Pakistan’s polarised media

At the beginning of the week, when we scan the news media around the globe to decide what media story to go with, wires started dropping about protesters occupying Pakistan’s state broadcaster PTV.

The story is part of a new political power struggle in which the country’s top news channels are fighting a proxy war of their own. For three weeks now, street demonstrators led by cricket-player-turned politician, Imran Khan, have been demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose election last year the protestors insist was rigged. Sharif says he is not going anywhere. The way the unrest is being reported in Pakistan’s media lays bare the political divisions in the country and exacerbates them.

Backing the government are Geo TV, the most watched network in Pakistan and the state-owned broadcaster, PTV. Both had their offices targeted by protestors, and, in PTV’s case, occupied. ARY, the number two news channel, backs the protest movement, and has been going at it – on the airwaves – with Geo TV.

Helping us understand the battle on the airwaves in Pakistan this week: Hamid Mir, a journalist and news anchor, Geo News; Uzma Chaudhry, a news anchor, PTV; Naveed Ahmed, an investigative journalist; Adnan Rehmat, the author of Reporting Under Threat; and Athar Farooq, the PTV Director News.

In our Newsbytes this week: Islamic State militants have murdered a captured American journalist, Steven Sotloff, and published online the video of the killing. Hong Kong: anti-graft officers raided the home of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Pro democrats have branded the act as political persecution. And Bahrain’s highest appeals court has upheld a 10-year jail sentence on photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan.

Our feature this week combines Latin America, financial reporting, media politics in Argentina, and the media bias of Western media reporting Latin America. When Argentina defaulted on its sovereign debt at the end of July, the international media coverage initially pressed the rewind button back to 2001. But this time the story is different. It is about a legal battle between the government in Buenos Aires and American hedge fund Elliot Management, and the stand-off has prompted a propaganda war. Argentinian President Cristina Kirchner has been trying to get her message across the media, at home and abroad, depicting her country as the victim of ruthless US hedge funds that hold developing countries hostage for the sake of financial gain. Listening Post’s Marcela Pizarro reports.

American hip hop artist Mac Lethal was approached by a school teacher with a special request: a rap she could play in class – no bad words – something inspiring for her students. Mac Lethal took up the challenge and produced Incredible Mozart Rap. We made it our Web Video of the Week.