60 http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/listeningpost en-us Al Jazeera | Copyright 2013 iTunes feed for Listening Post Al Jazeera English A weekly programme that examines and dissects the world's media. Al Jazeera English podcasts@aljazeera.net no Al Jazeera English We examine the implications of Manning's trial for whistleblowers and the US journalistic organisations that rely on government insiders. Plus, and exclusive interview with Julian Assange. This week, a special edition of the Listening Post with a special report on Bradley Manning and an exclusive interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 2480177404001: Bradley Manning: Truth on trial? Sat, 15 Jun 2013 11:49:51 +0300 1500 whistleblowers,US Security,US media,youtube. listeningpost,us administration,bradley manning,Wikileaks,manning trial,julian assange,Pentagon. Richard Gizbert,Listening Post,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/1JrY64jVow4" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2480639139001_WEB-LP-1011-15.mp4 Al Jazeera English Photography is a subjective medium, and how it is used will always depend on who is using it. The late American writer Susan Sontag said that to photograph is to frame - and to frame is to exclude. She was saying that, as a medium, photography is, and has always been, subjective. However in the digital era there is a new and growing subjectivity in photojournalism, one that you have most likely seen but not necessarily noticed.It is called post-processing. It is when photographers digitally enhance their work to make it more captivating to the eye. The practise has raised some ethical questions within the industry and underscoring the debate is the winner of the 2013 World Press Photo award. 2470803188001: Feature - Pixelating the reality? Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:34:06 +0300 507 al Jazeera,photojournalism,youtube,World Press Photo Awards,aljazeera,listeningpost,photography <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/eLJrxVNE2YQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2471856804001_WEB-LP-feature-photo-11.mp4 Al Jazeera English With domestic media outlets under fire for ignoring massive street protests, we analyse media ownership in Turkey. Turks first took to the streets on May 28 to demonstrate against the redevelopment of a park in Istanbul. Over the course of a week the non-violent demonstration escalated into large-scale anti-government protests. The subsequent crackdown by the authorities turned violent but much of Turkey's domestic media ignored the story. Our News Divide this week assesses what the domestic coverage of the protests – or the lack of - says about media ownership in Turkey and the relations those companies have with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government. Plus: The Listening Post's Nicholas Muirhead looks at this year's World Press Photo Awards and the growing use of post-processing in photojournalism. 2451693668001: Turkey's media: Caught in the wheels of power? Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:08:28 +0300 1500 Turkey media,photojournalism,freedom of press,media blackout,listeningpost,Taksim Square,Istanbuk protest,erdogan,youtube,Listening Post,aljazeera,turkey,turkey protests <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/MREYfoLNbXk" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2455340068001_WEB-LP-1131-8.mp4 Al Jazeera English As press coverage of the murder of a soldier in London sparked public debate, how did journalists navigate the fallout? It was one of those images that, once you saw it, you knew it would be everywhere in news media around the world: A knife-wielding man, hands stained with blood, making a confession – that he had committed murder on a London street in an act of revenge for Muslims killed abroad. The victim, a British soldier, was hacked to death. The confession was filmed on a phone camera. In the coming days, no one with a television, smartphone or personal computer, or who walked past a newspaper stand, could have avoided the images. The message dictated by the killer himself was printed on the front page of the Guardian: “You people will never be safe.” In the age of YouTube and social media, perhaps it was inevitable that TV news channels would broadcast the killer’s warning, complete with his bloodstained hands and knife. But the description of the event as an act of "terror" sparked debate. The terrorist’s raison d’etre is to spread fear, foster hatred and inspire further violence. Thanks to the media, in this case it was mission accomplished. But did the word terrorism really apply in this case? And if not, in whose interest was it that the term be used? Did the media give the story the coverage it deserved, or was that coverage irresponsible? This week’s News Divide examines how journalists and broadcasters navigated the fallout from the Woolwich attack. We speak to Ian Burrell, Media Editor of the Independent; Charlie Beckett, director of the POLIS media think tank at the London School of Economics; Arun Kundnani, author of The End of Tolerance; and media lawyer, Korieh Duodu. 2424426960001: Media, 'terrorism' and the Woolwich attack Sat, 01 Jun 2013 13:11:42 +0300 1500 bradley manning,terrorism,Fox News,killed,Charlie Beckett,guardian,Arun Kundnani,listeningpost,London,POLIS,The End of Tolerance,woolwich,Ian Bureell,youtube,Egypt Independent,syria,Independent,media coverage,al Jazeera,soldier,Korieh Duodu,Listening Post,attack,aljazeera,LSE,turkey <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/9myKQMNNsJk" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2424712834001_WEB-LP-31.mp4 Al Jazeera English An increasingly complex war of images and representations has been raging alongside the conflict on the ground. "Every picture tells a story" is a lesson the media learned a long time ago. Now, in the age of new media, amateur video footage comes with a string of narratives loaded with political intent. Nowhere has that been more true than in Syria where forces fighting the regime of President Bashar al-Assad have wielded video cameras wherever their comrades have aimed their guns. But judging by footage filmed by the rebels themselves showing their own acts of torture, executions and now cannibalism, it seems that the power of the media may have gone to their heads. The News Divide this week takes a fresh look Syria through the increasingly complex war of images and representations. We speak to Jillian C York of the Electronic Frontier Foundation; Dina Matar, senior lecturer in Arab Media and Political Communication at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London; Syrian journalist Malek Al-Abdeh and the Syrian political consultant and commentator, George Ajjan. 2407927712001: Syria's media war Sat, 25 May 2013 12:03:36 +0300 1499 Bashar al Assad,iran,languange,elections,us,listeningpost,sources,whistleblowers,al Jazeera,politics,words,Canada,War,youtube,Listening Post,Sria,aljazeera,media,Propaganda <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/kKFcu_0sKLk" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2408096836001_WEB-LP-1930-24.mp4 Al Jazeera English After the seizure of AP's phone records, we ask if the US is still the land of the free for journalists and sources. On May 10th, the Associated Press news agency received an email from the US Department of Justice saying that records of more than 20 phone lines assigned to its reporters had been secretly seized as part of an investigation into a government leak. The government claimed it was a matter of national security, while the AP called it an unprecedented intrusion into its newsgathering operations. But should the journalistic community be so surprised? With the Obama White House's track record on whistleblowers and WikiLeaks, the move to spy on AP seems consistent with an administration more committed to secrecy than ever before. Is the United States still the land of the free for journalists and their sources? In this week's News Divide we speak to Laura Malone, legal counsel for the Associated Press; Jeremy Scahill, author of Dirty Wars; The World is a Battlefield; the investigative reporter Dana Priest of the Washington Post; and Ben Wizner from the American Civil Liberties Union. 2390555405001: US: Silencing news sources? Sat, 18 May 2013 11:03:51 +0300 1500 United States,Wikileaks,Barack Obama,Dirty Wars The world is a battlefield,us,listeningpost,department of justice,al Jazeera,Laura Malone. Jeremy Scahill,source,ap,Associated Press,leak,Ben wisner,youtube,Listening Post,whistleblower,Washington Post,aljazeera,phone records,dana priest,american civil liberties union <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/H1Hev_ziGPE" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2390922876001_Web-ListeningP-913-17.mp4 Al Jazeera English Is freedom of speech at risk in the ongoing conflict between religious fundamentalists and secular voices in the media? Over the past two months, thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bangladesh's capital city, Dhaka, demanding justice for all those involved in war crime tribunals. And the story is evolving into a battle about blasphemy. Like Pakistan and Egypt before it, Bangladesh's conflict pits Islamic fundamentalists against secular voices in the media. It is a difficult balancing act for Bangladeshi authorities who have been struggling to preserve freedom of speech as one side is accused of blasphemy and the other of inciting murder. To discuss the on-going internal conflict in Bangladesh we talk with: Syed Zain al Mahmood, editor of the Dhaka Tribune; Sabir Mustafa, editor at BBC Bengali Service; writer and journalist Gita Sahgal; and Dhaka-based journalist David Bergman. 2373095911001: Bangladesh's 'blasphemy' divide Sat, 11 May 2013 14:24:44 +0300 1501 Gita Sahgal,Islam,Muslim,fundamentalist,Five Thirty Eight,listeningpost,Sabir Mustafa,New York Times,al Jazeera,blasphemy,bangladesh,youtube,protests,Russia,aljazeera,Syed Zain al Mahmood,atheist,david bergman,Nate Silver <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/J6fMjdmd3iw" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2373233264001_WEB-LP-bangladesh-11.mp4 Al Jazeera English We assess the country's factionalised media as Nouri al-Maliki's government shuts down 10 satellite TV stations. In Iraq, tensions have again flared up in a new wave of deadly attacks against political and sectarian targets. Iraqi media, especially outlets that speak to the Sunni minority, called it a crisis out of the government’s control. Then, when government forces loyal to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki killed 27 Sunni protesters, Iraq’s private media erupted with rage. Anger on the privately-owned airwaves spelled trouble for the government and Maliki’s response was to shut down 10 satellite TV stations – including Al Jazeera’s Arabic language channel – for propagating an "undisciplined media message". All but one of the channels are aligned with Sunni financial backers, and the government’s move is being seen as a crackdown on dissent by Maliki’s majority Shia government. In Iraq’s factionalised media landscape, who you are largely determines who you listen to. So for Maliki, silencing Sunni TV was nothing less than removing a weapon from the hands of his rivals. For the Sunni minority, Maliki’s move was just one more sign that their rights and interests are under attack. This week’s News Divide looks at both sides of the struggle. Speaking for the government is Ali Al-Shalah, the president of the Iraq Culture and Media Committee; assessing the government’s actions are Dahr Jamail, a producer for Al Jazeera English, Arab media analyst Nehad Ismail and Ammar Shahbander from the Institute of War and Peace Reporting. 2351314812001: Iraq: 'Disciplining' the media Sat, 04 May 2013 15:51:33 +0300 1500 Barack Obama,sunni,Ali Al-Shalah,Saddam Hussein,Ammar Shahbander,Nic Muirhead,Dahr Jamail,listeningpost,Iraq,al Jazeera,Nehad Ismail,syrian electronic army,Steven Spielberg,shia,youtube,sectarian tensions,Egypt Independent,Nouri al Maliki,aljazeera,White House Correspondent’s dinner,Daniel Martinez Bazaldua,media <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/yjv5luuqEHQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2351854696001_WEB-LP-again-04.mp4 Al Jazeera English Media coverage of the death of the former British leader has mirrored the divisions which marked her political life. 'As divisive in death as she was in office’ is a phrase that has frequently been repeated in the British media since former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's death on April 8. And nowhere was that more true than in their own coverage. Depending on where Britons get their news, Thatcher was either an 'Iron Lady' who rescued the UK and modernised its economy, or an elitist who looked down at the working classes and crippled British industry. Britain’s right-leaning press, many of which are owned by key Thatcher ally Rupert Murdoch, stood in her favour while the liberal press seized on the opportunity to criticise her policies and blame her for some of Britain’s current problems. To discuss the media legacy of Margaret Thatcher we are joined by: the Guardian’s Simon Jenkins; Peter Oborne from the Daily Telegraph; journalist Maggie Brown; and James Curran, a professor of communications at London’s Goldsmith’s university. 2313194387001: Margaret Thatcher’s final call Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:40:01 +0300 1503 press,James Curran,Suroosh Alvi,vice,Margaret Thatcher,guardian,listeningpost,Shane Smith,Bhaskar Sunkara,BBC,youtube,Simon Jenkins,Jason Mojica,Jacobin,Maggie Browne,Rupert Murdoch,Peter Oborne,Lizzie Widdicombe,Goldsmith's University,al Jazeera,Listening Post,New Yorker,Washington Post,Capital New York,aljazeera,Joe Pompeo,Daily Telegraph,britain <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/_n48GoFsivs" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2313777876001_WEB-LP-resend-20.mp4 Al Jazeera English After comedian is taken to court for insulting Egypt's president, we ask if Morsi is making a mockery of press freedom. Although it has been more than two years since the fall of former President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's revolution is still very much in motion. The rise of Mohamed Morsi has given the Muslim Brotherhood the voice it was denied for decades but there are those who see the president edging towards authoritarianism and who fear the creeping Islamisation of Egyptian politics and society. As the president's power has grown, so has the volume of critical voices in the media. One of those voices is that of Bassem Youssef whose wildly popular show satirising Egyptian politics has won comparisons with US presenter Jon Stewart's The Daily Show. Headline writers in Egypt have been focussing on Youssef's case after he was taken to court for insulting the president, denigrating Islam and undermining security. But the larger story is not about the Morsi government's definition of what is funny or not; it is about freedom of the media in the post-revolutionary era. Two years after the heady days of Tahrir Square, the Egyptian media space has changed drastically from what it was under Mubarak. But the question is: Is the journalism any better, any more free? 2297613198001: Bassem Youssef - No laughing matter Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:18:19 +0300 1500 comedian,Reem Abou-El-Fadl,Sherine Tadros,Tahrir Square,america,satirist,Freedom & Justice Party,Ahram Online,hosni mubarak,listeningpost,nader omran,Oxford University,Omar al-Bashir,youtube,Mohamed Morsi,Bassem Youssef,us,Porta Dos Fundos,Mikhail Beketov,Egypt,al Jazeera,sudan,Associated Press,Hani Shukrallah,Muslim Brotherhood,aljazeera,Russia <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/-QKrbe7EekU" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2297935481001_WEB-LP-13-13.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at the legacy of cultural icon Marshall McLuhan 50 years after his prophetic insights into the future of media. In the 1960’s, long before anybody ever updated their Facebook page, posted their whereabouts on Twitter, uploaded images on Youtube, or exposed government secrets on WikiLeaks, one man made a series of pronouncements about the changing media landscape that resonate with the internet world we live in today. You may have never heard of Marshall McLuhan, but you have probably heard his most widely quoted dictum: "The medium is the message." McLuhan was writing about the effects of the mass media on contemporary life and he was talking mostly about television. But his ideas had something of the prophetic – because in the tumult of today’s digital revolution, a lot of what McLuhan said has even more relevance now than it did then. In this edition of the Listening Post, we look at how to read today’s media landscape, with the help of McLuhan, speaking to us 50 years ago. 2279640871001: Of mediums and messages Sat, 06 Apr 2013 12:54:21 +0300 1500 Understanding media,Toby Miller,to save everything click here,Georgetown University,Global Village,listeningpost,World Wide Web,SOAS,al Jazeera,the Net Delusion,BBC,marshall mcluhan,medium is the message,Adel Iskander,Evgeny Morozov,Charles Miller,jaeno Kang,London City University,youtube,Listening Post,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/DPOYZ7FUvLc" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2279910315001_WEB-LP-1640-05.mp4 Al Jazeera English In the run up to last October's parliamentary elections, battle lines were drawn on ballots and on the airwaves. In the run up to last October's parliamentary elections, battle lines were drawn on ballots and on the airwaves. To analyse the political players, their media playthings and the channels that are still far too close to those who now hold power The Listening Post's Flo Phillips reports. 2271051805001: Georgia: Land of media playthings Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:03:07 +0300 506 Flo Phillips,Transparency International Georgia,imedi tv,Tamar Rukhadze,listeningpost,Mathias Huter,Nino Zuriashvili,al Jazeera,Studio Monitor,TV9,Baia Tsanava,youtube,Rustavi 2,Listening Post,aljazeera,Georgia,media,Former Head of News,Giorgi Lapherashvili <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/7isQSkMXbWw" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2271202617001_WEB-LPFT-GEORG-2.mp4 Al Jazeera English With the war drums beating once again in the US over Iran, have the news media learned anything from the Iraq war? The 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq has prompted some to reflect on a decade that began with the fall of a dictator but descended into a maelstrom of deadly violence. Benefiting from a heavy dose of hindsight the world has been asking “what went wrong?” Some of the soul-searching has been by the media itself. A handful of journalists have admitted to misjudgements in the run-up to the invasion – but is owning up to a mistake the same as questioning your culpability? As the US government beat the drums for war, journalists, commentators and TV anchors did more than just report the news they played along, taking dubious intelligence as fact and waving the flag when more of them should have been raising alarm bells. How can journalists be a check on power if they cannot admit to a collective capitulation of their duty to question? And if the media cannot admit to their failings, whither the next ill-advised military adventure, when the drums sound once again. 2263964391001: Media mea culpas and the Iraq war Sat, 30 Mar 2013 11:40:36 +0300 1500 Iraq war. Iraq US media,mea culpas media,Africa resources,Saddam Hussein,china africa,listeningpost,Richard Gizbert,China media,iraq occupation,WMD,youtube,Listening Post,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/LFXxt7OgzFk" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2264001849001_WEB-LP-1455-29.mp4 Al Jazeera English As the UK forms a regulatory body to curb the excesses of print journalists, we look at the future of the British press. It’s the scandal that ripped through Rupert Murdoch’s media empire and the British political establishment. And this week, it ended with the creation of a regulatory body designed to curb the excesses of Britain’s print journalists - the first change to how Britain’s press is checked in more than 300 years. The new media watchdog comes after a lengthy Leveson inquiry – set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal – which recommended an independent body backed by legislation. On our lead story this week, we discuss the future of the British press with Stig Abell, the former director of the Press Complaints Commission; author Dan Hind; Natalie Fenton, a media professor; and Kirsty Hughes, the chief executive, Index on Censorship. 2246476899001: Regulating a free press Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:39:24 +0300 1500 Index on Censorship,complaints commission,Rupert Murdoch,regulatory body,college humor,uk press,Dan Hind,listeningpost,Levenson Inquiry,British press,Stig Abell,al Jazeera,youtube,Natalie Fenton,Kirsty Hughes,turkey,aljazeera,Instagram,media <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/W3HPf9vkj0A" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2246576024001_WEB-LP-1000-23.mp4 Al Jazeera English As Chavez turned the cameras on the Venezuelan people as well as himself, how will the media shape after his death? March 5, 2013, marked the end of President Hugo Chavez's 14 year reign over Venezuela, but his image lives on, everywhere. Depending on which news outlet you follow, Chavez is remembered as a dictator and a tyrant, or a charismatic visionary leader who stood up to the West. His media coverage seems as divided in death, as it was in life. 2229560841001: Hugo Chavez: Televising the revolution Sat, 16 Mar 2013 11:57:30 +0300 1500 Cuba,al Jazeera,venezuela,Thailand,lese Majeste law,youtube,Hugo Chavez,aljazeera,listeningpost <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/yfa0xlRHN8Y" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2229748785001_WEB-LP-1013-16.mp4 Al Jazeera English Why have the US media shied away from covering the source of the WikiLeaks material yet gouged on his information? US Private Bradley Manning is no longer the alleged source of all those documents to WikiLeaks. According to his own testimony, delivered before a military court on February 28, Manning was the source - nothing alleged about it. In a pre-trial hearing for the first time, Manning admitted that he broke the law when he released around 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks but these lesser charges did not satisfy the United States government. Calling more than 100 witnesses - some anonymously and in closed hearings - prosecutors will argue that Manning's leak put national security and lives at risk by ‘aiding the enemy'. If convicted, Manning - the traitor, could face life without parole but what of Manning - the whistleblower? 2213095917001: The case of the US vs Bradley Manning Sat, 09 Mar 2013 13:49:40 +0300 1500 bradley manning,Wikileaks,Ecuador,julian assange,somalia,janet reitman,Nic Muirhead,listeningpost,Reeyot Alemu,politico,ethiopia,New York Times,pakistan,al Jazeera,myanmar,youtube,White House,Listening Post,whistleblower,Washington Post,aljazeera,Ed Pilkington <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/iLzSPVxL6qs" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2213772614001_WEB-LP-10-9.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at the media landscape in a country where covering the opposition amounts to political extremism. We look at the media landscape in a country where covering the opposition amounts to political extremism. 2200219160001: Listening Post Feature- Kazakhstan: media in a 'wnderland' Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:39:09 +0300 534 press,freedom,youtube,Nursultan Nazarbayev,K Plus,censorhip,asia,Kazakhstan,Mukhtar Ablyazovyad,aljazeera,media,listeningpost <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/Vy9YL_fd7wo" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2200275101001_WEB-LPFeat-1338-3.mp4 Al Jazeera English The country's independence war created divisions that persist to this day, in politics, religion and the media. In 1971, Bangladesh declared independence from Pakistan and fought a bloody war to establish itself as a fledgling nation. More than four decades on, a country born out of troubles and bloodshed is experiencing growing pains. A war crimes tribunal that was meant to bring closure has instead brought old wounds back to haunt a new generation. At the heart of the story is the country's main opposition party, the Jamaat-e-Islami. 2198293018001: Bangladesh: The ghosts of 1971 Sat, 02 Mar 2013 14:31:27 +0300 1501 BBC Bengali Service,east pakistan,Dhaka,listeningpost,Sabir Mustafa,bangladeshis,pakistan,1971,bangladesh,Shahbag Square,youtube,india,syria,uk,Amnesty International,Islam,Shahidul Alam,Jamaat-e-Islami,Abbas Faiz,al Jazeera,pakistan army,Olivier Voisin,war crimes,aljazeera,middle east <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/P1wRqfg5EH4" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2198623927001_WEB-LP-2240-1.mp4 Al Jazeera English What does the mysterious case of Prisoner X reveal about Israeli censorship? This week we focus on Israel and the story about one prisoner that revealed multiple layers of censorship. Prisoner X was a suspected Mossad operative-turned-double agent who, in 2010, reportedly committed suicide in an Israeli jail. In cases deemed too sensitive or a threat to national security, the Israeli government can issue gag orders that prevent the media from covering the story, which is what it did in the case of Prisoner X. But on February 12, the Australian network ABC News released a report revealing the prisoners real name - Ben Zygier – and details of his time in Israel. Grappling to contain the story, the Israeli government issued another gag order to prevent the Israeli media from citing international coverage. But with the story accessible to Israelis via social media, the order proved defunct. To discuss what this case reveals about Israeli censorship in the age of new media, we speak with Ian Black, the Middle East editor for The Guardian; Ronen Bergman, the senior correspondent for Military and Intelligence Affairs for the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper; Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, the head of Media Reform project at Israel Democracy Institute; and Noam Sheizaf, a journalist who writes for +972 Magazine. 2183523731001: Spies, secrets and Israeli media Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:51:09 +0300 1500 abc,ben zygier,guardian,ronen bergman,Going Against The Grain,Israel,listeningpost,Israel Democracy Institute,Media Reform project,Military and Intelligence Affairs,spies,youtube,renee oudeh,censorship,Yedioth Ahronoth,+972 Magazine,al Jazeera,Noam Sheizaf,prisoner x,secrets,Listening Post,ian black,aljazeera,Gideon Levy,media,Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/IPWnEjInHhU" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2183707676001_WEB-LP-PrisonerX-2127-22.mp4 Al Jazeera English What are the implications of US news outlets concealing the truth about drones in the interest of national security? Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones, have crept into modern warfare as quietly as the airborne killing machines themselves and, on the whole, media reporting on them has been just as subdued. Last week, the veil of silence was finally lifted when two of the most important and influential newspapers in the United States – the New York Times and the Washington Post – ran stories on a secret airbase in Saudi Arabia from which the US military has operated its 'drone war' campaign over Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen for the past two years. However, as the story broke, it also came to light that reporters at both newspapers had known about the base long before the story went to print. They had agreed to conceal newsworthy information at the request of the US intelligence establishment, on the basis that reporting the truth would have harmed American national security interests. The complicity of journalists with government officials to keep the base a secret has been justified on grounds of national security but the issue has raised troubling questions of when military secrets – as defined by the government – pull rank on the public duty of the fourth estate to inform. 2168673847001: Game of drones Sat, 16 Feb 2013 14:37:53 +0300 1500 Saudi Arabia,google,drone,Barack Obama,newsweek,Walter Cronkite,yemen,listeningpost,Richard Gizbert,pakistan,sarah palin,Bureau of Investigative Journalism,youtube,Chris Wood,nixon,Marcela Pizzaro,Dafna Linzer,republican,UAV,afghanistan,watergate,alaska,us,New York Times,al Jazeera,Robert F Worth,myanmar,tara McKelvey,ProPublica,Listening Post,Washington Post,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/FishGI-Upko" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2168901718001_WEB-LP-1010-16a.mp4 Al Jazeera English Is cyberspace becoming a battleground between media outlets in the West and a rising power in the Far East? Hacking is nothing new. Some do it for profit, others for secrets. Self-styled "hacktivist" groups such as Anonymous do it for causes they believe in. But what if the target is a newspaper and the hackers have a grudge? On January 30, the New York Times revealed that hackers based in China had waged a four-month-long cyber onslaught against the paper soon after it published an article exposing the fortune amassed by the family of outgoing premier Wen Jiabao, a fortune that for the Chinese Communist Party has turned out to be – quite literally – an embarrassment of riches. Soon after the Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post admitted that they too had been attacked. Bloomberg News and Associated Press are also on the list of media outlets targeted by China-based hackers, raising the spectre of a new front in the global cyber war – one that puts journalists and their sources in the firing line. 2152660708001: News media: The new frontline Sat, 09 Feb 2013 12:41:17 +0300 1500 Fresh Guacamole,google,Pesapane,guardian,Oscar,Charles Arthur,PES,Academy Award,Cyberspace,listeningpost,hack,youtube,Bloomberg,Catherine Lotrionte,Hackers,far east,China,north korea,somalia,greece,news media,New York Times,Wall Street Journal,al Jazeera,adam,Graham Cluley,Associated Press,obituary,Washington Post,Charles Mok,aljazeera,media,west <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/53KlykRbTNo" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2152737470001_WEB-LP-1017-09.mp4 Al Jazeera English Following the recent arrest of reporters, we examine the deteriorating state of journalism in election year Iran. On the Listening Post we track the treatment of media around the world. With the muzzling of news outlets, censorship of content and the arrest of journalists, Iran is a repeat offender. Over the past days, at least 14 reporters have been detained in a sweep of reform-minded news outlets in the country. The timing of these arrests is significant: In five months, Iran will hold presidential elections - the first after the 2009 polls that saw huge protests in Tehran, the footage of which was beamed around Iran and across the world. 2134929164001: Iran's media: The new red lines Sat, 02 Feb 2013 12:14:16 +0300 1498 National Iranian-American Council,bbc persian,guardian,Maziar Bahari,Saeed Kamali-Dehghan,listeningpost,youtube,Journalists,Arrests,iran,UCB comedy,Hillary Mann Leverett,Kasra Naji,Binyamin Netanyahu,censorship,Rupert Murdoch,Facebook,tehran,al Jazeera,press freedom,Bidzina Ivanishvili,Georgiy Gongadze,reza marashi,Georgia,aljazeera,media <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/Wj-7vVO8nCI" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2135269123001_WEB-LP-2230-1.mp4 Al Jazeera English As violence in Mali continues, we examine why journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to cover the story. By now the images are familiar. Military airplanes from a rich industrial nation taking off to bomb an insurgency. Irregular fighters with AK-47s riding pickup trucks. Foreign journalists standing in front of the national monument telling you the latest. Turn on the news coverage of the Mali conflict and you would be forgiven for thinking you have seen all this before. But the responsibility of reporters is more than just being in the right place at the right time. There is no such thing as observation without interpretation and words like ‘Islamist’, ‘atrocity’ and – especially – ‘terrorist’ are easy to say but not so easy to define. When journalists slip into the standard narratives there is plenty that does not fit in the picture. 2119513986001: Mali's 'war without images' Sat, 26 Jan 2013 11:47:12 +0300 1492 James Creedon,Democracy and Conflict Research Institute,Hugo Chavez,Sebastian de la Nuez,universidad católica,listeningpost,Andrés Bello,Alberto Baptista da Silva,venezuela,Elsy Barroeta,youtube,Journalists,terrorist,islamist,France 24,Nii Akuetteh,Peter Chilson,Oscar Guardiola-Rivera,al Jazeera,Andres Izarra,Steve Cutts,Globovision News,mali,aljazeera,media <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/FNnXISncusM" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2120066741001_WEB-LP-0932-26.mp4 Al Jazeera English How much freedom of the press is China's new leadership willing to tolerate? This week, Listening Post gets to the heart of a story that involves the Communist Party and its effort to redefine itself for a new decade under Xi Jinping. His talk of a ‘Chinese Dream’ envisages a new, more in-touch Communist Party that will stamp out corruption and usher in a new era of prosperity. But does that dream include a constitution that protects liberties and freedom for the press? 2104329475001: Testing China's journalistic limits Sat, 19 Jan 2013 12:46:07 +0300 1500 press,communist party,Joshua Rothkopf,guantanamo bay,Isabel Hilton,kathryn bigelow,zero dark thirty,Nic Muirhead,listeningpost,southern weekly,al Jazeera,josh chin,George Guo,La Mécanique du Plastique,Peter Rainer,Zhuang Chen,youtube,Listening Post,aljazeera,glenn carle,Alissa Quart,China <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/e95WyIc3Rj0" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2104561749001_WEB-LP-0938-19.mp4 Al Jazeera English As Al Jazeera has bought the American cable channel Current TV, what kind of journalism can it offer Americans? As Al Jazeera has bought the American cable channel Current TV, what kind of journalism can it offer Americans? 2088702328001: Al Jazeera: Breaking into the US news market Sat, 12 Jan 2013 11:26:59 +0300 1500 Qatar,hungary,daily show,america,cia,Doha,Klub Radio,Sri Lanka,listeningpost,Richard Gizbert,southern weekly,al Jazeera,Jon Stewart,current tv,Sunday Leader,Frederica Jansz,youtube,john kiriakou,Listening Post,aljazeera,Comedy Central,China,Viktor Orban,cable channel <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/q3Wv6C3YpVA" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2088894217001_WEB-LP-0954-12.mp4 Al Jazeera English A Listening Post special - Whistleblowing and the US media. Do the threats facing whistleblowers under Obama's presidency mean Americans know less about what their government does? On the campaign trail four years ago, US presidential candidate Barack Obama shared his views on whistleblowers. He said: "Often the best source of information about waste, fraud and abuse in government is a government employee committed to public integrity, willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism ... should be encouraged rather than stifled." As president, the reality has been very different. During his first term in office, six whistleblowers have been charged under the Espionage Act for allegedly mishandling classified information. That is twice as many as all previous presidents combined. In the first half of this full edition special, we blow the whistle on President Obama's America. 2073726673001: Blowing the whistle on Obama's America Sat, 05 Jan 2013 13:24:02 +0300 1500 US media,bradley manning,america,Barack Obama,youtube,Jesselyn Radack,Us whisteleblower,us,Listening Post,aljazeera,listeningpost,Richard Gizbert <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/9IOJ5hawj50" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2074120670001_WEB-LP-obama--0915-04.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look back at a year of coverage of a war that has claimed the truth as one of its casualties. This week's Listening Post special takes a chronological look at a year of battles fought, lives lost and lies told in a war that, as the cliché says, has claimed as one of its casualties, the truth. 2050494259001: Syria: Battles fought, lives lost, lies told Sat, 29 Dec 2012 11:32:35 +0300 1338 Al Mayadeen TV,arab,revolutions,beirut,bashar al-assad,youtube,citizen journalists,Journalists,aljazeera,Arab Spring,media,syria,middle east <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/G0cJs347rpo" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2050703843001_WEB-LP-dec29--0755-21.mp4 Al Jazeera English From Argentina to Venezuela and Mexico, some of the year's most compelling media stories have come from one continent. One continent, multiple media battlefields. From Argentina to Venezuela and Mexico, some of the year's most compelling media stories have come from one continent. 2046818584001: Latin America's media battlefields Sat, 22 Dec 2012 11:51:09 +0300 1555 Mexico media,Ecuador,julian assange,Hugo Chavez,clarin,listeningpost,televisa,argentina,Otto Perez Molina,venezuela,youtube,Listening Post,aljazeera,Rafael Correa,Mexco elections,telesur <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/M55ILqVlm1I" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2046865476001_WEB-LP-1112-20.mp4 Al Jazeera English Examining the issues behind the sparse media coverage of the Bradley Manning hearings in the US. On the Listening Post this week: Wikileaks suspect Bradley Manning versus the US government - but where was the media? Plus, a look at Thailand's controversial lese majeste law. It was one of the biggest stories of 2010. Millions of classified US government documents leaked onto the internet through the Wikileaks website. Although it made the name of the site founder Julian Assange, the man accused of actually giving him the material is rather less well known. That man, US soldier Bradley Manning, is currently in a US prison awaiting trial over the case. Of the 22 charges against Bradley Manning, the most serious include revealing classified information to unauthorised persons, violating orders and aiding the enemy. That last charge could lead to life imprisonment for the 25 year-old. Two weeks ago, he spoke publicly for the first time in over two years in a pre-trial hearing where he claimed he was treated unlawfully whilst being held in military custody. This should have been an easy story for the media - an American whistleblower allegedly the source of many of the most important stories of the past two years speaking for the first time. But the coverage, especially in the US, has been surprisingly sparse; it is conspicuous by its absence not least in the New York Times. Despite partnering Wikileaks on the story, they did not send anyone to cover the event preferring to use agency copy. Listening Post examines Manning's treatment by the media. 2036508726001: Abandoning Private Manning Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:13:10 +0300 1539 US whistleblower,US media,bradley manning,Wikileaks,julian assange,Manning pre-trial,Thailand,Manning media,listeningpost,Richard Gizbert,New York Times,media coverage Manning,US Military,lese Majeste law,youtube,thai king,Listening Post,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/oYZ9AYAxdlY" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2036906089001_WEB-LP-1055-16.mp4 Al Jazeera English The new Egyptian president's move to grant himself sweeping powers is being perceived by some as a tactic straight out of the former president's playbook. His media strategy also echoes that of his predecessor. But now Egypt's media is fighting back. The new Egyptian president's move to grant himself sweeping powers is being perceived by some as a tactic straight out of the former president's playbook. His media strategy also echoes that of his predecessor. But now Egypt's media is fighting back. 2022265834001: Has Mohamed Morsi borrowed Hosni Mubarak's playbook? Sat, 08 Dec 2012 12:48:09 +0300 1505 journalism,Mohamed Morsi,press,egyptian,morsi,hosni mubarak,listeningpost,Egypt,Hosni,youtube,mubarak,Journalists,aljazeera,media <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/listeningpostAU/~4/bdQWGjQMqgs" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2022263990001_WEB-LP-1041-8.mp4