Turkey’s reform

For three years Article 301 of Turkish law has cast a shadow over the media in Turkey

This week on The Listening Post we look at the changes Turkey has made to the controversial Article 301 of it’s legal code. 

We also look at Madeleine McCann: a year after she went missing in Portugal we talk to her parents about their struggle to find her and how their plight has been used and abused by the global media.

Known for being the scourge of writers such as Orhan Pamuk and the late Hrant Dink, Article 301 of Turkish law has for three years cast a shadow over the media in Turkey.

Making it illegal to offend a vaguely defined notion of ‘Turkishness’, the law drew strong criticism from freedom of speech advocates the world over.

But the crucial voice of opposition looks to have been the European Union, the exclusive club of nations that Turkey hopes to join. Lawmakers finally bowed to pressure to amend the law at the end of April.

But how significant are the changes, and will they really make a difference on the pages and screens of Turkey’s media?

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance made headlines across the world

We look again at arguably the single biggest media story of the last year – the search for Madeleine McCann.

When a three year-old British girl went missing from the resort in Portugal where her family were holidaying in May 2007 it made headlines across the world.

Quickly understanding the importance of widespread coverage in the desperate hunt for their missing daughter, Kate and Jerry McCann became daily fixtures in the British and then global media.

One year on The Listening Post talks to the McCanns about how the exigencies of their Portuguese nightmare led them into a complex and dangerous relationship with the press.

Are the pictures we are seeing of rescue effects telling the full story? [AFP]

In this week’s Newsbytes Myanmar is hit by a devastating cyclone – are the pictures we are seeing of rescue efforts telling the full story?

Al Jazeera cameraman Sami Al Hajj is finally freed from Guantanamo Bay; the former White House employees who have found work on the major US networks; and a needle in a haystack – a Barack Obama interview that doesn’t mention Rev Jeremiah Wright.

Our video of the week: 

A football commentator puts impartiality aside for this goal celebration – Italian style!

Watch part one of this episode of The Listening Post on YouTube

Watch part two of this episode of The Listening Post on YouTube

This episode of The Listening Post aired on Friday, May 09, 2008