Can’t keep her quiet

Posted July 16th, 2008 at 9:37 am by Jim Bettinger, John S. Knight Fellowships

 9 Comments / Filed in: Guest Opinions, Yahoo! For Good

I respect lots of journalists. But I’m in awe of Violet Gonda, who was the 2007-08 Yahoo! International Fellow at Stanford last year. Why? Because she defies an oppressive regime in Zimbabwe that wants to shut her up. She walks the walk of speaking truth to power.

The Yahoo! International Journalism Fellowship at Stanford was established for people like Violet, journalists from countries where there are strong challenges to a free press. Yahoo! and the Knight Fellowships agreed that we needed to support journalists who were directly or indirectly under attack, and so we created the fellowship in 2006, with a generous gift from Yahoo!. (The Knight Fellowships itself has been around since 1966. A young Jerry Yang first met with the Knight Fellows in the spring of 1995.)

The first Yahoo! Fellow was Imtiaz Ali, from Pakistan, where journalism is a deadly occupation. But there could hardly be country that fits our definition better than Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe’s regime has systematically and brutally cracked down on anyone who disagreed with it — opposition politicians, the press, human rights activists and others. Violet Gonda has been banned from the country (actually, the justice minister said the country would welcome her back — but only in prison) so she works in exile, at a small radio station, SW Radio Africa, in London. This station broadcasts uncensored news about Zimbabwe back into the country by any means possible, including text messaging. (Want to get a taste of her work? Listen to these two interviews, one with a Mugabe spokesman and the other with Desmond Tutu.) We were proud to have her for the year at Stanford, where she studied the development of news media in emerging democracies. Now she is back in London. If there’s a God in heaven, someday she will someday be able to return to her homeland.

And as she leaves, we are ready to welcome Abebe Gellaw, of Ethiopia, who will be the 2008-09 Yahoo! International Fellow. Like Violet, Abebe is in exile. He left after the Ethiopian government started rounding up and arresting journalists in November 2005. He is editor-in chief of Addis Voice, a London-based website devoted independent news about Ethiopia. He will arrive in August for his year.

Journalists are under attack around the world, and organizations like the Committee To Protect Journalists make sure that those attacks are brought to light. It makes me feel proud that the Knight Fellowships and Yahoo! have teamed up to provide a fellowship at Stanford every year for someone who is bearing the brunt of those attacks.

Jim Bettinger
Director, John S. Knight Fellowship for Professional Journalists
Stanford University

Tagged: Guest Opinions, human rights, Yahoo! For Good

Post a Comment Bookmark This Digg This

9 Comments Add your own

yvettee | July 16th, 2008 at 10:47 am

great article! good to know we help sponsor this fellowship and makes me proud to be a yahoo!

Mz Parker | July 16th, 2008 at 11:13 am

I am truly impressed with Yahoo’s support for the endangered free journalist. I, too, work at a newspaper, although it’s not that glamorous or exotic.

I must contrast the great Yahoo journalism support with the news I have heard about corporate Yahoo recently and it concerns me how free the company can remain when I hear M-sof is hovering in for a sale. My h- mail became cold mail after it became an “msAcquisition.” Please, don’t make me have to choose gmail. I am not thrilled with their politics.

Keep on Y-A-H-O-O ing for those who see
journalism diversity and commerce freedom slipping away!!!!!!
Choose to B-msFREE.

-Mz Parker, mad e in USA

Thank you for a great company.

TheAnand | July 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am

Free speech is only on paper in most countries and its appreciable for yahoo to take this initiative to protect the right.

Denis | July 16th, 2008 at 5:28 pm

Violet rocks! Yahoo, your money has been well used.

Peter Pan | July 16th, 2008 at 8:16 pm

Violet Gonda is THE BEST Zimbabwean media reporter in the business.

Tom | July 17th, 2008 at 8:23 am

Yahoo! should have accepted Microsoft’s $33 per share offer. The Yahoo! board is going to get sued becauase they blew it.

susen | July 18th, 2008 at 9:51 pm

Violet for president in a free Zimbabwe!

John | July 19th, 2008 at 7:02 am

Violet is an honor to her profession and to the human race. Well said Jim. Congratulations to the Knight Fellowships and to Yahoo for your generous support for Violet and journalists like her. It makes every bit of difference that the world hears voices like Violet’s. Can’t keep her quiet and can’t keep them quiet.

Dianne Mead | August 10th, 2008 at 2:53 am

Well Yahoo you certainly impressed me with this story.

I was surprised and am thrilled to see the human face of the company and it’s poignant stand for its values and ethics.

Go Violet go! You have many supporters, you know what you are talking about and are passionate about your cause. You are the right person in the right time and the right place to be pushing for the rights for yourself and your fellow homeland peoples.

Remember when times are tough that you are inspiring to others in similar situations. Your presence is like the ripples in water.