Country Report: South Africa

 

Traditional periodicals (3)

1. Title: The Sowetan

 

Author / Organization: Tiso Blackstar Group

 

Format/Type of source: Digital & Print

Website Link: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/about-us/

How often is this source updated: At least once a day

Overview

The Sowetan: A South African newspaper that sends out daily publications. This newspaper kicked things off in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and has done well since then. They are published by the Tiso Blackstar Group and is distributed in English. This newspaper is one that is freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province. The website carries exactly the information found in print to facilitate accessing the information if you’re not subscribed or on the go. The Sowetan doesn’t just report on South African news however, it reports on global news as well as news pertaining to Africa in general. Speaking on things like the land invasions in Zimbabwe, South African protests, how political leaders are abusing their positions and power and much more. A particular weakness that I have personally found is the layout of the website. I believe that if the articles featured on the homepage where in chronological order, it would have been easier to keep track of how frequently the website is updated.

 

 

2. Title: The Times

 

Author / Organization: Tiso Blackstar Group

 

Format/Type of source: Digital & Print

Website Link: https://www.timeslive.co.za/

Frequency of update: At least once a day

The Times: An influential South African newspaper outlet who provides constantly updated news which is delivered on a daily basis. The Times is the second biggest South African news website in South Africa and is an offshoot of their “Sunday Times” offering free access to subscribers. Unfortunately, nonsubscribers have to pay in order to gain access to detailed reorts. The good news, however, is that even as a nonmember, you are granted limited access to the website. This news outlet discusses general news, politics, sports, lifestyle, and more. Registration to the TimesLIVE or Sunday Times websites is free and allows the subscriber to give their input on select articles. Their website appears to be updated on a daily basis.

 

3. Title: IOL – Independent OnLine

 

Author / Organization: Independent group in South Africa as well as from news wires like the African News Agency.

 

Format/Type of source: Digital/Online Only

Website Link:  https://www.iol.co.za/

Frequency of update: At least once a day

Overview

IOL: This news media source (Independent OnLine) is one of South Africa’s leading multi-platform content companies featuring independent media that keeps its content frequently updated. The information to which they give their following access to is made up of 20 of South Africa’s most prominent independent newspapers. It is the digital offering of “Independent” bringing immediate access to news in real time to its millions of subscribers. The perspectives offered on the website are refreshing and often unbiased thanks to its nature of collection of independent news outlets. One drawback that I found for this particular source is that you don’t get a clear look at the people providing the news just by reading the “about us” section. Understandable that it’s a team of multiple people, however, having a meet the team section, for example, may really help/appeal to their followers.

 

 

 

 

New media sources (2)

 

1. Title: Inspired living

 

Author / Organization: Fiona Rossiter

 

Format/Type of source: Digital Only

Website Link:  https://www.inspiredlivingsa.co.za/about-me

Frequency of update: At least once a week

Overview

Inspired living: This is a blog in English about South Africa that covers the general living in South Africa and entertainment of course. For the foodies, it provides a couple blog posts on how to have a “festive lunch” with different wines, restaurant reviews and things of that nature, as well as different restaurant suggestions. With currently over 300 posts managed by Fiona Rossiter, a woman who enjoys focusing on decor, fashion trends, restaurants, local wine, and travel, this blog is one of the go-to sites for tourist. Inspired Living South Africa was named runner-up as Best Lifestyle Blog in Africa, in the African Blogger Awards in 2015 and 2016. Inspired Living also won the Category of Best Social Media, in the SA Travel Blog Awards making it an extremely influential yet lighthearted blog. This blog doesn’t necessarily have any weaknesses since the website is easy to navigate and self-explanatory.

 

2. Title: East After Noon

 

Author / Organization: Georgia East

 

Format/Type of source: Digital/Online Only

Website Link:  http://eastafternoon.com/about/

Frequency of update: At least once bi-weekly

Overview

East After Noon: Choosing to browse or review this blog written and edited in English by Georgia East allows for a glance at the fun things to do in South Africa. As a writer, food stylist, photographer, and owner of clothing label “Fortune” in Cape Town, South Africa, East simply sets out to share her passion for food with the world. Although she is a self-confessed Shakespeare groupie who studied to be a wordsmith, her deep passions for both style and food put her in the perfect position to make recommendations that are helpful for both locals and tourists. This light-hearted blog allows gives a sense of simplicity, especially to tourists, to a trip to South African that can be a tad overwhelming.

 

 

 

Social media sources (2)

 

1. Title: EFF South Africa – Economic Freedom Fighters

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Twitter

Website Link:  https://twitter.com/EFFSouthAfrica?lang=en

Frequency of update: At least 5 tweets a day

Overview

EFF: The EEF, along with other South African social media pages received quite a bit more attention as South Africa is trended for a while thanks to Rihanna’s performance of “Gwara Gwara”, a South African originated dance at the Grammy’s! There’s no better place to keep in touch with South African news than Twitter? Even though that’s this trend faded relatively quickly, and not necessarily related to the purpose of this social media at all, South Africa does have other conversations going on twitter and EFF has been part of that conversation. The topics the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) focuses on typically revolve around its being of a platform that champions radical economic policies in South Africa discussed in English. With over 423,000 followers, they post at least 5 tweets a day about various subjects, giving a slightly more economic aspect to South African News. The only drawback for EEF as far as their twitter page, is that they are very passionate about the things they discuss. And with that passion sometimes comes quite a bit of bias.

 

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2. Title: South African Exposed

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Facebook

 

Website Link:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/southafricexposd/videos/?ref=page_internal

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

South Africa Exposed: A well-known English based South African Facebook page that shares a little bit of everything with its fan base. It isn’t just focused on policies, law makers, and things of that nature. Their goal is to focus on and expose everything relative to South Africa, whether it be good, bad, or ugly. This source is useful for young adults and adult. One of the downfalls to this social media page is that it isn’t necessarily suitable to all because they don’t sensor out some things. They hold true to their promise of providing everything about South Africa as well as other nations. It’s an important source because it gives various perspectives without the need for bias.

 

 

 

Audio / video sources (3)

 

1. Title: SABC – South African BroadCasting

 

Author / Organization: SABC – Group of dedicated individuals

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  http://www.sabc.co.za/sabc/

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

SABC: This a South African broadcasting website that sets to inspire and change enriching, credible, relevant and compelling content that is accessible by all. SABC’s number one focus is to sound and television broadcasting to the Republic of South African and also beyond their borders. Their mission statement is “[t]o educate, inform and entertain all audiences accessing SABC services.” They’re not just focused on providing entertainment, they seek to educate not only their people but also those who dedicate the time to really listen Valuing conversations and partnerships, the restoration of human dignity, and the building of a common future. There weren’t any particular weaknesses that stood out to me.

 

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2. Title: Streema

 

Author / Organization: eNCA

 

Format/Type of source: Online

Website Link:  http://externals.streema.com/tv/play/8395/?language=en

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

Streema: This South African website is one that offers quite a bit of information as far as entertainment. It is free online website that features online radio tuner discovery for multiple stations and countries as well as providing access to different television stations. One of the television channels I have decided to focus on is eNCA, E-News Channel Africa. eNCA happens to be one of the most watched and trusted television stations in South Africa. After its launch on the 1^st of July in 2008, eNCA set out to become the country’s first 24-hour television news service. It offers its viewers live reports, breaking new, sport, weather, entertainment, and business updates. This television network is staffed by a dedicated team of developers and editorial personnel who make it possible for upward of 1.5 million monthly users to have an immersive experience.

 

 

 

3. ­­­Title: All Africa

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link: http://allafrica.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/list/resource/main/main/doc/all.html

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

All Africa: This audio and video media outlet is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing news and information from over 140 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. Their multi-channel platform is the only independent, comprehensive pan-African news source, with unrivaled reach and reputation. All Africa operates from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC and publishes around 800 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. Most of the stories found on the website is from news agencies, newspapers, and publications all over Africa. One of the biggest strengths of AllAfrica is their reflection of diversity in reporting, analysis and commentary. The only downside to accessing this AllAfrica is that it has to be done through the OSU library which requires student login information.

 

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Data sources (2)

 

1. Title: South African Data Portal

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  //southafrica.opendataforafrica.org/

Frequency of update: Not very frequent, once every couple of years

Overview

South Africa Data Portal: This website is one that is easy to navigate and provides very clear yet detailed data on South Africa. It features the different population sizes of each state and unemployment rates, GDP at market prices, and various demographic maps and charts.With this website, you are given the chance of seeing things from a numbers point of view almost. It gives just the basics and the fundamentals, nothing more and nothing less. It’s a site that does exactly what it’s set out to do, which is to simply provide data. One of its biggest disadvantages, however, is how infrequently it’s updated.

 

2. Title: STATS SA – Statistics South Africa

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  http://www.statssa.gov.za/

Frequency of update: At least yearly

Overview

The vision and mission statement for STATS SA is very straightforward and to the point. Their vision is to deliver South Africa as the home they know and understand with a mission to lead and partner in statistical systems for evidence-based decisions. The webpage is very clean and uncluttered, giving browsing options such as publications, censuses, suppliers, etc. Posting statistics from economic gains to recent effects mining has had on South Africa over the past couple years. The only weakness and strength pertaining to this website is how thorough the information is. It’s definitely a curse and a blessing because you need to be familiar with different visualizations of data to be able to understand it. On the other hand, it provides great exposure to new forms of visualization with statistics pertaining to South Africa. In addition, their about me section doesn’t per say help you get a clear picture of who is putting together this date.

Traditional Format

• Title: China Daily
• Author/ Organization behind the source: PRC Culture Department (state-owned company)
• Format/ type of the source: “traditional” periodicals, such as newspapers and magazines
• How to access the source: http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/
• Updating frequency: everyday
• Detailed description of the source
  • Country of origin: China
  • Language: Chinese, but also translated into more than 20 languages
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: traditional newspaper now with both digital and print versions in various translated languages worldwide. The information is mainly news reports and journals with photos in the source. However, in the digital version to check out online, few videos can be found.
  • The source’s perspective: It is more like a platform to keep the pace with China’s development by timely acquire the news of new achievements.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: China Daily is not really a good English learning material, because many expressions are “Chinese characteristics English.” The “Chinese characteristics” here refers to the fact that certain words, sentences, and contents can only be understood by the Chinese people. For native speakers of English, these expressions are very incomprehensible. Although the company is established in China as its main location site, it holds nearly 45 million print and web readers worldwide, and its global circulation accelerates around 900,000 copies.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: As for the fact that China Daily can reflect the status quo in China, China Daily is like a news network to simply state out what’s now Chinese government is doing. I chose this newspaper because it is one of the most-frequently quoted Chinese media around the world. It is a national English-language newspaper founded in 1981. In addition, it covers domestic (China) and world news through nine print editions and digital media.

 

• Title: The Economist Magazine
• Author/ Organization behind the source: The Economist has been editorially independent since it was founded in September 1843 to take part “in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.” The share capital of The Economist Newspaper Limited, The Economist Groups parent company, is divided into ordinary shares, special shares, special shares and trust shares.
• Format/ type of the source: “traditional” periodicals, such as newspapers and magazines
• How to access the source: https://www.economist.com/
• Updating frequency: every week
• Detailed description:
  • Country of origin: The United Kingdoms
  • Language: English
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: like China Daily, The Economist also includes both digital and print versions. In print versions, the type of information in the source is conventional magazine with quick piece news and journals with pictures or cartoons, as well as data visualizations.
  • The source’s perspective: As an international news magazine, The Economist incorporates a special section for China’s news. However, the authors in this section to report China or Chinese government are nearly all western journalists, as stereotype criticizing China’s dictatorship.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: on its official website, besides digital version of each report, there are also a lot of video links and audio conversational reports for the public to approach. It was one of the international traditional magazines that include a large portion of China’s news in its international section. Readers are able to understand how people from outside China regard the images of my own country, but just from western elites scholars’ standpoints.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose this for people who want to know about China because the magazine has known to nearly everyone who holds a little bit knowledge about history, created in 1843 to campaign against the Corn Laws. This magazine is popular worldwide and I have been subscribing it since I entered college. In addition, I chose this also because it was one of the traditional magazines that include a large portion of China’s news in its international section.

 

• Title: HKFP-Hong Kong Free Press
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Hong Kong Free Press is a non-profit English language news source seeking to unite critical voices. Free and independent, HKFP launched in 2015 amid rising concerns over declining press freedom in Hong Kong and during an important time in the city’s constitutional development.
• Format/ type of the source: “traditional” periodicals, such as newspapers and magazines
• How to access the source: https://www.hongkongfp.com/
• Updating frequency: everyday
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: Hong Kong, China
  • Language: mainly Chinese and English
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: like the former two, HKFP also includes both digital and print versions. In print versions, the type of information in the source is conventional magazine with quick piece news and journals with pictures or cartoons, as well as data visualizations. In addition, on its official website, besides digital version of each report, there are also a lot of video links and audio conversational reports for the public to approach.
  • The source’s perspective: These total three traditional information formats I collect would be a division of standpoints to look at China. China Daily is the positive way, The Economist is the neutral and object one, while HKFP is the strongly offensive and opposite perspective towards China mainland.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: HKFP illustrates how the same news interpreted differently from two stances with same mother language. Its characteristics of criticizing China’s limits on freedom, sovereignty, and human rights are the attractions for me to research my country’s information. The considerable repudiator would bring another perspective on how decisions of Chinese government may actually affect or even persecute people from another region or political party.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: HKFP aims to be the most independent and credible English-language news source in Greater China. We seek to amplify the voices of the voiceless, not the powerful. And our platform will act as a monitor should Hong Kong’s core values and freedoms be threatened. The HKFP team is fully committed to reporting the facts, without fear, favor or interference.

 

New Media Website

• Title: Global Voices
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Global Voices is incorporated in the Netherlands as Stichting Global Voices, a nonprofit foundation. The Global Voices community is comprised of volunteer contributors and contracted staff, governed by a board of directors. Read more about our work in our annual reports, which incorporate our annual financials.
• Format/ type of the source: “new media” text-based sources such as blogs and websites
• How to access the source: https://globalvoices.org/
• Updating frequency: will update when journalists have new articles to discuss
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: Netherlands
  • Language: more than 40 languages
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: Global Voices construct the conversation on citizen media reporting since 2005. They curate, verify and translate trending news and stories you might be missing on the Internet, from blogs, independent press and social media in 167 countries. Sometimes the information also includes articles scattered in bits and pieces across the Internet, in blog posts and tweets, and in multiple languages.
  • The source’s perspective: neutral analysis on China’s current news and unbiased critical thinking. Sometimes, the section about China also includes a lot of voices from the public collected through Twitter and Facebook.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: Although it is ineffective to update some countries’ news, it is intriguing to find that its China’s news section is quite in trend. In addition, there are a considerable number of news posts about women, gender, and sexualities, which is the exact direction I am trying to research more. I would check it twice a week to some extent. In addition, online readers can find translated stories from more than 40 languages.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose this source as information network because its operation approach is innovative and trust worthy. The team groups are completely virtual and don’t have a physical office, but work as a virtual community across multiple time zones, often from our homes, cafés or public libraries. People in Global Voices meet in-person during biannual Summits. The authors are experts in the areas they write about and every story published on Global Voices is vetted by members of our impressive editorial team. It follows a rigorous editorial code inspired by the Society of Professional Journalists.

 

• Title: All Africa
• Author/ Organization behind the source:com is a website that aggregates news produced primarily on the African continent about all areas of African life, politics, issues and culture. The owner of the website is AllAfrica Global Media company. It has offices in Cape Town, Dakar, Lagos, Monrovia, Nairobi, and Washington, D.C.. AllAfrica is the successor to the African News Service.
• Format/ type of the source: “new media” text-based sources such as blogs and websites
• How to access the source: http://allafrica.com/
• Updating frequency: everyday
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: South Africa, Senegal, Nigeria, Liberia, Kenya, and the United States
  • Language: English and French
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: The current news and the archived news stories that the site presents are organizable by pull-down menus; the 1000 or so stories that are presented daily can be displayed by categories and subcategories such as country, region, and by dozens of standard news topics like business news, sports news, culture, climate, military, NGOs, World Cup, etc.
  • The source’s perspective: Most of the stories viewers read on this site come from newspapers, news agencies and publications all over the African continent. They aggregate and distribute the reporting of more than 130 media organizations.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: All Africa reflects the diversity of reporting, analysis and commentary from as many as possible of the influential media in every country. They include government and opposition-controlled papers, as well as the growing number of independent, professional news publications across the continent. In this way, we provide access to a full range of what Africans themselves are saying, thinking and publishing — a unique compilation of information that is valuable to policy makers, businesses, non-governmental organizations, scholars and journalists, as well as to the general public.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose this source because of the mutual importance of China and Africa diplomatic influences on each other. China includes at least four major national interests in Africa: political, economic, security, and ideology. Because of the large number of African countries, which hold considerable voting scales, China seeks African support for the Communist Party’s domestic political status and foreign policy agenda, especially in multilateral forums. Africa’s abundant natural resources and untapped market potential have created numerous business opportunities for Chinese business participants. However, China’s economic presence in Africa continues to intensify, and it also poses challenges for China’s investment in Africa’s prosperity and national security. So far, this is China’s security priority in Africa. Since China has promoted the “democratization of international relations”, the success of the “China model” and good relations with non-democratic countries in Africa have become increasingly important goals for China’s internal affairs and diplomacy.

 

Social Media Source

• Title: Sina Weibo
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Sina Company.
• Format/ type of the source: Social media sources
• How to access the source: Through Sina Weibo App with an account
• Updating frequency: every second
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: China
  • Language: Chinese
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: Users can post messages or upload photos via web pages, WAP pages, mobile clients, SMS, MMS. Sina can understand Weibo as a “micro-blog” or “sentence blog.” Users can write what they see, hear, and think of in words, or send a picture, share it with friends anytime, anywhere through their computer or mobile phone, share and discuss together, and they can also pay attention to their friends and see friends instantly.
  • The source’s perspective: Sina Weibo is one of the best platforms for releasing exclusive information. Sina Weibo is, in a sense, “a never-ending news conference.” It provides an unprecedented and simple way for people and organizations to publicly express themselves in real time, interact with others on a massive global platform and stay connected with the world.
  • Strengths and weaknesses: Sina Weibo has become one of the important sources of media monitoring and tracking of emergency news. The press conference is the place where information is published, and where the news happens, it means that the changes in Sina Weibo itself are worth reporting. This fully proves McLuhan’s point of view – “media is information.” The commercialization of the Sina Weibo platform will mainly rely on self-service advertising and value-added application.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose it because it is more formal than a twitter but casual than a post blog, holding the largest user population in China. Weibo is a leading social media platform for people to create, distribute and discover Chinese-language content. Also, the users include ordinary people, celebrities, and other public business, government agencies or organizations.

 

• Title: Zhi Hu
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Zhi Hu completed the $22 million Series B round of financing led by Softbank Wealth, and C round financing 55 million US dollars, the new investors for Tencent and Sogou, Tencent lead.
• Format/ type of the source: Social media sources
• How to access the source: Through Zhihu App with an account
• Updating frequency: every second
• Detailed description
  • Country: China
  • Language: Chinese
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: Zhihu is an online Q&A community that connects users from all walks of life. Users share each other’s knowledge, experience and insights, providing a variety of information for the Chinese Internet. To be precise, knowing is more like a forum: users engage in relevant discussions around a topic of interest, and they can focus on people with similar interests. For a conceptual explanation, the Web Encyclopedia covers almost all your questions; but for the integration of divergent thinking, it is a major feature to know.
  • The source’s perspective: various descriptive opinion and analysis on scholar topics
  • Strengths and weaknesses: Zhi Hu is more exclusive than the forum, each registered user has a PR (Person Rank), and each of your operations will directly affect your personal PR value. When answering, the answer sequence is sorted by the number of votes in favor, and if the number of votes is the same, it is sorted by the individual’s PR value, and the answer that is considered invalid is hidden. This filters considerable spam to a certain extent.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose Zhi Hu as a valuable source because of high authority of the answers on the website based on the credit-based SNS relationships. This also almost negates the possibility of any large Internet company entering the Quora Q&A. Because large-scale Internet companies generally have a wide audience, Quora-based quizzes are not simply based on sentiment, but value-to-information ratios (value information/total information volume), that is, the amount of elite information generated.

 

Data sources

• Title: CNKI
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Tsing Hua University
• Format/ type of the source: data source
• How to access the source: http://www.cnki.net/
• Updating frequency: will update when scholars have new articles to publish
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: China
  • Language: Chinese
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: Journals, newspapers, doctoral dissertations, conference papers, books, patents, etc. Therefore, the content of CNKI has extremely high collection value and use value of literature, which can serve as a basis for academic research and scientific decision-making.
  • The source’s perspective: neutral, database for Chinese scholar’s researches and reports
  • Strengths and weaknesses: Based on the detailed indexing of document content, CNKI literature search provides search functions for titles, authors, keywords, abstracts, and full-text data items. The knowledge clustering function provided by CNKI literature search is not available for general search engines. Based on the fast clustering algorithm, the knowledge points of the returned results are clustered, and the main knowledge points are displayed to the user, helping the user to improve the search expression and expand the search intention.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose this because it provides a comprehensive gateway of knowledge of China. It would update randomly and frequently based on the articles and researches put. It is a database construction and services group in China as a state-owned enterprise holding by Tsinghua Uniersity. It is dedicsted to integration and dissemination of knowledge, online publishing and related technical services.

 

• Title: UN Data
• Author/ Organization behind the source: United Nations
• Format/ type of the source: data source
• How to access the source: http://data.un.org/
• Updating frequency: once a year
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: no country, United Nations
  • Languages: 5 official UN languages
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: basic data worldwide covering politics, economy, population, transportation, and energy.
  • The source’s perspective: neutral, statistical language to demonstrate the data on various indexes to measure national development
  • Strengths and weaknesses: it is precious to check a lot of information through China’s country report and different divisions in China like demographic and information society. It is an important database in the world, covering politics, economy, population, transportation, and energy. It can be divided into basic data and country profiles, rich in information, access to data from the Internet.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: The United Nations Statistics Division is committed to the advancement of the global statistical system. We compile and disseminate global statistical information, develop standards and norms for statistical activities, and support countries’ efforts to strengthen their national statistical systems. We facilitate the coordination of international statistical activities and support the functioning of the United Nations Statistical Commission as the apex entity of the global statistical system.

 

• Title: World Bank Databank
• Author/ Organization behind the source: The World Bank
• Format/ type of the source: data source
• How to access the source: https://data.worldbank.org/
• Updating frequency: update regularly (quarterly, monthly, annually)
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: no country, The World Bank, basically the United States
  • Languages: 5 official UN languages
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: the Development Data Group coordinates statistical and data work and maintains a number of macro, financial and sector databases. Working closely with the Bank’s regions and Global Practices, the group is guided by professional standards in the collection, compilation and dissemination of data to ensure that all data users can have confidence in the quality and integrity of the data produced.
  • The source’s perspective: neutral, statistical language to demonstrate the data on various indexes to measure national development
  • Strengths and weaknesses: Developing countries face a number of problems in providing statistics that meet these criteria. They often find themselves caught in a vicious cycle—under-investment in national statistical systems constrains activities and results in data of poor quality, which policymakers are unwilling to rely on. This lack of demand for the data leads to fewer resources being made available for their production and quality control. Other than that, the World Bank works closely with the international statistical community including the agencies of the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the regional development banks,
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: although China has its own professional team to study and operate data and statistics, it is hard for ordinary people to look up and have a visit. However, the World Bank Databank includes investments in statistical activities, creating and implementing standards and frameworks for data collection, analysis and dissemination, strengthening the international statistical system, and compiling global data sets. There is also much to be done in raising awareness of the value of statistics among governments, decision makers and other users. As advocates for statistics, we work in close partnership with developing countries and our partners in the international community.

 

Visual and Audio Based Sources

• Title: Videos on CCTV.com
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Chinese Government
• Format/ type of the source: Visual and/or audio-based sources, such as television and radio sites
  • How to access the source: http://english.cctv.com/
• Updating frequency: every day
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: China
  • Language: Chinese and English
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: videos and tv shows programs from various functions such as news dissemination, social education, culture and entertainment, and information services.
  • The source’s perspective: positive on everything going on in China. It is a typical form of media to show the world in China’s perspective.
  • Strengths and Weaknesses: The Central Television Station (CCTV for short, CCTV for short) is a national deputy ministry-level institution directly under the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China. Founded on May 1, 1958, it is a news media organization and ideology in China. Cultural sites have various functions such as news dissemination, social education, culture and entertainment, and information services.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose it because of its official characteristic. It is the official news TV reporting in China, while it also has a lot of foreign countries’ website updating global and Chinese news including the United States. It is constantly updated with top news from China and around the world, offering news reports, live and on-demand video content and searchable archives.

 

• Title: TED Talk
• Author/ Organization behind the source: Ted talk company.
• Format/ type of the source: Visual and/or audio-based sources, such as television and radio sites
  • How to access the source: https://www.ted.com/
  • Updating frequency: every day
• Detailed description
  • Country of origin: the United States and Canada
  • Language: English and other more than 40 languages
  • Format/ type of the source and what type of information can be found: There are many types of TED video lectures, including outstanding figures in the fields of science, design, literature, and music, sharing their thoughts and explorations on technology, society, and people.
  • The source’s perspective: various perspective from the speakers to spread their thoughts on diverse topics
  • Strengths and weaknesses: it is intriguing particularly on the project of TEDx, on China’s topics. TEDx’s localized, self-organizing activities can bring people together to share experiences and experiences similar to TED. In the TEDx event, the video of the speech combined with the live speaker inspired a deeper discussion and closer contact within the group. This local, spontaneous activity is called TEDx. “x” represents the TED activity of an independent organization. The TED conference provided general guidelines for the TEDx project, but the individual TEDx events were organized by the (locals) themselves.
  • Why I think this source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about my country: I chose TED as the source because it has a considerable influence of celebrities to increase its authority. Everybody who has the opportunity to come to the TED conference to give a speech has an extraordinary experience. They are either leaders in a certain field or start-ups in a certain emerging field, or they have made certain enough for the society. Innovation to change. For example, Craig Venter, a leader in human genome research, and Nicholas Negroponte, the founder of the “One Hundred Dollars Laptop for Every Child” project, single-player Ben Saunders who slid to the North Pole, and contemporary brilliant linguist Steven Pinker. As for stars like Al Gore, it’s a regular visitor to TED.

 

 

Information Network Final Draft

United Arab Emirates الإمارات العربية المتحدة

Traditional Media Source 1:

•The Associated Press

•https://www.ap.org/about/

•Country of Origin: USA

•Language: English (Several Translations including Arabic)

•News: This media source is a traditional international news broadcast media source modeled as a not-for-profit, stationed out of NY, USA. Retaining a high production, value, integrity and clarity of information. Reporting from over 100 countries and 263 different locations across the globe and prominently awarded (52 Pulitzer Prizes) as one of the most unbiased news sources for current events with in-depth news coverage possible with further research through the featured news stories.

•Accessible through the link provided above. (Open/Public)

•Media is updated on a Live/Hourly/Daily timeline with a variety of media formats such as articles, videos (including VR), etc.

•I will check this source weekly to see the latest “top-featured” broadcasts and stories to get a better overall consensus of current events within the UAE

•I selected this media news source due to the previous experience and reliability I have felt in it’s reporting nature as well as its supporting multiple translations of news stories. Such translations include their Arabic News Service which provides 100 items/day translated from source material published by the AP while focusing the content toward Middle Eastern events/subject matter. Click for more on their International Text Services.

Traditional Media Source 2:

•BBC News

•http://www.bbc.com/news 

•Country of Origin: The United Kingdom

•Language: English (Several Translations including Arabic)

•News/Entertainment/Data: Similarities exist between the Associated Press and the BBC in terms of content. However, with the added component of the United Kingdom’s government in collaboration with the sponsorship provides a layer of bias that enables a component of government transparency and solidarity with the public. This is a unique component to their nature as a broadcasting/news source that should be exemplified more widely.

•Accessible through the link provided above. With open information to the public maintaining/providing a fair level to consumer, there is a subscription component that enables more features such as live broadcasts etc. to incentivize not only revenue collection but also a member response/vote system on what types of media they would wish to change/improve.

•Media is updated on a Free – Daily, Subscription – Live basis.

•The transparency/bias that I previously described is a large component as well as the high production value of all of the content produced by the BBC. I will check this with regular similarity to the AP in order to get multiple viewpoints on specific international events within the UAE. Additionally, I believe referring to news presented by a peer ‘Western’ nation, may give a different perspective regarding economic and diplomatic criteria about the United Arab Emirates.

•My experience with this news source began with a simple amusement with their entertainment, specifically their popular car show ‘Top Gear,’ and the jokes and references citing other shows/publications within the BBC contained within the show prompted me to do further research on certain events.

Traditional Media Source 3:

•The National

•https://www.thenational.ae/international

•Country of Origin: The United Arab Emirates

•Language: Arabic & English (Several Alternative Translations)

•News/Data/Religion/Representation/Community Resource: Considering the current socio-political environment around the globe, it is ever more important for regions rich in natural resources or economic power to remain transparent with their business partners/political allies. For fear of alienation leading to resentment by less well off nations, The National recognizes this importance and embraces a role of translating (including Arabic and English) its issues within the region of the Middle East and more specifically the UAE, while identifying stories from beyond its borders into a concise system of reporting. With it’s well organized site, and digital subscription platform of a traditionally modeled newspaper, The National reaches access of 10 million page views per month from within and without the region/country.

•Accessible through the link provided above. Information is open access to the public with a subscription model and ‘relevant’ business and consumer advertising to maintain a uncluttered presentation of news reports.

•Media is updated on a Free – Daily, Live, and subscription basis. Such PDF products and their respective translations are downloadable through any smartphone.

•This organization is committed to its customers being presented with accurate information from around the country and beyond through the perspectives that would make the events and information relatable and comprehensive to it’s local readership first and foremost. This perspective is largely why I chose this source because I often see translated news taking the perspective/influence of western cultures where this represents the Middle Eastern regions well. Additionally The National seems to not inundate its website visitors or subscribers with clutter or non-intuitive software/layout, which lends itself toward being considered more professional compared to its tabloid filled counterparts.

•Through my research on The UAE’s official governmental website regarding the political cabinet and policies of the nation (https://uaecabinet.ae/en/details/news/uae-cabinet-approves-national-tolerance-program or https://government.ae/en/media/media) I have a better understanding of how restrictive the broadcast of news and other information within the country can be at times. I have attempted to remain unbiased in my research and have sought out the best of resources available to me and The National is by far the superior Traditional news/media outlet in the UAE.

New Media Source 1:

•Global Voices

•https://globalvoices.org 

•Country of Origin: Netherlands

•Language: English (Languages of information depends on source, several translations are available depending on information comprising the articles)

•News with Social Media component: Both professional and user based articles, varying in quality depending on the specific work/author. Thorough work can be found through this site and UAE members/citizens can leak their own personal news broadcasts through now ‘illegal,’ VPN use.

•Accessible through the link provided above.

•Media is updated on a Hourly/Daily/user-timed basis. Such contributors to the site are comprised of a majority of volunteer authors, data analysts, online media experts and translators. These volunteers are not restricted by national boundaries and are therefore choose anonymity to provide their information, giving a unique (and somewhat unreliable) glimpse into regions that would otherwise restrict/punish such expressions as treasonable acts against the state. As the UAE has had a difficult past regarding Human Rights, this site provides the sometime missing link in the perspectives of it’s scorned citizenship.

•Since this was my first news source cited by the class as a rich environment for news and since has provided me with unique lessons one media/news research, I find this site engaging, while it is not of the caliber of other news sources listed here I have a strong feeling that Global Voices is a bridge between social media reporting and official news broadcasting.

New Media Source 2:

•Anti-Media

•http://theantimedia.com/ 

•Country of Origin: USA

•Language:  English, articles are material translated from outside sources aimed at USA readership

•News/Internet Radio/Podcast/Data/Anti-news Media Coverage: Anti-Media has taken a firm outspoken position against the news conglomerates that control the majority of the United State’s media coverage. This media site is a rich resource for alternative news that seeks to expose it’s perceived ‘repressed’ truth. I have especially appreciated it’s incorporation of multiple viewpoints broken down by categories including “our news, their news, my news.” This news outlet regards multiple perspectives as valid and vouches for the personal and unbiased approaches to news presentation. By not only covering the main events of the globe but also seeking out the stories that are neglected by the US’s main news outlets, this site renders a unique perspective toward international media consumption by those who live within the US. Since the US’s media consumption is very centrally focused, this site challenges the status quo and attempts to widen the scope of it’s viewers but media coverage. It has specifically chosen to cover the US’s relationship with other nations and how it’s choices affect them and their perspective of the US.

•Accessible through the link provided above. All data and articles are available thanks to donations, sponsorship and funding from a variety of users and fellow organizations that support Anti-Media’s goals.

•Media is updated on a Free – Daily, Live and subscription basis, upon utilization of the later option, users have a choice to download content directly and refer to the information at a later time, unrestricted by internet access. Users also get to respond and request news coverage over specific topics that can be submitted directly to this organization.

•Lack of significant funding and journalists/reporters, limits the capacity of this site to report on the same level of it’s perceived large conglomerate news broadcasting adversaries. However, exposure to international news and events that broaden US media consumption grants a validity to the efforts of this organization which provides further education of US citizens to cultural differences.

•I had previously utilized this news source as an alternative news, website for an introduction toward a technological communications class. With the mixed media content including conspiracy theories and learning of the granted legal rights of media news coverage outlets having the right to ‘lie’ to its consumers regarding world events there was a sufficient wealth of topics that could take advantage of both good and bad media coverage and the way you could learn to discern between them.

Social Media Source 1:

•Amnesty International

•https://twitter.com/AmnestyUAE

•Country of Origin: A wide variety of home offices comprise this international organization including Mexico, Kenya, Hong Kong, the UK, South Africa, Senegal, Lebanon, Tunisia, Jerusalem & Iran.

•Language: Arabic & English (Several Alternative Translations)

•Social media/User Response: Human Rights activity within the UAE specifically citing news sources to a multitude of different reporting agencies.

•Twitter/the link cited above.

•Media is updated on an Hourly/Daily/user timed basis.

•The UAE has had a conflicted track record with Human Rights Activism and following the social reverberations from the public through this news source that utilizes a variety of sources to report the findings and spread awareness about the

•Twitter is one of the largest social media outlets in the world and this includes the UAE with its user base have double the average activity with native Arabic speaking user interactions providing a great resource for personal accounts and perspectives.

Social Media Source 2:

•Fanack: Chronicle of the Middle East & North Africa

•https://twitter.com/fanackmena  

•https://fanack.com/united-arab-emirates/society-media-culture/uae-media/ 

•Country of Origin: The United Arab Emirates

•Language: Arabic & English (Several Alternative Translations)

•Social media/Human Rights/Radio/News/User Response & Participation: Human Rights, News, Radio and Data are combined with user perspective feedback component.

•Accessible through the link provided above. All data used for the content articles and broadcasts produced by this company are cited from internationally recognized institutions. All data and written information is provided by local correspondents and their anonymous sources which prefer to avoid persecution for sharing their perspectives and experiences.

•Media is updated on an Hourly/Daily/Live/International Publication basis.

•Established within the neutral diplomatic territory of the Netherlands during 2010, Fanack presents a wide variety of news from it’s international sources, dedicating its social media and professional sources to recording accurate data per their respective regions. Each Country has a designated portion of the website dedicated to its history, politics, economics, social issues and, more recently the state of water and energy resources across 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

•Fanack’s audience focuses upon readers in the region and beyond. Younger generations are drawn to the platform and its multifaceted , aged 18 to 35. Fanack’s in-depth background files on topics as diverse as religious extremism, nuclear programs and Jewish settlements in the West Bank also attract researchers, policymakers and business people seeking objective, credible information on different aspects of life in the MENA region

•Youtube (one outlet of Fanack’s radio/television broadcasts) is one of the largest social media outlets for both professional and amateur created content ranging form entertainment, advertisement on to political activism. As is the case with Twitter the UAE’s user base is twice as active as other regions and contributes to heavily consumed media on this site and therefore further funding of channels that create heavy traffic.

Data Source 1:

•UNESCO

•https://en.unesco.org/countries/united-arab-emirates 

•Country of Origin: France

•Language: English (Several Translations including Arabic)

•News & Database: Compiles an extensive quantity of national criteria regarding countries around the globe

•Accessible through the link provided above. (Open/Public)

•Statistical Media is updated Annually through official reports and surveys.

•In collaboration with the other four sources I plan on referring to this information as I consume new information and use it to help interpret some causality behind certain events and what cultural/educational/geographical etc. variables may be at play.

•As one of our international sanctioned sources, the data rich material is a reliable source to give a clear picture of the United Arab Emirates including Arabic compatible translations.

Data Source 2:

•Global Research: Centre for Research on Globalization

•http://www.globalresearch.ca/search?q=United+Arab+Emirates&x=0&y=0

•https://www.globalresearch.ca/about-2 

•Country of Origin: Canada

•Language: English (Several Translations including Arabic)

•News/Publication/Think Tank & Database: This news and data source organization stationed out of Montreal Quebec seeks to research, catalogue and analyze the social, political and economic events of the globe. Devotion of specific characteristics of these landscapes are broken down by category  Compiles an extensive quantity of national criteria regarding countries around the globe including by region and economy.

•Accessible through the link provided above. (Open/Public)

•International Publications are sourced through this website and their release is live. Statistical Media is updated annually through official reports and surveys.

•Utilizing Global Research Publishers, will help in acquiring intellectually well founded data that will contribute to the previously aforementioned sites and help to discern sufficiently sound information.

•It is a source for well structured data analysis and contextually rich information from the regions on which they are reporting. A wide variety of publications all seek further distribution through competitive data analysis and presentation. In 2007, GR launched Spanish (Español), Portuguese (Português), and German (Deutsch) language pages, which contain translations of Global Research articles. The following year Arabic العربية, Italian, (Italiano) and Serbian (srpski) language pages were launched. A wide variety of  educational and research institutions having established. It is also utilized as a source for specialized information by journalists, politicians, financial analysts and private organizations.

Visual/Audio Source 1:

•Aljazeera

•http://www.aljazeera.com/Search/?q=United%20Arab%20Emirates 

•Country of Origin: The United Arab Emirates (one of 70 international offices)

•Language: Arabic & English (Several Alternative Translations)

•Format/Type of source it is and what type of information can be found through this source

•Accessible through the link provided above. (Open/Public)

•Media is updated on a Live/Hourly/Daily timeline with a variety of media formats such as articles, videos (including VR), etc.

•This will be my main daily news consumption resource because of its high quality free live video broadcasts that are constantly streaming with no commercial interruption with little interpretation of the material being covered.

•I chose this media source due to many other sites listing it as one of the worlds top media coverage sites and it’s unique perspective of looking from the Middle East toward the outside world and giving in depth media reporting coverage on breaking news in multiple languages beyond Arabic and English.

Visual/Audio Source 2:

•21^st Century Wire

•http://21stcenturywire.com/category/middle-east/ 

•Country of Origin: USA

•Language: English

•News/Data/Articles/Podcasts

•Accessible through the link provided above. (Open/Public)

•Media is updated on a Live/Hourly/Weekly timeline with a variety of media formats such as articles, videos, including the regionally centered podcasts that are comprised of 2 hours of media content including interviews from local areas being covered.

•This media source covers both political and entertainment current events. The podcast component based on regional news such as the Middle East and events that influence the region as a collective. While the articles provided are based within the region but specifically center around nations such as the United Arab Emirates.

•I chose this media source due to it’s status of being of the top 25,000 most visited sites within existence from a large range of different viewers from around the globe and its alternative language translated media content.

Traditional Periodicals

 

Title:	The Korea Times
Author/Org:	Hankook Ilbo
Format/Type of information:	Traditional Periodical. Provides general news information and has many sections from Economy to Sports. The perspective of this source is rather neutral, with the majority of the publication being objective reporting.
How to access:	http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www2/common/aboutKT.asp
Update frequency:	Daily, if not more frequently
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because it is one of the largest and most read news publications in all of South Korea. It is from South Korea and published in several languages, including English. I think this is a valuable source because it is a widely circulated South Korean newspaper and would allow the reader to see what South Koreans are reading every day.

 

 

 

Title:	The Korea Herald
Author/Org:	Herald Corporation
Format/Type of information:	Traditional Periodical. Provides general news information and has a wide variety of topics covered across the board. This is the nation’s largest daily publication. The perspective of this source is rather neutral, with the majority of the publication being objective reporting.
How to access:	http://www.koreaherald.com/
Update frequency:	Daily, if not more frequently
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because it is a well-regarded publication and is the largest daily news source in the ROK. It is from South Korea and published in several languages, including English. I think this is a valuable source because it is a widely circulated South Korean newspaper and would allow the reader to see what South Korean’s are reading every day.

 

 

 

Title:	Jooang Daily
Author/Org:	Jooang Group & The New York Times
Format/Type of information:	Traditional periodical. Daily updates on a wide range of topics. It is interesting to note that this is done through some association with The New York Times, but the exact relationship isn’t clear so it could just be branding. This source is really well put together but the wording is rather strong, erring on the side of subjectivity. That being said it’s very thorough and high quality. The perspective of this source seems somewhat skewed liberal in tone, and least in what I have read. I don’tmind it.
How to access:	http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/
Update frequency:	Daily, if not more frequently
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because, although it is similar to the other periodicals, it is really of the upmost quality. Very thorough writing and great web design, which is something to be said for. It is from South Korea and published in several languages, including English. I think this is a valuable source because it is a very well made publication and it is interesting that the New York Times, adding a slight western lense, endorses it.

 

 

 

Audio Source

 

Title:	KBS World Radio
Author/Org:	KBS World Radio
Format/Type of information:	Audio Source. Provides news in several languages about Korean politics, sports, economy, culture, and traditions. This is from the perspective objective reporting that is supposed to entertain. It seems neutral in tone.
How to access:	http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/
Update frequency:	Numerous programs run daily
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because of how well it was regarded and how wide reaching it is. It broadcasts in many languages and from towers in many countries, including North America. It is from South Korea and broadcasts in several languages, including English. I think this is a valuable source because it is an easy way to tune into South Korean radio and catch up on things while in traffic or something.

 

 

Video Source

 

Title:	MBC
Author/Org:	MBC&iMBC
Format/Type of information:	Visual Source. Provides a wide range of Korean TV programming. The perspective of this source is odd to place, as it is largely only dramas and things meant for entertainment. It certainly gives cultural insight, but the lack of objectivity could be perceived as a weakness.
How to access:	http://content.mbc.co.kr/english/interview/index.html
Update frequency:	Depends on the program.
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because it is a high quality site that is in English. It was very difficult to find anything in English. It is from South Korea and broadcasts mainly in Korean, although usually subtitles are made available. I think this is a valuable source because it can give the reader/viewer a sense of what South Korean television entertainment is like – a look into the culture.

 

 

Data Sources/Databases

 

Title:	Lexis Nexis Academic
Author/Org:	LexisNexis & RELX Group
Format/Type of information:	Data Source/Database. A collection of publications from all over the world from a wide variety of sources.
How to access:	http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/lnacademic/
Update frequency:	Very frequently, daily.
Description/Why it was selected:	This source was selected because of how thorough it is, and the way that you can search for specific things. It allows you to quickly find many perspectives on the same issue. It originates from the USA and is in English, although you can search for articles in many languages. I think this is a valuable source because of how thorough and comprehensive it is.

 

 

Title:	Factiva
Author/Org:	Factiva Inc., Dow Jones
Format/Type of information:	Data Source/Database. Similar source to “Lexis Nexis” but is useful in a different way. It does much more in the way of categorizing the sources and even provides aspects of data visualization.
How to access:	https://global.factiva.com/sb/SimpleSearch.aspx?NAPC=p
Update frequency:	Very frequently – while I was checking it I found results from today, and even from the future for planned publications.
Description/Why it was selected:	This source was selected because of the way it presents its data. It seems to use a different algorithm than Lexis Nexus, too, as I got different search results from the same keyword. I think that this source will be a great addition, along with Lexis Nexis, to truly probe the vast amount of information out there. It originates from the USA and is in English, although you can search for articles in many languages. I think this is a valuable source because of how thorough and comprehensive it is.

 

 

Title:	The World Factbook
Author/Org:	Central Intelligence Agency
Format/Type of information:	Data Source. Provides concrete and reliable statistics on just about anything you would want to know about the ROK. The perspective of this source is entirely objective. There is only the presentation of data here, not an analysis.
How to access:	https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
Update frequency:	Rather infrequently – this source is updated when new data is gathered. It was last updated on January 30th, 2018.
Description/Why it was selected:	This source was selected because of how well regarded and reliable the CIA World Factbook is. This is my go-to site for world statistics. It originates from the USA and is in English. I think this is a valuable source because one can find statistics on just about anything for the ROK there.

 

 

Title:	FRED
Author/Org:	Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Format/Type of information:	Data source. Provides in depth details about the Korean economy. Very precise and well made. The perspective of this source is entirely objective. There is only the presentation of data here, not an analysis.
How to access:	https://fred.stlouisfed.org/tags/series?t=korea
Update frequency:	It depends on the kind of graph. Most are on a quarter basis. Some have been discontinued.
Description/Why it was selected:	This source was selected because FRED is, by all accounts I’ve ever heard, the true standard.   I learned about it in my Macro class and refer to it all the time for data ever since. It originates from the USA and is in English. A possible weakness for this source is that some of the graphs have been discontinued. I think this is a valuable source because it can provide in depth information on the ROK’s economy.

 

 

New Media Sources

 

Title:	Seoul Searching
Author/Org:	Mimsie Ladner
Format/Type of information:	New Media source. This is a personal blog about life in Korea. It covers culture, food, day-to-day life, and travel. This is form the perspective of a foreigner living in South Korea
How to access:	http://www.myseoulsearching.com/
Update frequency:	Several times a month.
Description/Why it was selected:	This source was selected because of its popularity and positive reviews. It is also one of the few reputable blogs that is written by a native English speaker. It is published from South Korea. I think this is a valuable source because it can give the reader a sense of what it is like o be an immigrant in the ROK.

 

 

Title:	The Observatory of Economic Complexity
Author/Org:	Alexander Simoes, creative commons
Format/Type of information:	New media source. This is unlike anything I’ve ever really seen. Incredible interactive diagrams and graphs can teach you anything you want to know about ROK statistics. This is from a purely objective perspective.
How to access:	https://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/
Update frequency:	It depends on the kind of graph/visualization.
Description/Why it was selected:	Like I said, this is unlike anything I have seen before. The interactivity is beautifully done. Although it conveys data, I consider it to be new media because of how it conveys it. It originates from the USA and is in English. I think this is a valuable source because it can show pertinent information on the ROK quickly and visually.

 

 

Social Media Sources

 

Title:	Seoul Government (Twitter)
Author/Org:	Seoul Metropolitan Government
Format/Type of information:	Social media source. It contains news and general updates about the happenings of Seoul, South Korea. This is from the perspective of the Seoul Metropolitan government.
How to access:	https://twitter.com/seoul_gov?lang=en
Update frequency:	Several times a day.
Description/Why it was selected:	This was selected because it will give a smaller-scale look at the happenings of Korea, as it focuses only on the capital. Being that it is an official government account, the information should be credible and pertinent. This account is based in Seoul but publishes in English. I think this source is valuable because it can convey the daily happenings of Seoul.

 

 

Title:	“Seoul Korea” (Facebook)
Author/Org:	Seoul Metropolitan Government
Format/Type of information:	Social media source. Rather similar in scope to the Seoul Government’s Twitter page, but there are few official pages in English. This is from the perspective of the Seoul Metropolitan government.
How to access:	https://www.facebook.com/seoulcitykorea/?fref=pb&hc_location=profile_browser
Update frequency:	Several times a day.
Description/Why it was selected:	This was chosen because it is a well-put together, frequently updated source that gives a window into the happenings of Seoul Korea. Although I would’ve liked to expand the scope of the social media sources, there are few official pages that are even on Facebook, nevertheless in English. This account is based in Seoul but publishes in English. I think this source is valuable because it can convey the daily happenings of Seoul.

 

Marissa Smithinsky

04/10/18

INTSTDS 4850

Senegal: Final Information Network

Traditional Periodicals:

Le Soleil: This is a regional newspaper in Senegal that focuses on the news, politics, economics, society, regions etc. It serves as a great traditional source for all the happenings in Senegal itself. The website is in French and it appears to act as a form of local news. It updates daily and it has three other main sections such as le soleil business, le soleil grand air and le soleil diaspora. It’s also interesting how it breaks up each individual section into smaller subsections such as small opinion pieces.

It can be accessed at http://www.lesoleil.sn

I chose this news source because it was the most relevant and diverse in comparison to others I came across. While domestically focused, this newspaper does a great job of reporting on many different international events and a variety of sections such as politics, economics and culture etc. I liked how they added in opinion pieces, it helped portray the culture there. One limitation of this source is that its articles are not extremely detailed and it can be difficult to navigate the website. Nevertheless, this source gives a great overarching perspective of the country of Senegal.

 

BBC news: This traditional international news source acts as a newspaper, radio station and T.V. station. Based in Britain, it also has worldwide respect and prestige as a broadcasting company. It is produced in English and updates daily. It is an excellent and trustworthy source of domestic and international news. It is divided into operational divisions and commercial divisions. The commercials divisions consist of BBC Worldwide, BBC World News, BBC Studios and BBC Studioworks.  Moreover, it has individual country profiles detailing their politics, media, population size etc.

It can be accessed at http://www.bbc.com/news

I chose this source because of its accuracy, reliability and familiarity. It not only shares domestic and international news but it does an excellent job of staying impartial.Unlike local sources, however, BBC has limitations in that it only reports on the overarching issues or events of the country. It is not able to zoom in on the ingrained cultural, and societal customs of local Senegalese life.

 

Wal Fadjri L’Aurore: This regional newspaper works as a traditional news source for Senegal. This major daily newspaper in Senegal covers articles about finance, economy, business, entertainment, sports, politics, employment, and real estate.Unlike the other traditional news sources, I have observed of Senegal, this news source gives good comprehensive coverage of the country political, social and economic viewpoints. Each article posted is longer, more detailed and covers more topics. This French newspaper is broken down into four main headings with between five to seven subheadings listed beneath each one and it has several opinion pieces. To add to the relevance of this source, the website has other major Senegalese news sources listed on their homepage.

It can be accessed at http://www.walf-groupe.com

I chose this traditional news source because of its credible and broadly serving information network. This source gives a great overview of the different viewpoints in Senegal. This can be represented through the opinion pieces posted on the website, and the diverse sections that portray the social, economic, cultural opinions and beliefs of the locals there. One setback would be the lack of sources listed on the website and its relevance in comparison to other sources. Nevertheless, this source is updated daily and appears to cover a range of different issues.

 

New Media Sources:

Senego: I chose Senego as my new media source which covers regional aspects of culture, politics and societal expectations. Senego is a mix between a news source and a buzz feed article, it’s what I would consider a popular culture website. While not literally credible, Senego gives us a good grasp of the cultural and societal expectations surrounding Senegal. It is divided into Politique, People, Sport, TV and Rubriques which then divides into smaller indexes. The whole website is in French and appears to be a frequent source for young adolescents in Senegal. This source does not update frequently. It updates monthly or every couple of months.

It can be accessed here: https://senego.com

I chose this source because I can see how it is part of popular culture. It is interesting how the website is divided into small subsections such as humor, TV and health. I think it’s a very new and modern approach to new media and gives each reader a good grasp of the trends present there. The main limitation present within this source is the lack of relevant and credible information. The articles are often extremely short and touch more on popular culture, than any significant information.

 

Seneweb.com: I chose seneweb as my new media source. This local source is interesting because it has a mixture of news, popular culture and blogs on its website. Each blog covers a different topic regarding influential people, politics and culture. Although started by Basile Niane, the blogs are written by a variety of people and appear to be very popular. These blogs are targeted towards adolescents and young adults.  What separates this website from others is that it gives the ability to a general user to add their own opinions and to even create blogs. While this may lower the credibility of seneweb, it will give more creative freedom to the Senegalese people.

It can be accessed here: www.seneweb.com

I chose this source because of its relevance to the popular culture and data dissemination of  Senegal. While most traditional news sources only contain news and some smaller subheadings such as culture. Seneweb.com encompasses creative freedom, news and the culture of Senegal. I think it is interesting the different viewpoint this gives.The website is in French and it is situated in Senegal.

 

Social Media Sources:

Amnesty Senegal: I chose this international source for the social media component of my country. Amnesty International is an organization that is well known around the world. Thus, Amnesty Sénégal is a domestic form of the organization which focuses on events and happenings in Senegal. Amnesty Sénégal is focused on the promotion and the protection of human rights in Senegal and in the World. Within this organization, there are local Senegalese working to combat human rights injustices. In this way, this source gives a credible centralized point of view of Senegal.I found their main social media site on twitter, but they are also in a sub-index on Amnesty International. Both sites are in French and contain relevant events pertaining to human rights violations and efforts.

They can be accessed at https://twitter.com/AmnestySenegalor @AmnestySenegal and http://www.amnesty.sn

I chose this source because of how closely I align with their mission. Moreover, this source provides a great reference to the efforts of Senegal in fighting human rights violations. Through these different access points, one can get a solid perspective on the who, what, where and why of Senegal’s human rights movement and advocacy. The twitter posts, in turn, present provoking commentary on different news sources throughout Senegal. In general, I would say the main limitation for this source is that it doesn’t give an overarching perspective of human rights abuses, it is very locally centralized.

 

Le Senegal: I chose Le Senegal for my social media source. Unlike my other sources, this one provides a different scope on Senegal. It provides a national viewpoint of Senegal through sports. Like most countries in the global south, sports are an innate part of their culture and I feel as though this source can give great coverage of the culture and society present in Senegal. Le Senegal is a platform on Facebook that posts up and coming events in both English and French pertaining to soccer in Senegal. It is a Media/News company situated in Dakar, Senegal and it has over 511,901 followers on Facebook.It is in French and in both languages, French and English on Facebook.

This source can be accessed on Facebook, but also at its media website http://www.lesenegal.net

I chose this source because I believe that it portrays perfectly how the Senegalese people think and act in their community. In most countries, especially in the United States, people embrace sports as a respected tradition but more so it often symbolizes the patriotism one feels for his/her country. I think that this social media source gives a great scope of how the Senegalese people see sports and more importantly their country. The main limitation of this source is that it doesn’t diversify the sports it covers or the viewpoints. It focuses on one central perspective.

 

UNFPA Senegal: I chose the UNFPA Senegal as my social media source for Senegal. Found on Facebook, Twitter and the main UNFPA website, this source encompasses many of the requirements that the other sources include that being those of traditional, data or new media sources. The UNFPA in Senegal is put in place to assure reproductive rights to all. The UNFPA stands for the United Nations Population Fund. It directly advocates and supports the reproductive health of women, guaranteeing that there is reliable health care, services and consultation for those who need it. Although UNFPA is a global initiative, it is broken into UNFPA global and UNFPA West and Central Africa. This source directly focuses on Senegal and the website is broken down into news, publications, multimedia and data visualizations. It is produced in both English and French.

It can be accessed here: http://senegal.unfpa.org/fr and on Facebook and Twitter

I chose this global source because of the insight it gives us on reproductive rights in Senegal. As Senegal is one of the lesser developed countries, it lacks many basic resources such as education, health services and proper infrastructure. I believe that this source gives a detailed and zoomed in perspective of reproductive rights in Senegal. The data visualizations help to convey the true extent of reproductive failures and successes in Senegal. The only limitation I can see with this source is the idea that it is branching off from the global UNFPA source. In this way, it has fewer resources and most likely funding regarding dissemination of information.

 

Audio/Video Sources:

Radiodiffusion Television Senegalaise (RTS): This audio-based source is a local, state-run form of television and radio broadcasting in Senegal. Most audio sources in Senegal are private, as such RTS is one of the more relevant and accurate forms of broadcasting.  It operates Chaine Nationale and Senegal Internationale, Dakar FM and regional services. It is also broken up into actualités (news), emissions (channels) and many others. RTS is broadcasted in French and the website appears to have a diverse amount of news portrayed.The news presented contains sections on the local news, state-run channels and mini archives.

It can be accessed at http://www.rts.sn and on most social media sites such as Facebook, google plus, Instagram and Twitter.

I chose this audio source because I thought it encompassed well the radio coverage of Southern Africa, specifically Senegal. It was also in French, their native language which helps diversify the source. The main limitation to this source, however, would be the navigation of the website and the depth of news covered. RTS does a great job of broadcasting on a range of different news, but it does not include much detail in its articles or make it easy to navigate its website. RTS is on most social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and updates daily.

 

Radio France Internationale (RFI): This audio-based source is an international, and regional form of television and radio broadcasting in Senegal.Although situated in France, RFI has many channels that broadcast out to countries in the Global South. RFI is a French public radio service that broadcasts in Paris and to the rest of the world. It is one of the most listened to international radio stations in the world and it broadcasts 24 hours a day in 12 different languages. All channels are operated by the state company, France Médias Monde, situated in France. Moreover, RFI also covers a wide variety of different sections including economy, culture, sports, sciences, technology and sections on France itself, the international world and Africa itself.

It can be accessed at http://www.rfi.fr and is also found on several different forms of social media, those including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Dailymotion, YouTube, Soundcloud and Tune-In.

I chose this audio source because of how widely used this radio station is throughout the world. In general, radio usage in Senegal is crucial due to the present high illiteracy rate and most locals therefore only use the radio for information about the rest of the world. It is for this reason that I believe this audio source provides great coverage of Senegal. It gives an international viewpoint but also aids in the regional understanding of the country. The only limitation with this source is that it may not be completely in touch with the local viewpoints concerning societal and cultural expectations and customs.

 

Data Sources:

CIA World Factbook: This U.S. global source works as an English data source for Senegal. The CIA World Factbook is an excellent reference for an overview of a specific country. In this case, the fact book outlines Senegal through its geography, society, government, economy, energy, military etc. For each section, it provides a detailed outline of the country’s profile in general. It also gives several relevant statistics surrounding the country’s infrastructure and economic development.

This source can be accessed at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/sg.html

I chose this data source because of the relevance of the CIA. The CIA is a world-renowned organization that is a credible and recognized international source. In this way, the information portrayed on the website is very accurate and reliable. I already use the CIA World Factbook for several projects I work on, so keeping up to date should not be an issue. However, as the source is only updated yearly, this database will not be the most reliable news source for updated daily news.

 

Encyclopedia Britannica: This U.S. and UK news source works as a data news source for Senegal. The Encyclopedia Britannica works almost identically to the way the CIA World Factbook does, in that it is an excellent reference which gives a great overarching view of a specific country. In this case, it would be Senegal. The Encyclopedia Britannica is a general knowledge English-language encyclopedia that is shared between the U.S. and the UK. This data news source is broken into several different subsections which cover the country of Senegal. The most prominent being the Introduction and Quick Facts, Land, People, Economy, Government and Society, Cultural life and History. Within each of these headings are smaller more detailed subheadings.

This source can be accessed at https://www.britannica.com/place/Senegal

I chose this data source because of its prominence as an internationally renowned reference for relevant information on the world. Encyclopedia Britannica is a global educational publisher that promotes knowledge and learning. It is also one of the oldest English-language encyclopedias still in production. In fact, this shows that Encyclopedia Britannica has been respected andis a trustworthy source of information. It is for these reasons that I  believe this source give good comprehensive coverage of Senegal. This source will not be updated regularly and for this reason, this source will provide a great background on Senegal, but not necessarily up and coming news. Moreover, as this is a worldwide source, it will not be as relevant to the local culture and societal expectations of Senegal.

 

Europa World Plus Database: This global news source works as a data news source for Senegal. This source is produced in English and covers the historical, geographical, economic, and political profiles of 250 countries and global regions. It is the online version of the Europa World Year Book. This database gives a great overview of Senegal. It consists of several subheadings such as the Country Profile, Country Statistics and the Directory. Within each category there are much more detailed aspects of the country such as the statistics concerning population, mining, industry and finances etc. This database is great for Senegal because it pays attention to detail and includes several different domains to obtain information from.

It can be accessed at http://www.europaworld.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/entry/sn

I chose this source because of its relevance and world-renowned resources. This online version produces impartial and efficient background information on the country of Senegal and 249 other countries. This database has been utilized by the media, major business, companies, governmental agencies and libraries for its credible information. It provides an overarching perspective of the country for the international world. A limitation of this source would be the idea that it is not addressing the local perspective of the people. Simply fact-based and written by experts, the societal expectation and culture are not addressed within the database. As this source is updated yearly, I will use it as background information for Senegal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Traditional Periodicals

1. National Geographic Russia is a long-standing magazine in Russia that is authored and run by National Geographic but centered mainly on Russia. Articles from this magazine can also be found online and translated into English. Articles contain content about different geographical and natural phenomenons in the geographical vastness that is considered Russia. It can be accessed through a subscription or by visiting the website, http://www.nat-geo.ru/. It is possible to read this website through using the Google Translate option provided when using the link for the Russian page. The periodical gets updated weekly with new articles and has monthly showcased news just like National Geographic in the United States. On an iPhone you can set it up where you receive updates from a certain news source, including National Geographic Russia. The articles from this magazine are ones that will contribute well to an information network because they provide insight on what Russians are reading about pertaining to their country naturally. It shows what places people are interested in, the wildlife that is native there or endangered, and offers a view that is not overly marred by any biases.
2. The Moscow Times is a popular newspaper in Moscow that covers everything from op-eds to politics to business and the economy, much like the New York Times in the United States. It provides the reader access to news in just Moscow as well as world news. Moscow is the economic center of the Russian Federation and many key events take place there. It is updated daily and is online for internet users to have easy access as well at https://themoscowtimes.com/. This can be considered the central hub of news if someone wanted to get a wide range of topics to read about in Russia. They have an entire tab for the upcoming 2018 World Cup that Russia is hosting. When using a computer to access this newspaper online, a tab pops up where you can sign up to get updates on different categories if you want. I will mainly be using this site for the politically and World Cup news that I am interested in as well. This traditional news source has a variety of information that is updated daily on it. It provides a user-friendly site to search for specific topics and news.
3. Chaspik Newspaper is a newspaper whose headquarters are in St. Petersburg, also known as Russia’s cultural capital. St. Petersburg is an important city to keep track of news on for many different reasons, including social events and popular culture. They specifically have a section of their newspaper devoted to crime stories, which allows you to see what Russian crime and of international incidents those are, especially with St. Petersburg being one of the biggest tourist destinations in Russia. Different news stories are updated on their website daily, which is http://www.chaspik.spb.ru/. Even though this news source is not an independent news source from the state, the stories do offer a view of St. Petersburg that is organic compared to a news source that is located outside of the actual city and reporting in. You will be able to compare news stories from other sources to how Chaspik reports on the same events to see the similarities and contrasts of stances taken and words used. This is a similar approach to what you should do with news stories that are from the United States from sources like CNN compared to MSNBC or Fox News. The website version of this newspaper allows notifications of updates to be sent to an email when there is something that you have flagged as a topic of interest, namely politics and economics of St. Petersburg.
4. Russian News Agency TASS is the biggest news source in the Russian Federation and is owned and run by the government. This news source has been around since the early 1900s and now is available online and through their Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages as well. The website is directly translated into English without the user needing to do anything. TASS covers all topics that could be talked about in Russia, making sure to have everything covered from the government’s biases. This includes categories like world news, Russian politics, military and defense, space and science and culture and society. With news from TASS, you must remember the goals of the Russian government and how they want to portray themselves to the world and how they want their citizens to view them as well. This affects the amount of coverage certain stories will get or if they get reported on at all. TASS gets updated daily as news stories happen, and is easily found online through this link, http://tass.com/. 

New Media

1. Europe Free radio is always updated daily and offers a wide variety of views through the different bloggers and articles posted on the site. The views are not censored or dictated by the Russian government like a Russian news source would be. There is more freedom of expression and opinions other than that of the acting administration and can be easily accessed through having an internet connection and using the link https://www.rferl.org/p/5547.html. The website is useful because it offers news on more than just the Russian Federation, so it is possible to compare the reports from one country compared to Russia on the same event or story. There are many different ways to stay updated with this source, including getting updated through an e-mail subscription because that option was one that could be given in English, which most of the website is. Often, the articles and blogs are authored by people who are not Russian themselves but report on areas in the Russian Federation or surrounding countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union, or those who are using the platform as their only freedom of expression option who do live in Russia, which offers a different perspective than typical news sources.
2. навальный (“bulk” in English) is a political blog written by a man named Alexey Navalny, who is the chairman of the Progress Party in Russia as well as the founder of the Anti-Corruption Foundation. This is a blog that is mainly against the Putin administration. Navalny blogs regularly but not everyday, and the blogs consist mostly of content about the political atmosphere in Russia at the current time, especially with how the current administration has been in power for almost 20 years and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. There are live broadcasts as well as his written blogs on his website, https://navalny.com/. You also can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and several other social media platforms. This is an important information source because it shows the thoughts and views of Russians who do not always support the current administration in Russia. This has significance because often in mainstream media and news in Russia, pro-Putin is almost required.
3. Colta

Social Media

1. A great social media resource is to follow the Twitter account of a senior analyst of Russia and blogger, Brian Whitmore. Whitmore does a daily blog about Russian politics called the Daily Vertical. Whitmore currently lives in Prague and had posted his blog on Radio Free Europe, which is where I found this resource, and now will start posting it through The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He posts all his blogs and videos on his account and also posts his own thoughts in a shorter form with his tweets and provides links for other articles and people relating to topics he reports on. His perspective is that of a non-native to Russia, a more westernized view. His Twitter handle is @PowertVertical (https://twitter.com/PowerVertical. It will be easy to keep updated with this source just by checking Twitter daily (which most do anyways) or listening to the videos posted. Whitmore has his blog once a day but also will tweet other things, so this source is always updated at least once daily.
2. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation’s Twitter account is a primary social media source for the current administration in power in the Russian Federation. This account is verified as the official account of Russia’s Ministry of Defense. Their tweets can either be translated into English or are already published that way by them. It is possible to follow them on Twitter and see their updates, which usually is every hour with an update on a news story or military maneuver @mod_russia. This information source shows what the Russian Ministry of Defense is considering to be newsworthy in their tweets. It also allows an insight into what they report on about other countries, like in Syria. Several tweets on the account were actually in Arabic. The pictures posted are also a valuable insight to what the Russian military may look like. The content tweeted from this account shows clearly what the Ministry of Defense deems a priority for people to know and shows the information that they choose to be transparent about.

Audio/Video

1. TV Rain is the only independent news channel in the Russian Federation at the moment. They provide news coverage on everything in Russia from politics to editorials, and are on all social media platforms and have a YouTube channel that can be watched with English subtitles. The views and opinions expressed on TV Rain are important because it comes from an independent news source, so the bias is not towards supporting the acting governmental administration, especially with the recent elections and Putin becoming president for another 6 years. The link to their website that has all audio and video links for articles is listed as https://tvrain.ru/. They have a YouTube channel that is accessible to watch whenever, and their updates happen daily depending on what section of news you would want to watch or listen to.
2. RT (formerly Russia Today) is a television and internet network that is funded by the Russian government and based out of Moscow, Russia, but includes international partners and news, namely the United States in Washington D.C. This information network, like a newspaper or magazine, gets updated regularly. Some areas get updated daily, while others are on a weekly basis if it is a talk show or different interviews. RT is used for the purpose of reaching viewers through satellite channels who are outside of Russia to hear about Russia. The website can be directly translated into English and Spanish and offers world news as well as that in Russia. The material from this source does not favor the United States in certain areas and provides a different point of view than what is normally seen in news in America about similar topics as well as shows how Russians dispute over their own politics. The website for RT is easily accessible through https://www.rt.com/and can also be found on most popular social media platforms or through the downloadable app.
3. Echo of Moscow is an independent radio station that is based out of Moscow and broadcasts nationwide, namely about social and political events of both domestic and international issues. This station makes a point of showing different vies and tries not to have biases in their reporting unless it is an op-ed of some kind. Echo of Moscow also has a website with access to all their social media and YouTube videos, which can be translated from Russian into English and found by this link, https://echo.msk.ru/. This radio station is unique in the fact that 34% of it is owned by its employees, including Alexey Navalny, who is a prominent figure in the political world as a blogger and activist against the current administration. The statistics given through this source are widely used by many other news sources and is updated daily. Echo of Moscow is not entirely free of scrutiny or even physicall attacks on their office, but they are able to provide news on important issues for Russians without an over-the-top Putin bias. This news source is great to get a middle line perspective on events happening in read time Russia.

Data Bank

1. The World Bank is a great data source for any country including the Russian Federation. There is a multitude of information that can be found on their website. The data can range from education to internet access to an array of socioeconomic contributions to the functionality of Russia as a whole (GDP, exports, imports, agriculture etc.). All of this data is updated in yearly reports and data can be shown over 20 years into the past. There are visualization tools as well to show a clearly picture of information that you are looking for. To specifically reach the data bank, the link is https://data.worldbank.org/country/russian-federation. This is accessible online and is published originally in English. There is also an app that is the World Bank’s EdStats Data Finder. Statistics can be used to skew information or sometimes can be read wrong, but the data provided by the World Bank does not have an obvious political motivator for providing the information. The World Bank is a mostly western institution but also covers countries globally that they are currently helping.  The World Bank has been and still is influential globally with Russia along with other countries that are their allies.
2. Europa World Plus is a fantastic data base to use on information concerning the Russian Federation and the surrounding countries. It is updated and published by the Routledge Taylor and Francis Group. This database provides many different caches of information regarding Russia. It depicts historical events, geographical locations and their significance, the current and past political administrations, as well as finance and the population of Russia and the surrounding territories in the federation. It can be accessed through the OSU library database search engine, and the link for the website is http://www.europaworld.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/entry?id=ru&go_country=GO. The information found on there can be useful if you need background information on something or factual evidence to support an opinion that you read in a blog or have formed yourself about an issue concerning Russia and its involvement globally. It also provides easy access to information about Russia’s neighboring countries. The website as of now has financial and geographical information from 2016, but does update, just not as often as a newspaper would. Since Ohio State provides its students with off-campus access to its libraries, you can use this database anywhere that you have an internet connection.

SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES: 

Social Media Source #1: The Local – Switzerland’s News in English

https://www.thelocal.se

Language: English

*When you arrive at thelocal.se website, at the top you can click on “Switzerland” by the Editions tool bar. This then changes the website link to: https://www.thelocal.ch – which is the Swiss based online code. [like google.com versus google.de or google.ch]

The first web page offers most of the same information as the second page, except for the fact that thelocal.se webpage offers more information geared towards English users. For example: they have many links on the first page that: help English speakers obtain a job in various cities in Switzerland, and ways to adapt in Switzerland as an English language speaker.

The Local is a new media source that is text based and also interactive for the user. This source provides English translation of Swedish news articles. There are also various tabs on the webpage that redirect the user towards different things. You can view News in Switzerland, Jobs that are available, Homes that are for sale, Galleries which include photos of various cities, Dating which takes the user to The Local dating app, and a Community tab that shows the user items for sale within different cities.

The News articles that are provided give the reader a glimpse into the local news occurring in towns throughout Switzerland, but there are also articles dealing with issues that affect the country as a whole. For example, today there is an article available titled, “Swiss government wants to end tax penalty for married couples”. There is some mention of the political parties and government throughout the news articles. You can also find articles that are more information and entertainment based on the website – for example you can find information about celebrities in Switzerland or events going on.

This source is valuable to those wishing to learn more about Switzerland, because of the information offered on the site. The site is also intriguing because of the various activities you can take part in when using the site. It gives a more in depth look into how one may communicate with others over a form of Social Media offered in Switzerland [the “The Local dating site”, Jobs offered, and the community posting]. The news offered on the website is far above other websites, that I have found that are considered a “Social Media” source. There are many interactive details offered on the website, but the news provided is relevant and true to what is going on within the country. There is a local point of view based on the dating site provided and some of the other local stories that are written about in the news section, but there is also a national point of view concerning the country as a whole. The target audience for this source is someone who does a light search on an event [political, social, etc] concerning Switzerland, and finds an article on this website that gives some more information about the topic. They are not a nationally acclaimed news broadcaster, but if you are looking for interesting stories, events, or even just to get a little bit more information about a national story, this website will do that for you.

Social Media Source #2: The Swiss Info.ch Twitter page

https://twitter.com/swissinfo_en?lang=en

Language: English

The Swiss Info’s twitter page offers news reports and information from current Swiss citizens in real time in an efficient tweet. A huge strength of this source is the ability for the user to see all of the other top Swiss news contributor’s pages on their feed. For example, you can view the House of Switzerland’s twitter feed, and the Switzerland News twitter feed. Both of these offer news reports concerning my country. The twitter feed of all three is a great Social Media source because of the ease of finding information, and the fast rate at which information is being updated on every page. This source, along with the other Swiss pages you can view on twitter, is updated very regularly on a daily basis. Since it is updated daily, it would be best for those who want to use this source to either: create a Twitter account to follow them, or follow the account from their own personal page. If you turn on your notifications, you will be able to get the most up to date information provided from the Twitter account as it happens.

This source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about Switzerland, because of the relevance and popularity of twitter as a news media source. It was very easy to find Swiss news sources on twitter, and to see how regularly information is updated. This brings a sense of comfort knowing that you, as the user, can feel like you are getting the most up to date and current information from the pages you are following.

NEW MEDIA SOURCES: 

New Media Source #1: SWI – Swiss Web Info

https://www.swissinfo.ch

Language: English

This website has been mentioned in many different articles that I have read during my research about Switzerland. It is a hub of Swiss news, that is offered in nine different languages. The swissinfo.ch website used to have a radio show, the Swiss Radio International [SRI], which had its last programming on 30 October 2004. The SRI show was one of the longest lasting radio shows in Swiss history, airing for over 70 years. This information is listed on the SWI website, because the information that was broadcasted on the radio show, was transferred over to a web only platform. A strength of this source is the authenticity it holds. The transition of the SRI to the SWI signals to one that the Swiss Info has been a long-used source for news and information concerning the country.

The information offered on this website consists of: national topics, political spheres, human interest pieces, law, and business/tech savvy articles concerning Switzerland and other countries. You can find articles that concern only Switzerland, but they offer information and stories that have occurred outside of the country. When reading those particular stories, there is always a tie back to Switzerland, for example a story about an event that occurred in France is listed on the website, because when you click on it you find that it involves someone who is a Swiss Native or used to work in Switzerland. This is a strength of the source, because you get to see local, and national news coverage from within Switzerland, but there is also an outreach to other countries close or around Switzerland. The contributors are trying to make sure that each article or news presented on the website has something to do with Switzerland in some small way.

This source is valuable to those who are wishing to learn more about Switzerland, because they offer news that is both good and bad for the “image” of Switzerland. You are able to find pieces that celebrate the wonders of the country, but you are also able to read pieces that highlight certain downfalls. This is a definite strength of the website. If a student is ever wanting to read about a news event, and see the other side of the issue, they would be able to find that on this website. It does not provide only a “squeaky clean – Switzerland is great!” point of view.

New Media Source #2: Deutsche Welle Online

http://www.dw.com/search/en?searchNavigationId=9097&languageCode=en&origin=gN&item=switzerland

Language: English

This source is based in Germany, but the expanse of information provided to the reader about Switzerland is amazing. They have current stories, as far back as a few days to a week ago concerning the country. There is a wide variety of different topics covered in the online news articles offered on the DW website. This is a strength of this source concerning Switzerland because, you are able to get a point of view from a contributor that is outside of the country. This is essential when reading about important news articles, so that one can get a different opinion, bias, and outlook concerning the: politics of their country, the tech industry of Switzerland, and it’s sometimes-controversial tax requirements. The contributors of this information are sharing information about events going on in Switzerland, but from an outside the country point of view. There is some bias towards Switzerland in this source, so when reading articles about Switzerland on the DW website, you can sometimes feel a sense of “one country is better than the other”, but there is a mix of perspectives that do compare and contrast the two countries [these countries being Germany and Switzerland].

This source is valuable for one who is wishing to learn more about Switzerland because; the reasons mentioned above, but also, you are able to get “outside the bubble” of only using sources that are generated from inside the country. In order to get a different point of view, one should consider including a new media source from a country that is different from their own, but close enough that it can be compared in some ways.

DATA SOURCES: 

Data Source #1: Europa World PLUS

http://www.europaworld.com/entry?id=ch&go_country=GO

Language: English

The Europa World PLUS websites offers information profiles for countries all over the world. When you go to the website, you are able to find a profile for Switzerland that provides you with general and in-depth information about Switzerland. For example, one can view the current government officials in office, GDP, and population. There is also a detailed chronology of the history of Switzerland available. A strength of this data source is that it offers factual information that will aid one in their understanding of Switzerland. One can learn about its long history, how the government is run, the countries statistics, and the economy.

Since this source is updated every six-months to a year, a student could save this source to their Favourites in their Bookmarks. This source is valuable to those wishing to learn more about Switzerland, because it is a fact-based source. This is vital for one to use if they need a source that they can regularly go back to, in order to answer any fact-based questions that they may have. This would be a great source to use in order to make reference to any facts or statistics, but it can also be used to answer any questions or clear up any confusion one may have when researching Switzerland.

Date Source #2: The Credo Reference website

https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/switzerland/0

Language: English

The Credo Reference Website, found via the OSU library page can give one many different data sources about Switzerland. You are able to find many different publications that offers only facts about Switzerland, and you are able to find sources that come from the year 2017, with others from as far back as 1985. Almost all of the contributors on the Credo Reference website are all credible and noteworthy – for example one can find a page about Switzerland from the Columbia Encyclopedia. Of course, you must know how to work the OSU library search page in order to find the Credo Reference website, but it is not difficult and there any many people on staff at the libraries that can help. This source is valuable for one wishing to learn more about Switzerland, because it is a scholarly source. New and relevant information is posted on the site as soon as it verified and becomes available. This source is also vital for one to use if they need a source that they can regularly go back to, in order to answer any fact-based questions that they may have. This would be a great source to use in order to make reference to any facts or statistics, but it can also be used to answer any questions or clear up any confusion one may have when researching Switzerland.

Data Source #3: The World Economic Forum

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/archive/switzerland/

Language: English

The World Economic Forum is offered in many different languages including: English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Japanese. The World Economic Forum is a not-for-profit initiative that is “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging in business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas”. The headquarters for the World Economic Forum is in Geneva, Switzerland. You can search many different countries on this website – when one searches for Switzerland you are provided with information about the country – and the goals of the non-profit because of its roots in Switzerland. A strength of this source is that you can view the country and read about different initiatives that are focused in many different aspects – for example, goals and initiatives in: politics, business, academia, etc. You are given a broad spectrum of information – this source can be used to curate ideas and questions about Switzerland because, it provides you with factual information about the country and its current status in many different spheres. This source is valuable to one wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, it can provide you with factual and statistical information about the country. This source also provides information that is less biased because of its factual necessity.

Data Source #4: Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Switzerland

https://www.sihk.ch

Language: English

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Switzerland is a data source where one can find relevant details and contact information of all the cantonal Chamber of Commerce and Industries that are part of the Switzerland network. This is a strength of this source because, Switzerland has a complex network of regions that make up the entirety of the country. It would be beneficial to one who is researching Switzerland to have a source that can provide more specific information about certain areas or Cantons within Switzerland – if they need to do so. This source is beneficial for one who wishes to learn more about Switzerland for the reasons mentioned above, but also because it can provide one with an opportunity to learn more about the Cantons that make up the country. A strength of this source is that you are also given an opportunity to learn more and gain understanding about the network of regions in Switzerland – which is helpful because it is a complex system. The information provided on this website is non-biased, because it is fact and statistic based. One can also use this source as a reference to gain any facts or statistics that are relevant to their research concerning Switzerland.

Data Source #5: Swiss Firms Database – Corporate Directories

https://www.swissfirms.ch/en/

Language: English

The Swiss Firms Database – Corporate Directories is a source that allows one to search international and national companies based in Switzerland. When you visit the webpage for this source you can type in the search box a specific company and you are directed to a page that provides you with a list of all relevant information pertaining to the Swiss based company. A strength of this source is that if you needed to research a specific Swiss company: you are able to find more information about the company, and you can check credibility of a Swiss company that you may have found via a different source. This allows you to see facts and statistics about a company, and answer any questions that you may have about the company [that you may not have been able to find on the company’s website]. A weakness of this source could be: if you are trying to find a certain company that is new and/or has not been added to this source, you will not be able to use this source to gain any further information. This source is valuable to one who is wishing to use this source because, you are able to look up specific companies which can help you in many different fields of research. For example: if you are looking up facts about top companies in Switzerland and you need more data that is econ based, this source would be perfect for you. If you are having a hard time navigating a Swiss based company website, you are also able to use this source as a way to gain more information that you otherwise would not have been able to find. The information provided through this source is non-biased because it is fact and statistic based.

TRADITIONAL SOURCES: 

Traditional Source #1: News Bank inc: Access World News – Historical and Current

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/?p=WORLDNEWS

Language: English

The News Bank website is a source that provides the user with newspaper articles concerning a specific subject. One is able to find many different newspapers on the website about Switzerland – most of which are current, but also some that are older. A strength of this website, that is essential in one’s research of Switzerland, is that it offers multiple different newspapers that one can view concerning this country. Another strength of this source is that there are many different contributors providing one with information concerning Switzerland. For this reason, anyone who uses this source is getting many different points of view – those that are positive and those that are negative. You can also use their search tool bar to enter in specific key words to narrow your search for articles with the same subject matter. This website is updated very regularly, because of the many different newspapers it offers [found all over the world]. This source is valuable to those who are wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, you are getting a glimpse of all of the most current news available about the country, from many different contributors which offers one many different points of view.

Traditional Source #2: The Pages from BBC News

https://www.bbc.co.uk/search?q=switzerland

Language: English

The Pages from BBC News is an online forum that provides newspaper articles online about a topic that you specify. When one goes to this website, you are able to be more specific by typing in the search bar: “Switzerland”. After doing so, you are provided with numerous articles that deal with Switzerland. These all included articles and reports made by BBC news or other outside contributors. This can give you a broader range of point of views, as well as, stories that one can read concerning the country.

This source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, it is BBC news which is considered a very credible and reliable news source that it is outside of the country. This source is then able to provide you with many different perspectives. This way one can get more information about their country from a source, that is not specifically based inside of Switzerland.

Traditional Source #3: UN News online newspaper

https://news.un.org/en/search/Switzerland%20

Language: English

Switzerland is a part of the UN, so it only seems natural for one to find an online newspaper source that deals with the UN [as it also deals with the specified country]. On the website, you are able to find news sources that come from Switzerland, or deals with countries that Switzerland has a lot of contact with – this is a strength of this source. Another strength of this source, is that the contributors seem to be online writers from different web sources, as well as, people who write about topics concerning the UN. Since most of the contributors are different, this is a strength because, you are able to get many different points of view and perspectives. This source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, this source is from an entity that is a huge part of Switzerland’s world presence. Since Switzerland is a part of the UN, it is vital for one to use this source as a way of gaining perspective into the organization and how it views the country. This could bring about many interesting and different point of views concerning Switzerland.

AUDIO SOURCES: 

Audio Source #1: World Radio – Swiss Radio in English

https://worldradio.ch

Language: English

This source offers a wide variety of news and information about Switzerland. It has a wide overview touching on many different subjects. Those of which include: religion, politics, entertainment, classifieds, and radio shows. What can be appreciated the most about this source, is that it is the web edition of a radio show that is streamed in Switzerland. It is offered online in English, with a text base version of the news piece, that one can read while listening to the radio show. The reports concern local, and national news pieces that are deemed “popular”. For example, the local reports you can listen to, are usually about something crazy or super interesting that happened in a small canton or town in Switzerland. On the national level, there is a lot of broader stories being talked about, which concern the general populous. The contributors do not seem to be biased, but there is a lot of stories that only involve Switzerland, and not a lot of mention about the other countries they are involved with. This could be a weakness of this source, because you might be getting one-sided/one point of view reports which could be missing key information that would aid in your understanding of the event being reported on as a whole. This source is valuable for those wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, of the duality that this source holds. One can argue that many more people are willing to listen to a radio report of the news because, it is easier. You as the navigator of this website are able listen to the news reports while reading the text provided, but you can also compare the text stories from this source with those from another – with the added bonus of being able to listen to a contributor speak their report. This is a huge advantage when navigating the Global Info Society because, you are allowing yourself to see more than one perspective at the same time when using this source.

 

Audio Source #2: SWI swissinfo.ch – YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/swissinfovideos/videos

Language: English

This source is perfect for the Audio Source category because, the content is produced by the same contributors from the swissinfo.ch source. The SWI YouTube channel is set up the same way as every other channel available on YouTube. When you arrive to the channels page, you first see their highlighted video of the week, which is either a video they are trying to promote or is a very popular video for the week. You can then click the Videos tab to see their videos in order of newest to oldest. There is a WIDE variety of information and topics covered in these videos on the channel. From entertainment pieces, cute cartoon videos made by a Swiss artist, to news reports dealing with current topics and issues. Since there is so much variety offered throughout the SWI YouTube channel, there are many different points of view being displayed – this YouTube channel does not appear to be very biased, but the information provided is mainly about Switzerland, with little mention of other countries. The contributor is showing a wide variety of different Swiss related topics – some are serious and some are cute and funny. This is a definite strength of this source.

This source is updated every day – with the most current video having been uploaded only 5 hours ago. Since the source is updated every day, one can subscribe to the SWI channel in order to get the most out of this source. This source is valuable to those wishing to learn more about Switzerland because, it is a very convenient source for one to keep up with, but also because it shows a different perspective of how the SWI is sharing and conveying information and news concerning their country. As an Audio and Visual source, this would be the most entertaining and easy to use – as YouTube is a huge part of our everyday culture, but also because you are able to: listen to, watch, and read the information that this contributor is sharing. This source can broaden one’s understanding of the country, and provide more insight about how news is presented within the country.

 

New Media Sources

DutchNews.NL (New Media)

Launched in 2006 and based in Amsterdam, DutchNews.NL is a “provider of quality Dutch news and current affairs in English for an international audience”. This media source reaches nearly 25,000 people daily through their online webpage, digital newsletters and their social media site. DutchNews.NL acts as a kind of online newspaper, free to all, containing articles published daily on a variety of topics, including Politics, Business, Society, Sports. They also included subsections on European and International news. After digging a little deeper, I found that each topic had multiple articles published in the last week, so it seems that it is constantly updated with current news.

I chose this source because it seems to be a comprehensive and complete view on the news in the Netherlands. It covers a multiple array of subjects and is frequently updated. I will use this source to maintain a daily account on happenings in my country. It can be accessed through the web URL www.dutchnews.nl as well as on twitter @DutchNewsNL.

NL Times (New Media)

Another Amsterdam-based websource, NL Times is an online platform that offers English-language news and information about happenings in the Netherlands. Founded as recently as 2013, NL Times provides a modern, almost off-beat source of news, categories entitled “Food” and “Weird” at the top of their homepage. Similar to DutchNews, this source is aimed at American Expats living within the Netherlands, or those who living outside of the country looking for an inside view. A limitation of both of these sources is that insight may be lost in translation. I’m a firm believer that it’s hard to get a truly authentic view of a country when everything is being translated out of the native language, yet these sources are helpful for me when I look to monitor daily happenings in the Netherlands.

This source can be viewed on line at https://nltimes.nl or on twitter @NLtimes. Similar to how I’ve used DutchNews.NL I plan on monitoring this cite once a week, in order to help with global news posts and to stay informed.

BBC News Netherlands (New Media)

I initially planned to stay away from BBC coverage of my country as I wasn’t sure if the source would provide a consistent and heavy enough output of news. Yet when I went to the BBC Netherlands website page I found multiple articles published weekly. Written in English, BBC Netherlands stories include a wide range of topics, from Parliamentary decisions to profile pieces on famous Dutch citizens to sports reports on the Dutch National Soccer Team; I found this source to be quite comprehensive. While each BBC Netherlands news article does not have an author, I assume that these pieces are written from the perspective of a British reporter looking in on Dutch happenings, rather than a writer from the Netherlands.

This source can be viewed at http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cvenzmgywd2t/netherlands.

IamExpat (New Media)

Founded in 2009, IamExpat is an online media platform created and run by expats currently living in the Netherlands. The site gives “up-to-date information, news, job listings, housing services and lifestyle tips for internationals in the Netherlands”. This source has such a bevy of information I would consider it invaluable for anyone who has decided to live in the Netherlands, coming from another country. Exploring through the webpage I found information on housing in each of Netherland’s major cities, information on how to find education options, upcoming Dutch events and festivals and links to services that are provided to expats. The is also a fairly comprehensive news section of the webpage keeping expats up to date on stories progressing in their country.

This source can be found at https://www.iamexpat.nl/ yet surprisingly do not have a social media presence which I feel would be beneficial to their goal of reaching out to and aiding expats.

Traditional Media Sources

Elsevier Weekblad (Traditional Media)

Elsevier is a weekly news magazine published in the Netherlands and it is the most popular news magazine in the country with a circulation of 86,000 copies as of 2015. Primarily focusing on politics, this magazine has an online component as well with topical subjects as well as opinion pieces. They also try to comment on the most recent happenings around the world, as they have recently devoted entire sections of their website and magazine to Bitcoin and the American Dreamers. This magazine publication also seems to lean right-wing and be very pro-American and tout conservative ideals, manifesting in multiple positive pieces on President Trump. I found it interesting that they also devote large pieces of their publications to a section entitled “Living in America” about how Dutch citizens can earn a living in the States. In fact, more than 88,000 Dutch expats now live in the United States.

I chose this source to get an idea of the political landscape of the Netherlands and to gain an insight on to just one side of the Dutch spectrum. This source can be accessed through the website URL www.elsevierweekblad.nl and on twitter @Else4Weekblad.

De Groene Amsterdammer (Traditional Media)

De Groene Amsterdammer is another weekly periodical published in the Netherlands, based in Amsterdam. This source states that “In a time of intellectual impoverishment, De Groene offers refreshing ideas, new facts and unexpected insights”. De Groene also frequently attempts to uphold the image that they have no commercial interest and limit themselves to the things that “really matter in the world”. It seems that De Groene is the left-wing alternative to Elsevier so I am eager to take articles on similar topics from both sources and to compare the differing viewpoints. The majority of articles seem to be under the subheadings, Arts & Culture, In The World, and Identity Policy.

This is accessible online as well as at www.groene.nl as well as on twitter @DeGroene.

De Telegraaf (Traditional Media)

In contrast to both De Groene Amsterdammer and Elsevier Weekblad, De Telegraaf is a Dutch newspaper published daily rather than weekly. Founded in 1893, it is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper with a daily circulation of 430,686, though like many traditional media sources, circulation has dropped drastically over the last 15 years, with circulation in 2001 being over 807,000. De Telegraaf is known for having a populist alignment, actively campaigns in political issues and, is often criticized for publishing sensationalized news.

Being a traditional daily newspaper, my way of monitoring is through its website, https://www.telegraaf.nl/, rather than its print publications. De Telegraaf also publishes its major stories on twitter @telegraaf.

Social Media Sources

@NRC Twitter (Social Media)

The Netherlands ranks 4^th in the world in use of social networks so it is safe to say social media is a vital source of news for the average Dutch person. After researching the most viewed twitter accounts in the Netherlands in reference to daily news, I found @NRC, the social network proponent of NRC Media. They have over 550,000 followers and tweet daily on national news. They cover a variety of topics including technology, education and business. The account tweets out news constantly as there are normally 4 articles posted hourly. As social media is one of the main ways I as a student receive news, I wanted to use this source to show how the social aspect of media is being used in my country. The NRC twitter is accessible throughhttps://twitter.com/nrc.

@AT5 (Social Media)

While searching for a new social media source to add to my network, I came across the tool “social baker”. This is website that allows you to place in a variety of stipulations including industry and country, and it will find social media accounts that match that. I searched daily news in the Netherlands and found @AT5, the local news twitter account for Amsterdam. Social Baker stated how many followers it had, 548,257, as well as how fast it was growing. @AT5 is the fastest growing twitter account in the Netherlands, gaining nearly 200 followers daily. Similarly to news accounts in the US, @AT5’s tweets give a brief sentence headline for  a news story and provide a link to an article with more detail.

This source is purely in the Dutch language, so would not be the most helpful for me to monitor, so when it comes to social media, I have chosen to follow the @DutchNews.NL account which tweets in English.

Audio/Visual Sources

NOS Journaal (Audio/Visual)

NOS Journaal is a television program aired in the Netherlands that informs viewers of the latest news from 6:30 am to midnight. The program is aired on NPO 1, the Netherlands first national television station. NOS Journaal’s goal is to provide the most complete picture of the news of the day. I chose this source as I wanted to find the equivalent of a CNN or Fox News station that broadcasts news continuously throughout the day.

BNR Newsradio (Audio/Visual)

BNR Newsradio, first aired in 1998, is the only all-news radio station in Netherlands. The station provides domestic, regional and international news and live news every half-hour. I was really interested in finding the Dutch equivalent to a 700 WLW here in the states. What are the Dutch listening to in the morning on their way to work? BNR has many different programs with varying hosts, these programs include, Better, discussing healthcare, Show Watch, discussing stock exchange and investing, The World, an analyzation of international politics, and many more.

The BNR website, www.bnr.nl, also allows you to stream the station live.

Data Sources

CIA World Factbook – Netherlands (Data Source)

I chose the Netherlands CIA World Factbook page for my Data source because I believe it provides the most comprehensive data on the economy, population, history and politics of the Netherlands. The Factbook is a credible source that will allow me to quickly access quantitative date over time, examples include GDP across varying years, or percentages of population that use the internet. Unfortunately, CIA World Factbook, while objective, offers a very limited and basic set of data values. For my next data source I plan on finding a source that offers a variety of different surveys and information sets on the Netherlands Society.

The CIA World Factbook is easily accessed by web at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.

 Survey Data Netherlands (Data Source)

Survey Data Netherlands is an archive website containing surveys in which enormous amounts of data are collected. It consists of multiple sources that conduct surveys on the Dutch population on several topics including society, culture, medicine, work and leisure. I was shocked at the amount of data provided; I could type in a keyword and find surveys on so many various talking points. This source provides a much more personal touch to the Netherlands in comparison to just the CIA Factbook profile.

This data is available at www.surveydata.nl.