The good news and the sad news - 6 Feb 2012

Like in any industry, there's always the good news and then there's the bad news. Well in this case, some sad news

Firstly, the sad news is that the acting executive director of the Media Council of Malawi, George 'Sly' Dambula, passed away on Thursday, after succumbing to Malaria and lung infection. We at Bizcommunity.com extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.

Secondly, two editors were given jail terms in the Central African Republic, allegedly for their critical coverage of a top official constitute political censorship and thirdly, the murder of a journalist in Somalia highlights the country being as being the most dangerous place in Africa for media.

On a lighter note, the good news is that Malawi shows some positive growth in media after facing many challenges over the past two years. This is according to a report released by the Civic and Political Space Platform, which is a group of civil society organisations in Malawi.

In Mozambique, the Ministry of Science and Technology signed a 20 year agreement to access international broadband fibre connectivity on the SEACOM network. Beneficiaries include the Mozambique Research and Education Network and the Government Electronic Network, which are government-led projects established to improve online public service access and capability.

Africa's first handheld tablet, Way-C, went on sale last week.The Congolese inventor, Verone Mankou, says the tablet is an equivalent to those found in the Western market. I think it's too early to make any assumptions, but let's wait and see.

PS: A reminder that the deadline for entries for the IABC African Gold Quill awards is this Friday, 10 February 2012. So get your entries in before the end of the week.

Have a great week!

Evan-Lee Courie (@evan1985)

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