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The entire first issue of Maxim Australia was leaked online before the launch.
Publisher Michael Downs said the company was "dismayed, but in the modern era, what can you do? People are saying: you should sue! But look at companies like Paramount, with very many more resources than we’ll ever have, and they can’t even stop it?"
His greatest regret, he said, was that the cover, featuring former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins in her underpants, was no longer under wraps.
The pdf version of Maxim’s first issue first appeared on a file-sharing site, hosted in Russia, and has since been shared somewhat more widely. It’s not clear how many copies have been downloaded.
Downs said the online server, where the pdf was hosted, had been hacked into, "or else the security isn’t what it should be. But that is the world we live in. And once one person has downloaded it, it’s everywhere.
"The key, I suppose, is to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but I’m not sure that is even possible.’’
American politicians should be careful when they rail against mainstream news media. A study from North Carolina State University shows that perceived bias of media outlets can lead to increased political engagement – but only on specific issues.
When there is a general perception of bias in the news media it actually results in increased apathy among citizens.
Dr Andrew Binder, an assistant professor of communication at North Carolina State University said, “With this study, we wanted to see whether people's perception of media bias affected their political participation, beyond voting.
"For example, if people think the news media do not reflect their views, are they less politically engaged? Or does it spur them to take political action?" Answer: It depends.
In the first part of the study, researchers asked 485 survey respondents if they felt news media were biased against their views in general. The respondents were then asked a series of questions designed to measure the extent of each participant's political engagement – from working for a political campaign to writing a "letter to the editor."
The researchers found no direct evidence of a connection between perceived bias and political engagement, but did find some evidence that perceived bias undermined both people's trust in government and belief that they could influence government.
Ultimately, this indirect influence also undermined their likelihood of engaging in political behavior.
In the second part of the study, researchers asked about a particularly controversial political issue. Specifically, 508 respondents were asked whether they felt main stream media was biased against their views on stem cell research. They were then asked about the extent of their political engagement in regard to stem cell research.
On this specific issue, the researchers found a direct link between perceived media bias and an increase in political action.
Binder says, "The people who perceived the most media bias on stem cell research were also the most willing to join a demonstration or take other political action.
"I think this shows that people are more likely to get involved in the political process if they do not feel their views are represented by the media on specific issues. That does not hold true for people who feel a general disconnect between their overarching views and the media.
"This has clear implications for politicians and interest groups. It seems to be far less effective for them to make sweeping claims that the media are universally biased than it is for them to attack the media on specific issues."
Queensland Police have returned the iPad of a Fairfax journalist who was arrested on Tuesday after writing about a Facebook privacy flaw.
The Brisbane Times reports that following two days of negotiations between Fairfax lawyers and police, the iPad was returned to technology writer Ben Grubb last night.
It comes as criminal law specialists have condemned the actions of the Queensland Police Service after the seizure of a Sydney Morning Herald journalist’s iPad as evidence of a potential crime.
Grubb was arrested by police on the Gold Coast on Tuesday after he reported that a security researcher at a technology conference had downloaded a private photo from Facebook.
At the time of the arrest, Grubb's iPad was confiscated because police believed it contained evidence of an alleged offence.
The seizure raises questions about the safety of sensitive information held by journalists, such as the names and statements of confidential sources.
The president of the Australian Council for Civil Liberties, Terry O'Gorman, said the iPad was the equivalent of a traditional journalist's notebook, which would normally require a subpoena to obtain.
The general manager for news at Fairfax Digital, Darren Burden, said he was very concerned about the ability of police to confiscate tablets and smartphones, potentially compromising sources.
The BBC World Service is to receive a "significant" sum of money from the US government to help combat the blocking of TV and internet services in countries including Iran and China.
The Guardian reports that in what the BBC said is the first deal of its kind, an agreement is expected to be signed later this month that will see US state department money – understood to be a low six-figure sum – given to the World Service to invest in developing anti-jamming technology and software.
The funding is also expected to be used to educate people in countries with state censorship in how to circumnavigate the blocking of internet and TV services
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The online Irrawaddy news service earlier this month ran a repeat of an allegedly “exclusive” interview the publisher Aung Zaw conducted with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi shortly after her release from house detention late last year.
The interview appeared in the December 2010 issue of the Irrawaddy’s glossy magazine, The Irrawaddy Journal, which is now “suspended” due to lack of funds
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In an exclusive interview on America’s MSNBC, Julian Assange described criticism in Washington, DC, and elsewhere of WikiLeaks as nothing short of attacks on journalism and the First Amendment.
Pressed on comments made recently by Mike Huckabee and others who consider Assange a terrorist, the WikiLeaks founder dismissed Huckabee as "another idiot trying to make a name for himself."
Assange called people like Sarah Palin and Huckabee "shock-jock politicians
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange appears on a satirical news show produced in suburban Melbourne and broadcast over the internet.
Episode six of Rap News, titled WikiLeaks' Cablegate: The truth is out there, has been watched more than 236,000 times since being posted to YouTube on December 17.
In a big coup for the fledgling news service, the WikiLeaks founder made contact with Rap News in October, telling them he loved their work and offering them a sneak preview of the forthcoming cable leaks, thinking it could help inform the content of their next episode
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SON FEARS ASSASSINATION
Australia’s Sunshine Coast has become the refuge for the mother of Julian Assange, the mastermind behind one of the largest leaks of confidential documents in history.
Christine Assange, who runs a puppet theatre, told the Sunshine Coast Daily on Wednesday she had recently moved to the Coast to escape media scrutiny in Melbourne
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Two twin sisters in Taiwan complained tearfully yesterday that a short video in which they voluntarily appeared to help their role model, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu, with his re-election bid was altered on the internet and portrayed them as brothel girls.
The twins – Chen Pei-yu and Chen Pei-han – who graduated from college this year, said in a press conference last week that they came from Taipei to help Hu’s campaign and that the video, made with friends, was intended to encourage young people to vote for Hu
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Gay Ugandans have faced a fortnight of attacks and intimidation after a local newspaper called Rolling Stone published a list of the country's "top 100 homosexuals".
The Independent newspaper reported that as well as naming gay Ugandans – complete with photographs and addresses – Rolling Stone newspaper also claimed that a deadly disease was attacking homosexuals in Uganda, and said that gays were recruiting one million children by raiding schools. Activists say a number of Ugandans have been attacked since the Rolling Stone newspaper published the front-page story on October 9 under a banner that read, "Hang Them".
After the article hit the streets, the government's Media Council ordered the newspaper to stop publishing as the newspaper had not registered with the administration. After it completes the paperwork, Rolling Stone will be free to publish again
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Comment by JJ McRoach
on AUSTRALIAN MAN CONVICTED OF CHILD PORN OVER DRAWINGS OF THE SIMPSONS HAVING SEX
Watching the Media
There have been and still are big protests against this, but the government seems result to move on this.
Therefore any doodlings of cartoon characters that could be regarded as children should be kept to a minimum, otherwise you could get arrested and jailed. Good luck