VOA标准英语2010年-Media Watchdog Condemns Ugandan Paper

A Ugandan media watchdog is condemning¹ a local newspaper, which published a story that featured the names, photographs, and contact details of 100 alleged² homosexuals and called for them to be hanged.

The executive secretary of the country's Independent Media Council, Haruna Kanaah, says that he is shocked and dismayed by the newspaper's lack of journalistic ethics³.

He says Uganda Rolling Stone, a weekly tabloid⁴ launched by a group of journalism⁵ graduates two months ago, is now being closely monitored.

"In Uganda, we have a journalism code of ethics, which is very clear," said Kanaah. "The media should be balanced, accurate and fair. Intruding⁶ into people's privacy, that is not journalism. It is witch-hunting."?

Gay rights activists⁸ in Uganda say at least four people have been attacked since the publication of the article earlier this month.

Carrying the headline "100 Pictures of Uganda's Top Homos," the article came out just days before the one year anniversary of the introduction of a controversial bill in parliament that would make homosexuality, which is illegal in Uganda, punishable by death in some cases.

Although debate over the bill has been suspended, rights group say homophobia in the East African country has risen dramatically in the past year.

Suspected homosexuals have been named in recent articles published by a rival tabloid newspaper, Red Pepper. But Ugandans say this is the first time that a media organization has deliberately⁹ sought to incite¹⁰ public violence against gays.

On its cover page, for example, the Uganda Rolling Stone also claimed that homosexuals in the country were raiding schools, aiming to recruit a million children by 2012.???

Many gay men and women are said to have gone into hiding or taking extreme precautions. One woman named in the article says she was forced to leave her home after neighbors began pelting¹¹ her house with rocks.

The managing editor of the Uganda Rolling Stone, Giles Muhame, has defended the newspaper's radical¹² anti-gay stance, saying that journalists had a duty to expose what he termed "evil in the Ugandan society." He says he intends to publish more names and photos in upcoming issues.

On Wednesday, a leading Ugandan activist⁷ told an audience in Washington that gay people in Uganda are already living under a death sentence.? Julius Kaggwa, who was in Washington to receive an award for his work opposing intolerance against sexual minorities in Uganda, said gay men and women in his country are routinely denied health services and housing, and are being cut off from society.
 

1 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

4 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

5 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

6 intruding   

v.侵入，侵扰，打扰( intrude的现在分词)；把…强加于

参考例句：

• Does he find his new celebrity intruding on his private life? 他是否感觉到他最近的成名侵扰了他的私生活？
• After a few hours of fierce fighting,we saw the intruding bandits off. 经过几小时的激烈战斗，我们赶走了入侵的匪徒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

10 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

11 pelting   

微不足道的，无价值的，盛怒的

参考例句：

• The rain came pelting down. 倾盆大雨劈头盖脸地浇了下来。
• Hailstones of abuse were pelting him. 阵阵辱骂冰雹般地向他袭来。

12 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。