Tag Archives: Al Jazeera English

Could the media end up killing Barack Obama?

Al Jazeera’s media show The Listening Post on how 24×7 media is dangerously inflaming passions against US President Barack Obama with lies, untruths, rhetoric—a little like the way a newspaper advertisement greeted John F. Kennedy the day he arrived in Dallas in 1963. Also read: How global media covered Barack Obama inauguration ‘The media’s obsession…

How the global media covered the swine flu

Al Jazeera‘s media show The Listening Post on how the mainstream media reacted—and over-reacted—to the H1N1 virus, secure in the knowledge that no one would ever accuse them of overkill. And how the digital purveyors of the rumours on blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc, were themselves victims. Also read: 8 dos (and don’ts) on how to…

How the Indian media covered the 2009 poll

Blogs, internet chats, Jaago Re, Jai Ho!, Lead India, microsites, rock concerts, TV commercials… The 2009 general election has not been short of media noise. But has it really spurred youngsters to shut up and vote? Or is it all blather and brand building with an embedded social message? Meenakshi Ravi of Al Jazeera‘s media…

How Cisco helps China in internet censorship

It’s not just authoritarian governments that are preventing citizens and activists from accessing news and views that they would not like them to lay their eyes and ers on. Transnational corporations that supply the technology to make access possible in the first place are playing a hand, according to Al Jazeera‘s media show, The Listening…

The slaughter of the media lambs in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is on the verge of winning the war against the Tamil Tigers in the North, but will it ever win the peace? Thousands of civilians are missing, and efforts to trace them are weak. Nine journalists have died at work in the last three years, and the number may be even higher. Al…

How global media covered Obama inauguration

“Over two days, newspapers around the world published 1.2 million articles. Over one 24-hour period, the global radio and television coverage combined added up to 20 million minutes; to watch it all it would have taken a human being 38 years,” reports Richard Gizbert of Al Jazeera English on the inauguration of Barack Obama as…

Trapped journalist speaks from inside Gaza City

Israel’s land, sea and air attack on Gaza to smoke out Hamas men firing daily rockets on the Jewish homeland, has been remarkable for the near-complete blackout of information from inside Gaza City. Journalists are barred from reporting from inside Gaza City for “operational reasons”. Result: As the relentless bombardment continues, no one knows what’s…

The top-15 media stories (& viral videos) of ’08

The strange thing about the so-called Global Village is that it has turned us all provincial. We relate to, are interested in, connect with, and remember news events with an insularity that would befuddle Marshall McLuhan. And in the process, we forget that stuff happens outside of the bubble we inhabit. The Listening Post, the…

Why journalism is not just another profession

The cynicism of the public in the media is a global sunrise industry. Fed by politicians, businessmen, sportsmen, celebrities and other newsmakers who feel the wrong end of it, or no longer have any use for it, news consumers can never resist the temptation to run it down. Till…. Video: courtesy Al Jazeera

How the crude oil price spike spooked the media

Who’s to blame for the mounting crude oil prices? Oil producing countries? India and China for their voracious appetite? Speculators wanting to make a quick buck or ten? In the latest episode of its media showThe Listening Post, hosted by Richard Gizbert, Al Jazeera English throws light on how the global media has failed to…

Who decides what we should/shouldn’t watch?

News has not been in short supply in the global village in the satellite age. There are the “Indian” English news channels: NDTV 24×7, CNN-IBN, Times Now, Headlines Today. And the Hindi news channels: Aaj Tak, Star News, NDTV India, IBN 7, DD News, India TV. And the language news channels: Udaya, Sun, Suvarna, TV9,…