The Dubai Hamas murder mystery
Plus, corruption in the Kenyan media.
On The Listening Post’s radar this week: closed circuit cameras in Dubai blow the cover off what was meant to be a clandestine political assassination. And we present our second report from Kenya – on the media and its problems with corruption, both outside and inside.
Newsdivide: The assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, the Hamas military commander, had all the elements needed to shoot it to the top of editorial priority lists around the world. There was mystery, political rivalry, stolen identities and most importantly, footage – 27 minutes of it, all filmed by numerous surveillance cameras around Dubai.
Soon after investigations began, the Dubai police declared that it was “99 per cent certain” that agents of Israel’s secret intelligence agency, Mossad, had committed the murder. But reporters looking to Israel for concrete information got none – the official policy on sensitive security issues is one of deliberate ambiguity.
In our Newsdivide this week, we look at the trail of clues left by al-Mabhouh’s assassins and the changing narratives of media across the world.
Kenya’s media
In the second half of our show, we go back to Kenya from where Salah Khadr reported last week.
The country’s media scene – for all its vibrancy, is also problematic. Corruption is a big political issue and is closely tracked by Kenyan journalists. But that does not mean they are above it themselves.
In this week’s report we highlight how Kenyan media is tackling the growing corruption in its ranks.
Our Newsbytes section this week features news of the release of Chandana Sirimalwatte, a Sri Lankan editor detained for 18 days without charge. In Iran, the state run broadcaster IRIB has plans to launch new channels in Spanish and Urdu. And the White House temporarily buries the hatchet with Fox News as First Lady Michelle Obama makes an appearance on the network.
Bringing the show to a close is our Viral Video of the Week – it is something we saw on collegehumour.com: a spoof of one of Microsoft’s glossy ads to promote the company’s new PC operating system – Windows 7.
Microsoft has marketed its new product as a super system that incorporates every little feature a PC user could possibly want. Well, they are very lucky they did not have to deal with this bunch of computer geeks! Watch it here.
This episode of The Listening Post can be seen from Friday, February 26, at the following times GMT: Friday: 1230; Saturday: 1030, 2230; Sunday: 0300, 1930; Monday: 0030; Tuesday: 0630, 1630; Wednesday: 0130, 1430; Thursday: 0330, 2330.