Reporting Gaza’s chaos

Johnston’s kidnap led to protests across the world [EPA]

In this week’s global media show, The Listening Post, Stephen Cole reports on media reaction to the release of BBC journalist Alan Johnston and what it means for reporting from Gaza.

We look at the difficulties journalists have faced in two of the world’s other trouble spots in the last 114 days, the time that Alan Johnston was held prisoner. Plus we examine Oh My News, the South Korean news organisation that is redefining journalism.

For our main story this week we go back to Gaza. The kidnap of Alan Johnston on 12 March of this year made global headlines. Thanks to the efforts of journalists around the world, the campaigning of the BBC, and due in no small measure to the changing political situation in Gaza, Alan Johnston was finally freed on 4 July.

Hamas were keen to capitalise on their part in Johnston’s release and as a result he spent his first hours of freedom as a political pawn. First he was filmed and interviewed in the company of Hamas, and then with Fatah who were keen to stage their own photo opportunities.

But will Johnston be the last Western journalist to live and work in Gaza? We talk to Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent, Nour Odeh, about the current situation in Gaza for reporters.

Also in the programme we look at Oh My News – www.english.ohmynews.com – the world’s first international news organisation run entirely by citizen journalists. Set up seven years ago, the Oh My News website now boasts 60,000 correspondents. Rory O’Connor went to Seoul to meet a few of them at the Oh My News conference.

In Newsbytes, we look at the other big media stories this week. German courts take a stand against intrusive paparazzi photographers and Iran launches Press TV, its own 24-hour English language news channel www.presstv.ir .

Also, a Chinese talent show is in hot water after it refused to honour its promised prizes.

More than 200,000 hopefuls auditioned for the Beijing television talent show, hoping to win one of the three lead roles in a forthcoming major drama, The Dream Of The Red Chamber. But the director has threatened not to cast the winners and a media furore has erupted.

Last but not least is our internet video of the week. When a Russian TV station decided to adopt an office pet they really couldn’t have gone for a less cute and cuddly option than… a cockroach!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJuT6tBjS6I

Watch this episode of The Listening Post here:

Part One:

Part Two:

 This episode of The Listening Post aired from 13 July 2007.

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