Elections in post-communist Europe

In this week’s global media show, The Listening Post, we focus on elections in post-communist Europe beginning in Poland where Civic Platform won a convincing victory to deny the controversial Law and Justice party another term in power. We also present a report on the influence of US spin doctors on the Ukranian elections. Plus the Will it Blend phenomenon – the sequel!

News Divide

This week, we travel to Warsaw, Poland to observe how the media participated in last week’s elections. Two years ago, a mere 45 per cent turned out to vote in a ballot which brought the controversial Kacynski twins and the Law and Justice party to power. It was the lowest turnout since the fall of communism in 1989 and the vast majority of those who voted were from the older generation.

This time around huge efforts were made to galvanise the youth vote and the media too played its part as viral campaigns and YouTube videos were released to inspire greater political awareness. Most of these were to benefit the opposition party Civic Platform who ended up winning a clear majority but Law and Justice had their supporters too within the fourth estate. Within days of the election results a report by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe concluded that the campaign had been “marked by occasional partisan interventions by institutions of the state”.

In this episode we interview some of Poland’s top journalists and analysts to find out more.

 

We move a little further east for our feature about Ukraine where elections took place at the end of September. Back in 2004 Ukraine was the focus of the world’s attention as the Orange Revolution swept a pro-western candidate, Victor Yushencko, into office. Ukranian politics have been no less intriguing since then. In this piece we examine the influence of US electoral tactics and techniques on events there.

Newsbytes

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation

We look at the other big media stories this week including the nasty battle between the Sunday Times and South Africa’s health minister.

 

We also take a look at Rupert Murdoch’s newest media coup and the latest, shocking statistics regarding journalists in Iraq.

Video of the week

Last but not least is our internet video of the week. A few weeks ago we showcased the extraordinary powers of the ‘Will it blend’ gadget. This time its manufactuers go one step further. And further again. And further again!

Watch this episode of The Listening Post here:

 

 

 

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