The reaction to the Charlie Hebdo attack

We had planned to lead with a different story, but when gunmen stormed the office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and killed 12 people, we had no choice but to switch the lead package.

The initial reaction was shock and this grew into a debate about freedom of speech. The provocative publication has a history of publishing cartoons that many have deemed offensive, and what was missing from the initial coverage was context and an attempt to understand why this had happened.

France has a tradition of satire that shocks and savages – to an extent that would not be tolerated in other so-called liberal democracies. There is nothing that justifies the murder of any journalist or cartoonist over their work, but this is a story in need of explanation. Helping us to do that this week is Padraig Reidy, from the campaign group 89up; Anna Reading a professor at Kings College London; writer and academic Richard Seymour; and Alain Gresh, the editor of Le Monde Diplomatique.

Other news stories on our radar this week: Mohammed Fahmy, one of the three Al Jazeera journalists in an Egyptian jail, writes an opinion piece for the New York Times in which he directly appeals to the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for his release; a blogger is jailed for three years in Tunisia for charges including insulting the military; and in Turkey, on the same day that the Erdogan government says it has the freest press in Europe, authorities raid the house of a critical journalist on terror charges.

Feature: Impartial journalism in a digital era

It is one of the main principles taught in journalism school – how to be objective, impartial, and keep your emotions out of your stories. But they are not always easy concepts to follow. In a world where bad news – war, poverty and terrorism – lead the coverage, you will be hard-pressed to find a journalist who has not found keeping their emotions and opinions out of stories a challenge.

But we live in the digital era, and the internet has opened up a space for a more partial, partisan style of journalism. So what value then does impartiality have in this era? What do news consumers lose from impartial reporting? And how can traditional journalism co-exist with this new form?

In this week’s feature, The Listening Post’s Gouri Sharma looks at the arguments for and against impartial journalism in a digital era.

Unless you are watching us via a satellite dish or on cable, there is a good chance you are seeing this through a digital or analogue signal – transmitted by an antenna at the top of a broadcast tower. Transmission towers are like any other piece of broadcasting equipment. Occasionally, they need maintenance, including changing those light bulbs that – at night – allow low-flying aircraft to see the towers. It is not a job for the faint-hearted or for anyone with a fear of heights.

This next video comes from South Dakota in the US, where a technician named Kevin Schmidt has to climb a 460-metre tower just to change a bulb before it burns out. He partnered with a production company called Prairie Aerial, which works with drones. The view of the American heartland has attracted almost 1 million Youtube views. We hope you enjoy the show!