113 Country Report: Information Network (Draft)

Country Report: Information Network (Draft)

Newspaper

The Gleaner. The Gleaner because it is one of the largest newspapers in Jamaica as well as being very old dating back to being founded in 1834. They are a daily newspaper so keep up regularly with the news going on within the country. They also do not just focus on one area of the country and also have a lot of different topics reported on. So overall it is easy to read, use and navigate.

It is accessed at https://jamaica-gleaner.com/ .

I chose this source because it looks like it is a very major newspaper in Jamaica. On top of that it is current and up-to-date which helps me see exactly what’s going on within Jamaica right now. In addition to that they cover a wide variety of topics which will help me learn more about a broader range of what is happening in the country and what it’s like not just one topic. I also picked it because I can access archives as well so I can see not only what is happening today but was has been major news in the past as well which is in incredibly helpful tool.

Jamaica Observer.  When searching for sources the Jamaica Observer also seemed to be a very prominent newspaper. They seem to have lots of different news, but also seemed to have a different feel then The Gleaner. While they do have major news it also seems they focus on world news, and even specifically Western news such as issues in the United States which I found very interesting.

It is accessed at https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/

I chose this newspaper because it just has a really different feel then The Gleaner. It seems more causal if that makes sense. It also seems to feature articles that seem like they may be more about social issues and the issues around that both in Jamaica and their opinions on countries outside of Jamaica. Because of the variety and the different feel then the other newspaper I chose I am hoping it will provide me with some diverse perspectives from within Jamaica.

New Media

Global Voices. Global Voices is an independent website that features articles about many regions and countries. These are written by a team that doesn’t necessarily have to be from that country but also can be giving it a lot of variety. It is also an independent and free resource that wants to make getting information sustainable and try to be as transparent with information as it can to get as much information to people as possible. Generally, the website is divided up into regions of the world and also is accessible in many languages.

It can be accessed at https://globalvoices.org/?s=Jamaica&se=internal .

I choose this website because I really like the different kinds of issues it covers. It is not only dry news but important social justice issues as well as some cultural elements as well. It is easy to use and while it is not an everyday newspaper post regular enough that I feel I can get some good information from it. IT dives into topics some other sources do not which I think will add good variety to my knowledge database about the country.

Social Media

Smile Jamaica. I chose to use Smile Jamaica on Twitter as a social media source. Smile Jamaica is Jamaica’s #1 Morning Show. This show Airs Monday to Friday at 6 am and Saturday and Sunday at 8 am. They seem to use Twitter very frequently as well making this a very up-to-date social media source. They also include other media embedded on their twitter such as videos, posters, and even tiktoks which help collect information all in one place.

It can be accessed at https://twitter.com/Smilejamtvj

I chose thing because it is a more casual feeling source for the everyday person. People love their morning shows and morning shows often do portray major news, trends, and views of a country in addition to culture about what the everyday person may think or want. Because Smile Jamaica is the #1 morning show in Jamaica as well I figured it would be a good representation of this category. Overall this source provides me with more information that is casual for the everyday person which helps bring a different perspective than traditional news sources especially.

Data Sources

Jamaica Open Data Catalog.  This website is provided by the government. It is designed to provide timely access to important data from various different sources. It has an open data tool that allows sorting and searches. The information allows a variety of people especially aimed for governments, non-profits, and universities to provide easy-to-access data to the public based on their goals on the website.

It can be accessed at https://data.gov.jm/ .

I chose this source because this data comes directly from the Jamaican government. I was just curious to see what kinds of information the government provides to the day-to-day person as well as what information they want to, or even are okay with the public knowing. I also chose this data source because it is easy to explore by area within Jamaica which means it provides information from around the country which is incredibly important to get a holistic understanding. They also do provide data on a myriad of information topics from agriculture to infrastructure so there is also lots of variety of data itself.

TV

Television Jamaica. Television Jamaica is one of Jamaica’s two major television stations so it was important to include it. This station covers a variety of different shows from news to sports to culture. They have clips online of different shows so it gives a good overview of the typical media in Jamaica since it is one of two major networks.

It can be accessed at https://www.televisionjamaica.com/videos.

As I said before I chose this source as it is one of the two major TV networks in Jamaica it felt important to represent at least one of them for my initial network system. I really liked the fact that they have so many different kidneys of shows on the network because it can give me an overview of the average entertainment Jamaicans watch which I think would provide me with a good understanding.

Additional

The Millennial Jamaican. Is a blog from just an everyday millennial in Jamaica. She reports on culture, lifestyle and even news from a Jamaican perspective as well as news overall. It is not only a source to see what a everyday Jamaicians life is like but also some news as well or global persprcitves which is a very interesting mix in things. It also includes the authors personal states and even book recommendations as well making it a versatile website.

It can be accessed here https://www.themillennialjamaican.com/ .

I chose this source because it very different form the others. It is much more casual it is just an everyday person in Jamaica. This is a perspective I am very interested to explore through her blog as she is just an everyday person not some big celebrity or some news anchor. I feel like it provides a more normal just simple layer to my sources to explore about someones day to day life as well as the culture in Jamaica as a whole.