Reporting

April 4th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Gang Truce in El Salvador

Among the hardest-hit victims of extortions by gangs in El Salvador are private businesses, big and small.

Fabio Colindres | Photo: Ambar Espinoza

On Tuesday, March 27 Monsignor Fabio Colindres, the head army and police chaplain responsible for mediating a ceasefire between El Salvador’s two major gangs, shared details of the gang truce with the National Association of Private Enterprise—in Spanish Asociación Nacional de la Empresa Privada (ANEP).

Reporters waited for Colindres outside of the ANEP offices ready to ask more questions and Colindres made time for them as he exited the ANEP premises in a white pickup truck.

Colindres said  the gangs “are showing a sign of good will” by agreeing to reduce homicides, and are asking for opportunities in education and employment in order to survive in society.

Reporters sought clarification about the gang leaders’ specific requests under the mediated agreement. Colindres said the gangs were requesting humane prison conditions for their terminally ill members—most are HIV positive, said Colindres. They requested to spend their last days in the company of their families as Salvadoran law permits. Reporters raised concerns that a truce sounds temporary, but Colindres said he asked the gangs to agree to something more permanent than a truce.

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April 1st, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

From Ambar Espinoza in El Salvador: Is the Salvadorian President cutting deals with gangs?

Ambar Espinoza writes from El Salvador where she is reporting for Round Earth Media — look for our stories on NPR and also in the media in El Salvador.   Round Earth Media’s reporting from El Salvador is supported by the Stanley Foundation.

Maurcio Funes, President El Salvador | Photo: Ambar Espinoza

What an interesting time to be back in El Salvador. This week (Wednesday, March 28) at a press conference President Mauricio Funes denied the Salvadoran government negotiated any deals with leaders of the country’s two violent gangs, Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) and Pandilla 18, in order to reduce homicides—El Salvador has among the world’s highest homicide rates (66 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010). This is the first time Funes addressed the country’s latest development.

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March 17th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

The Heart and Soul of Morocco

Countryside near Fez

We’re back from a week in rural Morocco.  At least half of all Moroccans live in the countryside, facing challenges around education, health care and economic survival.  But that is not the whole story.   As our students discovered, rural Morocco is the heart and soul of the country.

“I’m a city girl and I never knew why places like this are important.  Now I know.”

That’s what one of our students told me after our stay in the stunningly beautiful village of Sbaa Rouadi, near the ancient imperial city of Fez.  Look for the students’ vivid reporting in our next blog post – they’ll take you to Sbaa Rouadi, a visit I don’t think you’ll soon forget.

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March 5th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Educating the New Global Journalist

Ashton Songer and Faten Maarouf

Antinnea Skipwith and Meryam Boutouraout

As part of our commitment to the future of global journalism, we are pioneering an exciting new model of journalism education, one that reflects the need for unbiased, well-researched, responsibly reported global news and information. What is this new model?    Round Earth’s mission is to partner US journalists with journalists in the countries where we are working.  With that model in mind, we are partnering American journalism students studying on SIT’s program in Rabat, Morocco, Field Studies in Journalism and New Media, with Moroccan journalism students at the University of Mohammed V in Rabat (ISIC). In pairs of two, these journalism students, one Moroccan and one American, are working to develop and report stories in all media formats.

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February 12th, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Is the Morocco Mall a Story?

The Morocco Mall south of Casablanca (promotional photo)

The Morocco Mall is the largest mall in Africa and it  was mobbed yesterday.  Open for just 2 months, this stylishly futuristic shopping center, a 20 minute drive down the coast from Casablanca,  is still something of a novelty.     Inside are hundreds of luxury stores, an IMAX movie theater, aquarium and a musical fountain.

Twelve American journalism students went to the Morocco Mall  to see if they could find a story.

How do journalists decide what to report about?  I get that question a lot and not just from students.  When they first walked into the Mall, the students didn’t see much that seemed like a story.  But remember, we’re in Morocco.

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January 3rd, 2012  |  By Mary Stucky

Optimism about Journalism in 2012

In a world that is more interconnected than ever before, there is no substitute for original, informed, unbiased reporting.   It’s hard work and requires smart, knowledgeable, courageous journalists immersed in the cultures where they are reporting.  Their stories are important to all of us — not just in the “developed world,” but especially to an audience in the countries about which they are reporting.

Many of the best of those journalists were born and raised in the countries where they are working.  They’ve received diplomas from the world’s finest academic institutions (ie Columbia University’s famed journalism masters from which graduates increasingly return to work in their home countries) and training through organizations like the International Center for Journalists, which, over 3 decades, has worked with tens of thousands of journalists around the world.

These journalists are our partners. They are not our fixers.  They are our equal partners in publishing and broadcasting jointly reported stories in the U.S. and in the countries where we are working.   Read the interview with Sarah Ooko on our homepage and you, too, will be optimistic about journalism in 2012.

November 14th, 2011  |  By Mary Stucky

Meet Journalist Sarah Ooko

Sarah Ooko

A big reason for the excellence of our East African coverage is Sarah Ooko, 27, a freelance journalist based in Nairobi. As a frequent contributor to The EastAfrican, Ooko’s stories are read throughout the region. When not reporting, she works at the Kenyan Alliance of Health and Science Reporters under another of her mentors, the Knight Health Fellow Rachel Jones. The work Ooko produced for Round Earth Media in partnership with Mary Stucky will be broadcast on NPR and other media outlets in the weeks to come.

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October 25th, 2011  |  By Round Earth Media

A Bias for Boys

In India, aborting a fetus based on its sex is illegal, but the practice is common due to a societal preference for boys. Up to 12 million abortions have occurred as a result of sex selection. Reporter Hanna Ingber Win gains unusual insight into this quiet practice and its implication for one family near Mumbai.
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October 25th, 2011  |  By Round Earth Media

Juries Come to Georgia Republic

In the Republic of Georgia in Eastern Europe for the first time ever (starting October 1, 2010), defendants have the option of being tried by a jury of their peers. This staple of the American court system was made part of the Georgia constitution six years ago. It’s only just now being offered on a limited basis. But as Mary Stucky reports, the United States has been part of a rather unconventional effort to get the country ready.

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March 17th, 2011  |  By Mary Stucky

REM Guidelines and Journalism Ethics

The goal of Round Earth Media is to produce objective, fact-based journalism. Our special niche is covering unexpected, surprising yet revealing lives and places that traditional media do not have the resources or inclination to cover, especially in the developing world. The global media outlets that publish Round Earth Media stories — for print, radio, video, web and television — rely on us for unearthing little-told issues and searching out news in overlooked parts of the world. We endeavor to provide independent journalism that is clear, fair and as truthful as we can possibly make it. Whether a blog post or a multimedia investigative piece, we cover stories responsibly. That marks the Round Earth Media brand.

Round Earth Media welcomes your pitches.  For our Pitch Guidelines, click here.

We also want you to know the ethical standards that govern our work. The Round Earth Media Policy on Ethics in Journalism is here.

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