The BBC, one of the largest and most respected news organizations in the world, has launched a new program, which might make it easier for new, freelance writers to have their work published, or even presented on the television network. In the past, many freelancers and fledging authors have complained that the BBC rarely gave them a chance to showcase their talent, despite the fact that the network is funded through the public purse and thus should adopt a more equitable approach when dealing with a wide array of writers based in the UK.</p> <p>A major step in rectifying this situation is the BBC?s ?WritersRoom? festival, organized in Leeds this week. The goal of the festival is to invite new, freelance writers to submit their writing?both fiction and non-fiction?to the BBC and be guaranteed that the broadcaster?s team of writers and editors will read it and consider it for publication or use in television programming.</p> <p>Kate Rowland works as the BBC?s director of new writing and she noted that fledging freelance writers form the ?lifeblood? of Britain?s public broadcaster. The problem, however, is that most writing submitted by freelancers tended to be unsolicited and while twenty years ago the broadcaster had a staff of editors to consider these submissions, budget cuts made this impossible</p>

A freelance writer who worked on contract for Britain?s Guardian newspaper was one of several who claim to have fallen victim to police brutality in Toronto, during the G20 summit last weekend.</p>

An infamous hacker who wrecked havoc for Twitter and obtained confidential information stored by the micro-blogging site received a five month suspended prison sentence yesterday in a French criminal court. Francois Cousteix is a 24 year old man from central France who managed to hack the accounts of top Twitter executives, and stole their personal information, including mobile and e-mail contacts not only for their friends and family, but even the coordinates of the likes of President Barack Obama, pop singer Britney Spears and Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher. But Coustiex claimed that he never intended any harm by stealing highly confidential information and simply wanted to call everyone?s attention to the risks of ?social engineering? led by popular internet-based social media.</p> <p>Coustiex, however, did not stop at simply stealing the mobile numbers of people in Obama?s immediate entourage. The hacker proceeded to access and download internal memos and confidential corporate documents circulated among twitter employees. The hacker then decided to make these secret papers public by publishing them online and badly shaming Twitter for its apparent lack of effective security. Some of the leaks were deeply embarrassing, including the publication of the micro-blogging giant?s financial documents, minutes taken during executive board meetings and contracts signed with various partners.</p> <p>Coustiex argues that he never had criminal intent when he hacked Twitter and shamed the company?s executives. The young hacker?s goal was to simply prove to the millions of people using Twitter and other forms of social media that even the most popular sites are vulnerable to attacks and cannot fully protect information provided to them by users. Coustiex?s efforts, however, have now landed him a criminal record, though some believe that he is getting off light with such a short suspended sentence.

The European Union stepped into a growing scandal this morning, over the death of an Egyptian blogger. According to media reports, 28 year old Khaled Said was killed by Cairo police, after being forcibly removed from an internet cafe and brutally beaten on the street. The police officers wore plainclothes, rather than their uniform during the alleged beating, but a handful of witnesses came forward and noted that they had brutally attacked the young blogger. Egyptian authorities continue to claim that Said had actually swallowed a bag of controlled substances when he realized that he had been intercepted by police and died of choking. The European Union, however, appears sceptical and called on Egypt to launch an independent investigation into the blogger?s death.</p> <p>What makes the official explanation of Said?s death so questionable is the fact that the blogger had long used his site to expose instances of police brutality. Ambassadors of European Union nations issued a joint statement, in which they expressed their hope that Egypt would proceed with an independent inquiry into the death and that any offenders would be held to account. But the fury over the blogger?s death continues to grow in the Blogosphere and on major social media websites, like Facebook and Twitter. Most recently, photographs have been circulated depicting a badly bruised and beaten Said, which appear to offer compelling evidence that the blogger had, indeed, been killed, rather than died of asphyxiation, as Egyptian authorities continue to claim.

Freelance writers who write about the environment and call on governments to do more to tackle climate change face physical threats, according to Jean Francois Julliard, general secretary at Reporters Without Borders. Julliard likened the dangers that freelancers must tackle when writing about the environment with the threats that journalists faced twenty or thirty years ago, if they spoke out in defence of human rights. The environment has become a hot button issue and freelancers who investigate these topics often face imprisonment in dictatorial countries and death threats even in more liberal, democratic states. Mikhail Beketov, a Russian journalist, ended up in hospital with severe, life threatening injuries after writing an article on corruption and environmental concerns surrounding the construction of a new road between Moscow and a rural town. Unknown perpetrators attacked Beketov, and brutally beat him, resulting in the amputation of one of his legs.</p> <p>Julliard believes that ?traditional? journalists who work for large media conglomerates have it easier than freelancers or bloggers who must fend for themselves and often have nobody to come to their defence. Julliard added that it was time to find a way to protect freelance writers who find themselves in a world of trouble, after critiquing governments and private industry over environmental concerns. The easiest way of accomplishing this is by ensuring that instances of abuse, discrimination or threats of violence are well publicized and documented. This way, public pressure and anger may deter special interests from standing in the way of freelance investigative journalism.

Freelance writers are increasingly at the centre of breaking stories and nothing illustrates their growing importance in the world of journalism and communication better than the events surrounding American General Stanley McChrystal. Michael Hastings is a freelancer who had the chance to interview the general as part of a piece that he was writing for Rolling Stone magazine. In the infamous interview, McChrystal made deeply controversial and disparaging remarks about President Barack Obama?s administration; comments which lost him his job earlier this week as commander of the international security force in war-torn Afghanistan. McChrystal made mocking comments about the Vice President, Joe Biden, as well as the American ambassador to Afghanistan. Among a series of insulting remarks, McChrystal asked ?who?s that? when the subject turned to Biden and then sarcastically noted that the vice president?s name sounded like ?bite me.?<br /> Hastings? work is seen by most observers as not only an excellent example of engaging journalism, but also a major victory for freelance writers, who in the past were sidelined by staff journalists at major media conglomerates. Before the Rolling Stone interview, Hastings was an unknown freelance writer based in Kabul, Afghanistan, but his revealing article has quickly turned him into a star and a brand name in the world of journalism. For example, a staff writer at Forbes wonders what Hastings will do with his career, now that he has become internationally famous. Most observers suggest that Hastings will likely get a lucrative book deal within a matter of weeks.

Wordpress released a brand new blogging platform this week and as such aims to make a range of new tools available to the users of the world?s most popular blog content management system. It took developers over six months to perfect the newest version of Wordpress, but bloggers, as well as companies that use the content management system to run their websites may now either download the platform , or may simply select the ?upgrade? option, if they are signed up with the popular blogging service.<br /> One of the important changes incorporated into Wordpress 3.0 is a new, contemporary theme, appropriately named ?Twenty Ten.? Additionally, it is now far easier to customize backgrounds and headings. Bloggers will also be able to download a single version of Wordpress, in order to run hundreds of blogs?they will no longer be limited to just one, or a small handful. As a sign of the contemporary, urban look that Wordpress has adopted for itself, the blogging content manager has christened Version 3.0 ?Thelionus,? after prominent jazz musician Thelonius Monk.<br /> Wordpress has become a highly popular content management system among bloggers, freelance writers and companies alike, and not just because it makes websites remarkably easy to update. Perhaps one of the most important reasons for its popularity is the fact that it ensures that Google indexes all content almost immediately. In contrast to material published through other platforms, or on regular websites, Wordpress blog posts can find their way into Google News, or to mainline search engine within minutes of publication.

Amanda Byrnes, the multimillionaire actress who starred in a handful of feature films and television shows geared towards teenage audiences decided to announce her decision to quit the world of acting on Twitter, catching traditional print journalists by surprise. Byrnes added that she has no interest in returning to acting anytime in the future and told her Twitter followers that her decision was based on the fact that she no longer had much of a say in the content of the films and television shows that she starred in. In her tweet, Byrnes wrote that ?being an actress isn?t as fun as it may seem [and] if I don?t love something anymore, I stop doing it.?</p> <p>Byrnes told her Twitter followers that never in her short, but fruitful career was she given the chance to write scripts for movies and television shows, but simply had to portray the characters imagined by aloof scriptwriters and directors. As such, this lack of control over content is a key factor in Byrnes? decision to stop acting.</p> <p>Far more interesting, however, than an actress packing her bags and leaving Hollywood for good is the fact that she no longer turned to press releases, tabloid journalists or network television stations to announce her decision. Instead, Byrnes bypassed traditional outlets and players in the world of journalism and communication, turning to social media in order to inform her fans about her future plans. Twitter, Facebook and blogs increasingly allow celebrities, prominent politicians and cultural figures to connect with their fans and supporters directly in a much more personal way than a press release could even make possible. Additionally, Twitter is changing the way in which people obtain news content, as headlines often appear in the form of tweets hours before they make it to press.

Human Rights Watch, an international watchdog based in New York, published a report in which it shows that Kuwait continues to persecute bloggers who express critical views of the country?s leadership. The organization pointed out that one such blogger, Mohammad Abdul-Kader al-Jassem, may receive an 18 year-long prison sentence if he is convicted of ?insulting? Kuwait?s emir sheihk. Al-Jassem was taken into custody more than one month ago, following a complaint by the sheik?s office. Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch observed that Kuwait appears to be giving up on its relative liberalism and acceptance of free speech.</p> <p>President Barack Obama?s administration is now also involved in the case and may advocate on behalf of Al-Jassem. The US Department of State has reportedly contacted Kuwait?s government and expressed concerns over the treatment of bloggers and journalists who criticize political leaders. In addition to the original charges relating to ?insults? directed at the sheik, the blogger has also been charged with the dissemination of news on his blog that run contrary to Kuwait?s national interests.</p> <p>While the imprisonment of someone who merely expresses his opinion on a blog made bloggers around the world shudder, journalists in Kuwait are unable to report on the Al-Jassem?s case, due to a publication ban issued by the country?s courts. Reuters noted that while Kuwait has traditionally been the Gulf?s most liberal country in terms of press freedoms, bloggers and journalists are constitutionally prohibited from criticising the emir sheihk.</p> <p>Al-Jassem is no stranger to controversy and has received suspended prison sentences before for accusing the country?s prime minister of corruption.

A BBC Radio journalist found himself in a storm of controversy, after posting a tweet that many deemed to be racist. Chris Evans of BBC Radio 2 was commenting on the World Cup in South Africa and in particular, about an African horn called a vuvuzela, which many fans used to cheer on their favourite team. Evans told his 84,000 Twitter followers that ?you give an African </p>