Media coverage of Iraq

Media gave wall to wall coverage in 2003 of the ‘shock and awe’ of the US-led invasion of Iraq [EPA]

This week on The Listening Post Richard Gizbert looks at Iraq. Five years after the invasion we take stock of how the media have handled this most controversial of wars.

Plus we take another look at Russia and the media voices speaking in opposition to the Putin status quo.

In 2003 the media rose to the occasion of war. The shock and awe of those first few days in March 2003 was given wall to wall coverage on every channel and front page.

But as the occupation lost its way, how have the media kept up with the turmoil of post-invasion Iraq after five long and dangerous years?

As networks go in to retrospective and reflective mode about the war itself, we ask how successful their efforts to report the truth have been.

An activist  was imprisoned after tossing a photo of Vladimir Putin out of a window [Getty]

In part two we look at the Russian opposition and the story of Maxim Gromov, a young political campaigner who was imprisoned for three years after an iconic image of him throwing a picture of Vladimir Putin out of a window made the front pages.

Now out of prison he talks to The Listening Post’s Simon Ostrovsky about getting your voice heard in 21st century Russia.

In this week’s Newsbytes an Israeli government minister accuses Al Jazeera of being too close to Hamas, China keeps a lid on media coverage of unrest in and around Tibet, Obama’s pastor is compared to Hitler by Fox News, a US judge gets tough on a former journalist who refuses to reveal her sources and the prostitute and wannabe pop chanteuse at the centre of the Eliot Spitzer call girl scandal decides enough is enough, and asks a top lawyer to get her off the front pages.

And our internet video of the week is a great remix of an REM favourite: It’s ‘The End of the World’ as sung by George Bush

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, March 21, 2008