Why do we love our Complete National Geographic DVD collection (“Every issue since 1888“)? Because it graphically illustrates how far we’ve fallen.

1991: National Geographic publishes China’s Youth Wait for Tomorrow (July 1991), which included these photos:

2007: National Geographic establishes a publishing partnership in the People’s Republic of China — a tough media market to crack given the tight oversight by the Communist Party. Why did this authoritarian regime open its doors to NGS? Certain words pop to mind — words like servile, subservient, sycophantic, and spineless — but none of them do justice to what happened soon after this publishing partnership was announced: Editor Chris Johns killed a story by award-winning writer Ha Jin that had previously been slated to appear in the May 2008 special issue on China. The title of Ha Jin’s censored story: Censorship in China.

We’re embarrassed and ashamed every time we have to tell that story. But we tell it repeatedly because it illuminates how NGM’s picture of the world has been badly distorted by the global ambitions of our Society’s senior executives, who are transforming National Geographic into International Geographic.

The downside: We literally lose sight of the values — human rights, democracy, freedom —  that bind our society, and once bound our Society, together.

The upside:  Insect eggs for everyone!

The government of Bahrain will roll out the welcome mat in October for the Arabic edition of National Geographic.

Ali Abdulemam

The government of Bahrain also just arrested Ali Abdulemam, a leading Bahraini blogger and democracy activist.

According to Global Voices, Abdulemam “was arrested earlier today by the Bahraini authorities for allegedly spreading ‘false news’ on BahrainOnline.org portal, one of the most popular pro-democracy outlets in Bahrain, amidst the worst sectarian crackdown by the government in years. The BahrainOnline portal is censored in Bahrain. He sent an email earlier today mentioning that he got a call from the Bahraini national security just before his arrest, then arrested him and alleged that he was trying to flee.”

Why is our Society’s official journal welcomed in Bahrain while journalists like Ali Abdulemam are arrested?

Here’s our guess: National Geographic has neutered itself, and now scrupulously avoids celebrating the values and vision that made it great. As a result, NGM is no longer interested in publishing stories such as this one:

NGM February 1976

Or this one:

NGM September 1987

Or this one:

NGM January 1964

Or many other NGM stories that pre-date our Society’s ambition to become a global brand by “inspiring people to care about the planet.”

NGM’s emphasis on the global environment — and de-emphasis of our democratic values — may please the bullies in Bahrain who lock up bloggers. But it reflects a painful case of institutional Alzheimer’s among the senior executives who control our Society.

Out here, we still believe Jefferson, Madison, and other “architects of freedom” have something to teach us and our kids. We still believe these ideas and values should have a prominent place in the pages of National Geographic. For we still believe that democracy and self-government are among the greatest adventures of all.

Any thoughts, John Fahey? Terry Adamson? Chris Johns? If so, please feel free to share them in the comments, below.

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≡ photo of Ali Abdulemam via Global Voices

“… Clad in a faded sport shirt, khaki slacks, and worn leather slippers, Qaddafi presented a very different picture from the flamboyant figure in extravagant dress long familiar to the outside world. He looked tired. In the past 12 hours, he had talked with three African presidents and the Italian foreign minister, worked on plans for a summit conference, and given a stern lecture to the city fathers of Beida regarding unchecked development in the picturesque Green Mountains around the city. “We are a backward country,” Qaddafi said matter-of-factly. “People don’t understand that we are damaging the land, damaging the environment.”
– from Libya: An End to Isolation?, by Andrew Cockburn, National Geographic, November 2ooo, pp. 14-5

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In related news: Later this year, National Geographic will begin publishing an Arabic edition that will be distributed to 15 countries, including Libya, which is “home to one of the world’s worst human rights regimes and, wholly devoid of any independent media; indeed, it is consistently referred to as having one of the worst press freedom environments.”

National Geographic will begin publishing an Arabic edition in October, with distribution covering 15 countries — including Libya.

According to Menassat, a Beirut-based organization that focuses on press freedom in the Arabic-speaking world:

Muammar al-Gaddafi, who spearheaded a coup in Libya in 1969 — and who has controlled the country ever since.

Libya has one of the worst press freedom records in the Arab world. Reporters without Borders classifies the press situation in Libya country [sic] as a “very serious situation” – the bleakest category in their classification. It occupies rank 152 out of 168 in their Index of Press Freedom. … The World Press Freedom Review by the International Press Institute notes that Libya is “home to one of the world’s worst human rights regimes and, wholly devoid of any independent media; indeed, it is consistently referred to as having one of the worst press freedom environments.” Furthermore, the report states that “journalists are not free to express criticism of the state, the political system or the country’s leader and many sensitive topics, such as the plight of the Berber minority or high-level corruption are considered off-limits.” According to the Committee to Protect Journalists Libya belongs to the ten most censored countries in the world. The Freedom House report on Freedom of the Press states that “Libyan journalists continue to operate under some of the most restrictive laws in the world and in an extremely repressive climate. Press freedom, like all other public political activity, is illegal, and harsh laws impose life imprisonment and even death sentences on those who dare cross the regime. A public opponent can face a firing squad if he commits vaguely defined violations such as tarnishing Libya’s image abroad or disseminating information that opposes the principles of the constitution.”

What is it about today’s National Geographic which enables it to receive such a warm welcome by Colonel Gaddafi, Libya’s Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution?

How did a magazine that in 1976 published a feature story called Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Freedom end up in this despotic neighborhood?

And perhaps most important: What has our Society sacrificed or changed in recent years to pass muster with “one of the world’s worst human rights regimes”?

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≡  photo of Colonel Gaddafi via Wikipedia

In October, National Geographic magazine will launch its new Arabic edition, which will be distributed to 15 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including the United Arab Emirates.

Also in October: the United Arab Emirates plans to cut off Blackberry service within its borders.

Why do UAE officials welcome National Geographic but want to ban Blackberries? According to one columnist, the government considers its population “vulnerable to foreign cultural influences.” Blackberries exacerbate that vulnerability, but evidently NGM does not. Which is logical when you consider the feature stories in this month’s issue of the magazine:

King Tut’s DNA (more Egyptian mummies from our friend Zahi Hawass)
A Fabled Aussie Island (landscapes)
Madagascar’s Pierced Heart (natural resources)
Dazzling Insect Eggs
The Mystery of Eels

Of the 92 photographs in this issue, only 24 of them include people, and most of those people are not named. They’re just local folks, faceless natives — without a voice, without an identity, and without a point of view. By removing people from the pages of NGM and focusing instead on The Planet, our Society has eliminated those pesky “cultural influences” that might restrict the growth of our global media brand into regions where democracy and freedom of speech are not priorities.

He must love those stories about insect eggs and eels.

Short term, we see the logic: NGM gets to publish in places like the UAE, Libya, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. But this globalizing mentality distorts the Magazine’s content, and infuriates plenty of former Society members who have kissed National Geographic goodbye.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (above) — one of the richest men in the world, and President of the UAE — is smiling.

… until Mary Carillo has concluded her remarks:

In a recent post at Buzz Machine, Jeff Jarvis offers eight ideas on what magazines must do to survive — and this one tops the list:

Jeff Jarvis

1. Ignore print. Enable community. Yes, print is where the revenue is today. But it’s only going to shrink. Preserving print — and the past — is no strategy for the future. The physical costs of production and distribution are killing. The marketing cost of subscriber acquisition and churn is hellish. The editorial costs of maintaining gloss are wasteful if not sinful. So concentrate instead on your relationships with your like-minded souls among the people formerly known as your audience. In a social (post-brand, post-search) market, these magazines still have tremendous if very perishable value if you know how to unlock it because their people care about the same stuff. Enable communities to build and meet and create value around their interests….  Enable them to do what they want to do and follow along. Before you follow the money, follow the passion.

Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

But here’s the question for NGS: What community has the National Geographic Society enabled that allows members to look not at the stage (where the ads are displayed), but sideways to other members? How can we find out who else is part of this (nominal) community?

Any thoughts, John Fahey? Tim Kelly? Chris Johns? Robert Michael Murray? If so, please feel free to share in the comments, below.

“That’s what makes New York special and different and strong….”
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg (:34 to :42)

As National Geographic prepares to launch its Arabic edition in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen (among other countries), we think yet again about the disastrous editorial trade-offs we’re making.

Which makes us all the more grateful when a public figure takes a principled and risky stand to embrace the story and the values that are vital to our society — and which once mattered to our Society before it aspired to become a global media brand.

PixBoomBa is a new project from two talented photographers who figured out that although National Geographic is a big part of their past, it need not be the biggest part of their future. (Good luck with it, guys.)

Six Degrees of People Who Don’t Eat Bacon. Plus a finale featuring Charlton Heston. It’s must-see TV: