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The BOBs 2008: Blogger Under House Arrest

October 27, 2008

Deutsche Welle announces the start of online voting for the world’s best weblogs, videoblogs and podcasts. This year, more than 8,500 blogs from all over the world were nominated for the BOBs.

https://p.dw.com/p/Fhai
Yoani Sànchez, one of those nominated for this year's BOBs Awards.Image: picture-alliance/ dpa

The candidates for the fifth annual Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards – The BOBs – have now been chosen. Beginning today, Monday October 27, 2008, you may cast your vote for the best weblogs, videoblogs and podcasts in 11 languages. Just go to www.thebobs.com between now and November 26 in order to help choose who will win the people’s choice award in each of the 16 different categories. Additionally, our international jury of bloggers, media experts and journalists will meet on November 26 to determine who deserves to be the “best of the blogs”.

Users from all over the world have contributed more than 8,500 nominations for the BOBs – a 20 percent increase from last year. And our renowned jury has narrowed the selection to the best 11 candidates in each category. In the ever-expanding global blogosphere, the BOBs are unique in its inclusion of so many languages. The competition recognizes blogs and podcasts produced in Arabic, Chinese, German, English, French, Dutch, Farsi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

Through the BOBs, Deutsche Welle is giving special attention to the promotion of freedom of information and expression around the world. At the same time, the BOBs are intended to present the enormous variety of the international blogosphere and to foster a language-bridging dialogue on the subject of both the restrictions and freedoms bloggers face around the world.

In cooperation with Reporters Without Borders, Deutsche Welle has presented a special award to Blogs promoting these specific ideals since 2005. This award will be presented to a Weblog that takes a strong stance for freedom of information.

Blogger Under House Arrest

One of the bloggers nominated for the Reporters Without Borders Award has been under house arrest in China. Zeng Jinyan, the wife of Hu Jia, this year’s winner of the Sacharow prize, blogs about what it is like to live under the constant surveillance of the Chinese authorities.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 27 at the Museum for Communication in Berlin. Entrance is free and open to the public.

Reporters Without Borderes and Radio Netherlands are premium partners for the BOBs. Our media partners include: Al Arabiya, Arabic Media Internet Network, arte, blog.de, Bright, cafébabel.com, Categorynet.com, Clarín, de Volkskrant, Die Zeit, El Tiempo, Folha Online, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, Global Voices Online, Gooya, Handelsblatt.com, Iran-emrooz.net, Knack.be, Lenta.ru, Livejournal.ru, Mister Wong, Netvibes, newthinking, Radio Zamaneh, RTVE Cámara Abierta, Sina.com.cn, Six Apart, startlog.nl, Technorati, TV5Monde, und UOL.

The BOBs 2008 are generously supported this year by Hewlett-Packard, HTC, Freecom, O’Reilly and Sevenload.

October 27, 2008