be the pet project of Swiss blogger Jürg Vollmer, and while we’re aware this could be an elaborate exercise in self-promotion, I’m happy to contribute an article. As demonstrated by recent bitter exchanges on the endless comment lists at some Russia blogs, I hope Jürg understands the cacophony of opinions he just invited upon himself!
Privet!
Today is the launch of the world’s first ever dual-language “Blog-Carnival Russian media”. All English-speaking and German-speaking bloggers are invited to publish contributions on the Russian media on their weblogs between 1 and 30 June 2007 (see more www.krusenstern.ch/p716.html ). The launch date for the “Blog-Carnival Russian Media” has not been chosen by chance for today, 11 May 2007 , the “Novaya Gazeta”, one of the last independent newspapers in the Russian Federation , is to be awarded the renowned “Henri Nannen Prize” 2007 in Hamburg for its services to press freedom.
How does the Blog-Carnival work?
The name “Blog-Carnival” goes back to the stone age of blogdom (September 2002!), when American bloggers organised an event called the “Carnival of the Vanities” designed to bring together the widest possible range of opinion using the simplest of means. The principle behind our Blog-Carnival is the same: the initiator sets a topic (the “Russian media”) and deadlines for registration (11 to 31 May 2007) and publication in English or German (1 to 30 June 2007) and summarises the results, providing links and a commentary. What is the aim of the Blog-Carnival? The aim of the Blog-Carnival is to gather together as many different viewpoints and pieces of information as possible on the subject of the Russian media. Behind this initiative is the notion that the closer we get to the Russian parliamentary elections in October 2007 and the presidential elections in March 2008, the more the Putin government is clamping down on the media in Russia. This Blog-Carnival is an opportunity for bloggers of both East and West to learn about the media that appear in the Russian Federation or report on it from abroad. The Blog Carnival will therefore bring the contributing bloggers new information, new contacts and a stronger network transcending national borders and language barriers (see more www.krusenstern.ch/p716.html ) Poka, poka!
