Spectacle over substance: Trump, G7 and the Singapore summit
Trump’s theatrics at the G7 summit and his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Plus, the fixers’ role in journalism.
On The Listening Post this week: We examine Trump’s theatrics at the G7 summit and his meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in Singapore. Plus, the role fixers play in journalism.
Trump on the international stage
In the television and internet age, international summits always involve a hefty dose of stagecraft.
But two indelible images from two different summits over the past fortnight could not have told more contrasting stories.
They first saw US President Donald Trump defying – and then walking out on – allies at the G7 meeting in Canada.
In the second, the same US president got down to business with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who Trump described as ‘talented’.
In both cases, journalists found themselves covering a president who, again, seemed to put more thought into the spectacle – and the Twitter feed at his disposal – than the political substance.
Contributors:
Daniel Nexon, associate professor, Georgetown University
Pepe Escobar, journalist and author
Sabrina Siddiqui, political reporter, The Guardian US
Bruce Miroff, professor of Political Science, University at Albany
On our radar
Richard Gizbert speaks to producer Flo Phillips about a new cyber security law in Vietnam; and the false rumours circulating on WhatsApp that have had deadly consequences in India.
Fixers: The unsung heroes in the news business?
When an article gets published from a foreign country, the byline tells us who wrote it. The television equivalent of that is the on-air sign-off.
But few news organisations credit the fixer, the local hire who secures that critical interview, gets access to that all-important location, or helps navigate a story rife with regional complexities.
Fixers know the local news terrain and open doors few foreign correspondents can hope to open on their own.
They’re expected to play a double role: part editorial consultant, part security specialist. But while many risk their lives in the process, seldom do they get the credit their work deserves.
The Listening Post‘s Will Yong on fixers, so often the unsung, uncredited story behind the stories.
Contributors:
Shayna Plaut, research manager, Global Reporting Centre
Zeina Khodr, senior correspondent, Al Jazeera
Khaled Abu Ghali, Gaza-based fixer
Inky Nakpil, cofounder, Fixer Ink