The Tunisia effect
When the Tunisian uprising was broadcast across the region, it started a domino effect that is now being felt in Egypt.
The Tunisia effect: the unrest is broadcast around the region and the knock-on effect rocks the Arab world. Also, the story of the lobbyist and the journalist – the recorded calls that shook Indian media.
Our News Divide this week is a follow up to our analysis of events in Tunisia. Coverage of the uprising there was lapped up by Arab audiences and in Yemen, Algeria and Egypt demonstrators took to the streets. State-controlled media tried desperately to spin the coverage of the unrest, but no amount of spinning could hide the reality of events in Egypt.
January 25 was marked as the Day of Anger and the protests snowballed. The Egyptian government clamped down on the internet, but with global media tracking events in the Arab world carefully, footage of the protests was beamed around the world. In our News Divide, we look at the spread of the Tunisian unrest and how the media is being used by the demonstrators.
In our Newsbytes: The Palestine Papers spark heated reactions – the network’s bureau in Ramallah is mobbed. He is loud, leftist and has left. US TV host Keith Olbermann departs from MSNBC. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s on air rant and mixed signals from the Pope about the use of social media.
2010 will be remembered as a watershed year for Indian journalism. The country’s news media – which routinely breaks stories on political corruption and government scams – found itself in the dock, when a story now known as ‘Radiagate’ hit the headlines.
At the centre of the story was corporate PR agent and political lobbyist, Nira Radia. Employed by some of India’s most powerful business houses, Radia’s list of contacts included some of India’s most influential journalists. But neither Radia nor the journalists she spoke to so often knew their conversations were being recorded by the Indian government as part of an investigation into Radia’s activities. And they had no inkling these recordings would be made public. But the call logs did get published, exposing the cosy and very questionable links between politics, business and mainstream media in India.
Having a slow internet connection is frustrating. What is even more frustrating is having a slow internet operator – someone who does not quite grasp the intricacies of the web. Standing over your aunt/dad/grandfather while they try to type in a URL address can be a pretty painstaking process. Our Web Video of the Week captures it pretty well. We hope you enjoy the show!
This episode of Listening Post can be seen from Saturday, January 29, at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0830, 1930; Sunday: 1430; Monday: 0430.