Nonaligned news a nonstarter?

In an effort to counter poor media coverage from the West, a group of 114 primarily developing countries have offered an answer: The Nonaligned News Network. Based in Kuala Lumpur, the online outlet bills itself as “a conduit for NAM member countries to tell their story … to contribute towards the acceleration of the pace ...

608834_nam_logo.thumbnail5.gif
608834_nam_logo.thumbnail5.gif

In an effort to counter poor media coverage from the West, a group of 114 primarily developing countries have offered an answer: The Nonaligned News Network. Based in Kuala Lumpur, the online outlet bills itself as "a conduit for NAM member countries to tell their story ... to contribute towards the acceleration of the pace of growth in trade among them."

In an effort to counter poor media coverage from the West, a group of 114 primarily developing countries have offered an answer: The Nonaligned News Network. Based in Kuala Lumpur, the online outlet bills itself as “a conduit for NAM member countries to tell their story … to contribute towards the acceleration of the pace of growth in trade among them.”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to place nearly as high a premium on, say, the cultivation of a free and feisty press in these countries, holding politicians to account, or protecting journalists who attempt to do so. The network has even been rubber-stamped by the information ministers of most of the member states, which include Iran, Syria, and Cuba.

In fact, one of the prominently featured stories on the new Web site is a short article titled “Cubans Live Longest in Latin America.” That’s great news! And that’s probably even taking into account those Cubans whose lives are cut short trying to escape.

There hasn’t been much written about this endeavor, save for a short blurb in the IHT and a few wire items. It would be great to see a solid force for press freedom and free speech in some of these countries. Western media outlets certainly don’t devote enough time to the delicate problems of the developing world. But this isn’t it.

Kate Palmer is deputy managing editor at Foreign Policy.

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