Obama's Nobel surprise win

Listening Post

The global media reaction to Obama's win, and the media storm over the UN's Goldstone Report.

Last Modified: 16 Oct 2009 14:10 GMT

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Watch part two

On the Listening Post this week, the media coverage of Obama's surprise Nobel Prize win, and the media storm surrounding the release of the Goldstone Report.

We begin our show this week with one of those news stories that had jaws dropping around the world – the announcement from Norway that Barack Obama, the US president had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

It even took Obama by surprise – he said he did not see it coming and probably did not really deserve it. There were 205 nominees for the prize this year and media coverage of Obama's win has ranged from bemused congratulations to outrage.

In the US, the story became another bone in the dogfight between liberal and conservative media. And the global news coverage of this story has reflected Obama's and America's complex and changing relationship with countries around the world.

Our starting point this week is a story that started in Oslo, Norway – and spread from there.

The Goldstone report

Richard Goldstone has been accused of anti-semitism because of his report [REUTERS]

In part two the Listening Post's Meenakshi Ravi explores the 575-page hot potato causing controversy with the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority and the global media.

It is the so-called Goldstone report – the results an investigation carried out by the UN's Human Rights Council into the three week long war on Gaza that Israel launched last December.

The report concluded that both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants were guilty of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.

The coverage of the story has been all over the place – starting in Israel, where the lead investigator, Richard Goldstone has been accused of anti-Semitism and of being out to get Israel even though Mr Goldstone is a South African Jew.

In this week's Newsbytes: Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister has set up an emergency taskforce to monitor what is being said about Italy in the global media; the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta is being sued for libel by Joseph Stalin's grandson; Canada's largest media company has filed for bankruptcy protection; the Obama's administration looses its patience with Fox News; and the gagging order against British newspaper the Guardian which caused a storm in the Blogosphere.

Finally for our Internet video of the week: this week the head banging cockatoo from California has had more than 1.2 million. Here is Frostie, bopping along to the Blues Brothers. Watch it here.

This episode of The Listening Post can be seen from Friday, October 16, at the following times GMT: Friday: 1230; Saturday: 1030, 2230; Sunday: 0300, 1930; Monday: 0030; Tuesday: 0630, 1630; Wednesday: 0130, 1430; Thursday: 0330, 2330.