Cheers to 2011, well almost... - 28 Nov 2011By Evan-Lee CourieCan you believe its almost 2012? The year has just about come to an end and with that we have several more daily newsletters still to be delivered to you. In Malawi, journalists were threatened at a 'press rally' following the return of the president from a trip to Hong Kong. In a turn of events, journalists had to ask police to protect them after party officials wanted to turn violent. Earlier this month, the Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) held meetings with the media to explain to them how the Consolidated ICT Regulatory Management System (CIRMS) would operate. Early last week, telecommunication operators hit back at MACRA and warned people about the system. MACRA's response was that the equipment will not be used as a surveillance machine, but rather as a way to investigating tariff fraud amongst other things. In my column 'Don't become a victim of cybercrime', I brought up the issue of cybercrime as it emerged to be on the increase and vulnerable groups were being targeted. Media attention given to such acts, may have finally woken up people to the possibility that social networks can be a dangerous place. With the16 Days of Activism campaign which started on 25 November 2011 and continues to 10 December, cybercrime can be reduced with the help of media. In other news, Richard Porter, the head of BBC global news, recently visited South Africa for a conference on broadcasting, Gill Moodie interviewed him and we could learn a few lessons in media change from him. Here's to a good week! Evan-Lee Courie (@evan1985) | Evan-Lee CourieEvan-Lee Courie is the former Editor: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com. He has completed a BA in English Literature and Communication Science through UNISA and completed several online courses through UCT /GetSmarter including Internet Marketing, PhotoShop and Social Media. At the end of 2015, he embarked on a journey to South Korea to teach English as a Foreign Language to young learners and returned to Cape Town, South Africa in 2017. He returned to Bizcommunity.com in August 2018 as Group Editor for the ITC, Automotive and Logistics portals. In August 2019, he launched the Entrepreneurship news portal at Bizcommunity. In November 2020, he was appointed as Editor: Marketing & Media |