Leaders accuse the ruling party of tampering with the ball to lists before local elections next year the vote is seen as a test for president Alexander Church those are the headlines on aljazeera do stay with us the listening post is coming up next thank you for watching. Facing realities your president said that there would be a complete audit a hundred percent audit that audit hasnt happened getting to the heart of the matter so are you saying then the future of the g. C. C. Will be in doubt. Here the story. On talk to aljazeera at this time. With the. Week. After showdown with always a referendum. On the. Way. The armature gives birth and youre at the listening post here are some of the media stories were covering this week catalonia you know the journalism is problematic when some of the journalists want their own bosses fired vietnam where many bloggers are challenging the state controlled news narrative and are paying the price indian journalists taking on nationalist voices say theyre getting a cease and desist Death Threats via whatsapp fight this violence something lies and americas biggest progun lobby group doing its thing online. Were taking a second crack this week at the politicized polarized coverage coming out of spain in the aftermath of the independence referendum in catalonia hundreds of would be voters were left injured in a Brutal Police response to an electoral process the Spanish Government called unconstitutional that provoked another round of largely partisan coverage the tone and content of which depended on the news source whether the report was coming from outlets based in the dread or barcelona journalists at the madrid based National Broadcaster t. V. Or calling out their own bosses for one sided reporting on the catalonian side the coverage on the publicly funded t. V. Three was similarly biased the rival channels do have one thing in common the way theyre run a legal change made five years ago allows both governments to directly appoint the heads of their publicly owned t. V. Channels politicians may like that but the resulting journalism leaves much to be desired our starting point this week once again is the catalonian capital barcelona. One assessing journalism its not just what you see its what you dont see open and shut case in point Catalonian Television and International News outlets all led with images of police battling and in some cases bloodying people trying to vote in barcelona madrid state owned t. V. Started with this. Kid i want to stop it but i think there will be i dont know that i forgot the old case is that even though. The channel showed what looked like a stand on skirmishes nothing more police breaking a door down carting away ballot boxes not swinging their baton at people and the first voice spaniards heard apart from the anchor do own a t. V. Was an official one from madrid. That offended. Me and. Yet it does and input family in law they are t. V. Began with the political side of the story comments from the deputy Prime Minister instead of starting with the events and got the loan they all took the natural order of this new story this signed greater importance to the government in madrid even though the story was about the lonely and its a constant subversion is theres less. You know they could not follow every detail of t. V. Coverage however i did see a spanish policeman helping a man with his son. In this i dont buy that i dont know that this is the oldest but its great that the police are considerate with children but to elevate one single story into a heroic act on a day when almost nine hundred people were injured could be seen as a bit unbalanced this is going to have a. Journalists tend to be skeptical creatures so newsrooms can be hotbeds of discontent but you will seldom see a revolt as public as the want to t. V. The hash tag says very go ends up spanish for shame t. V. Employees in madrid waved those signs at their senior producers who Issue Editorial orders and who remained in their seats. For any thought or possibly the protest was not organized it was spontaneous it might absolutely clear to the management that we do not condone this behavior we feel ashamed we are seeing things of the channels state television which should be the first to tell the public what is happening actually relinquished that obligation together they have chosen not to report on an extremely serious matter one of the biggest constitutional crises of recent years thats why we are calling for the resignation of the head of news so that he was fully mission. Which brings us to how t. V. Head of news. Got the job up until two thousand and twelve if the Spanish Government wanted to appoint a new director of t. V. It require the consent of two thirds of parliament a rule meant to ensure a consensual approach in the running of public broadcasting in spain the government of Prime Minister mariano it off or is Popular Party changed that reverting back to the days when the government could make that appointment unilaterally and stack the journalistic back in its favor. Another million settlers for the. Politicians should not be able to appoint the directors of public television. They should be chosen by an independent professional body which rewards professionalism not their willingness to follow a particular political agenda t. V. Is acting as press officer for the government in madrid and t. V. Three is acting as a press officer for the catalonian government that have been sent there. Well we have all of the legs in that. Because that rule change did not just the fact madrid and the way t. V. Was run it also allowed the Regional Government in barcelona to appoint its own man to run t. V. Three the publicly funded broadcaster in catalonia t. V. Three and its sister news Channel Three twenty four have a clear Pro Independence bytes reflecting the position of catalonian president colace. Three twenty four is not above taking the story from referendum day and decorating it with a rousing soundtrack taking dramatic license melo dramatic license with the name. Absolutely you respond in a way that i think. Professionally that. You believe in a sort of in a. Professional. Even more than. When put someone came to my work into january two thousand and sixteen one of his friends and actually former miss new partner was appointed director of the catalan brain this year actually. Very proud independent movement journalist west point the rector of the Catalan Television the current director of the t. V. He was the chief Information Officer of. The thailand but the the popular meaning that he has a clear political profile. And the consequence is what we have no idea. If you look at the government in madrid made a mistake putting the Party Faithful in charge of the state broadcaster it wasnt just that they were jeopardizing a basic civil right they were compromising a public service. Its a service that belongs to the people that is paid for by the people. Many of the staff for t. V. Have complained about the polarization of the news and their loss of audience it shows that people have noticed what is happening there and the vacuum left by t. V. Is being filled by last dollars that i dont understand the last sixteen. Is a privately owned center left channel that launched just over a decade ago and has seen its audience share explode from six percent to twenty five percent compared to t. V. And t. V. Three its approach to this story has been much more balanced. They have tried to be what they see there to be neutral and theyve got attacks by the most independent. Right. But also by the most conservative sectors of our society of particular interest is that position often very powerful large twenty percent and then you go but i mean. Youre not one of the algorithm enough in the court system. He doesnt share of the independent these nor devastation of. Government of madrid and hes been accused by both sides of being. Precisely a new trial. One final point on t. V. For the second straight week we contacted spains publicly funded broadcaster to give it a chance to respond to its critics once again it declined for all intents and purposes t. V. Is saying of its coverage no comment the way a politician. In front of the video of the future of journalism at least in spain is coming to an end weve reached the stage where journalists are soldiers. Fighting in the trenches working for a particular course when reporting the news journalists should be staters they shouldnt raise any specific flag they should actually raise all of them and be at the service of all of them not just one set of the that the us national or. Other media stories that are on our radar this week stop us if youve heard this one before from facebook were working to fix this issue and deeply regret the confusion this caused or this from google will continue to make algorithmic improvements to prevent this from happening both companies had some explaining to do after torrents of misinformation on that mass shooting in las vegas ricocheted across the web the fake news included details of the shooters identity his political leanings and even what news channels he supposedly favored facebook users were sharing the tiriel from sites that any facebook editor in the us would know are bogus including the notorious gateway pundit as well as the ultra right anonymous image board for a chat and for chance output was also turning up in google searches facebook and google are under increasing scrutiny in the u. S. Over their handling of political advertisements and bogus news during last years president ial Election Campaign one of turkeys leading journalists now living in exile has had an interesting couple of weeks one development could see him extradited back to turkey where hes wanted by the authorities the other could land him the Nobel Peace Prize on september twenty eighth turkish prosecutors urged the government in on korea to issue an arrest warrant through interpol for jan doing the former editor in chief of the newspaper jim hood who is now living in germany prosecutors accused of spreading propaganda for the outlawed p k k the Kurdistan Workers Party in a speech he made last year due in daraa. Said progovernment journalists were colluding with the state by supporting military operations in kurdish areas in Southern Turkey the story of a possible extradition came one day after doing daryn the newspaper he worked for were shortlisted for this years Nobel Peace Prize in india at least a half dozen journalists say they are at risk after being subjected to Death Threats delivered to them on the Whatsapp Messaging Service Deeksha Sharma a reporter for the quint news website says she received multiple messages threatening her with rape and murder after she had written an article in which she urged you tube to take down a rap video that had gone viral one that normalizes raped five others journalists at the hindu newspaper and the t. V. And first post all say they received similar messages from unidentified senders one threat written in hindi referred specifically to a journalist murdered last month after she wrote extensively on the rise of hindu nationalism under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi why was gordie lang cash killed the message asked because she was a journalist she was anti nationalist and anti hindu if anyone dares to write anything against modi or his party they will not be spared they will be eliminated according to a recently published book the ruling b j p party has created an online army of trolls known as yod has warriors who target critical reporting against the Modi Government many of those troll accounts are followed by modi himself for which the Prime Minister has been roundly criticized for South East Asia is a region rich for media watchers this week were looking at vietnam ever since the reunification of north and south back in one thousand nine hundred eighty five the ruling communists of let a one party state and control over the media is near absolute but vietnams bloggers have been putting that control to the test challenging Mainstream Media outlets pushing them to cover topics and issues the party has declared off limits blogs messaging apps and facebook all carry stories. Would otherwise have gone on told and with seventy percent of the population now online the bloggers are finding a ready made audience theyve also attracted the attention and the ire of the authorities facing a mix of old laws and new ones intimidation and close trials many have been disciplined silenced or put away last year alone eighteen bloggers and activists were jailed for listening posts mean actually ravi now in the supine state of vietnams mainstream news media and the governments attempts to silence the countrys bloc. Cuba china north korea vietnam the four surviving one Party Communist states in the world the vietnamese media landscape is both similar to and distinct from those of its coming is contemporary on one hand there are numerous privately owned Media Outlets in vietnam on the other hand however the constitution mandates that all media be strictly controlled by the state the guardians of ownership to quote meet the peoples demand for information serving the course of construction and defense of the fatherland. So how does the state control the media actually there is no prepublication censorship rather we have a model of selfcensorship the editors in chief of all Media Outlets are members of the communist party and are appointed by the state governing body they are responsible for content control the ministry of information and communications does give directions on what new should be delivered and how but these are not rigid directions and sometimes media agencies can negotiate with the state. Because Mainstream Media and vietnam is monopolized by the state independent bloggers play a very Important Role they have in recent years push the boundaries of press freedom and ways it would just not be allowed by the state it has in the long. Actually pushed the Mainstream Media to at least look into directions that they hadnt looked before. One such news story broke just over a year ago in april two thousand and sixteen a toxic waste spill that polluted a long stretch of the accounts for. The story was particularly problematic for the government in hanoi the spill had been caused by a taiwanese steel plant that had been set up as part of a Rapid Industrial Development which one that many had warned was coming at huge environmental and human cost it took a month of bloggers covering fish deaths and protests in the region before Mainstream Media picked up the news. Digest got no dooryard probably got the job on it back over the past decade vietnam has seen a dramatic increase in numbers of Internet Users more than half of the countrys ninety Million People are online many are accessing the web through their phones and one in three vehicle mees is on facebook political blogging however is a dangerous activity. And one high was among the first bloggers in vietnam he taught under the name and soon after he began posting political content he came under official scrutiny after threats intimidation a show trial and six years in jail he was eventually expelled and now lives in exile in the united states. I started blogging around two thousand and six posting photos of my trips across vietnam during my travels i thought of poverty corruption and how local officials abused their power so on my blog i shared some of my political views with my friends we discussed topics relevant to our countrys problems we also started discussing the idea of using blogs for journalism as one of how to break the centralization of power in the state press. And energized a growing legion of bloggers in vietnam we spoke with one of them via wats up. We have not used her name here out of concern for her safety she spoke to us about the impact we end had on her and other bloggers. And its very very scary. And. He was first arrested on trumped up tax evasion charges in two thousand and eight and held for four years and right when he was going to be released they threw new charges and the state charges at him and while in prison he suffered extraordinary abuses now that hes been released has been able to relate just exactly how Political Prisoners are treated in vietnam and its its among the most abysmal in the region. The latest figures for bloggers behind bars comes from a two thousand and fifteen study produced by the washington based National Endowment for democracy it lists eighteen bloggers and online activists in jail the include human rights blogger. Took sentenced to sixteen years on charges of conducting propaganda against the state also on the list was when whose blog sam was one of the most popular in the country with several million followers he has been in prison since two thousand and thirteen without trial since that two thousand and fifteen study other bloggers have been imprisoned or not you coin wrote on social issues and was among those to write about last years toxic waste spill she was arrested eight months ago accused of propagandizing against the state and now its a trial the authorities are yet to set a date for and just two months ago another two bloggers hongbin and two enough would also arrested. Laws governing online media are numerous and vague control of the internet is tight with access to many websites blocked behind what has come to be known as the bamboo firewall online content is closely monitored for postings on readline topics. The valid i get to boot topics are actually not that obvious it depends on the timing and perceived impact of the topics for example back in two thousand and twelve a farmer shot and injured six policemen who had come to a victim from his land surprisingly many mainstream outlets covered the incident they even supported the farmer look at the media do that well it makes me think the authorities have a certain flexibility if they think the media dialogue can help promote issues of governance of course i do see other cases for instance collective land disputes which could spark big protests against the governments in those cases the media would be much more reserved and live and you have a. Sensitive issues according to the state include the treatment of detainees by plates for example when police beat people to death with a Police Station if dories would be absolutely perhaps are also cases of coersion when the state is taking land from farmers and they protest such information could only reach the people through bloggers willing to write about such matters and. Many of vietnams bloggers now write on facebook and the authorities have followed them there the government speeches access to the social media site on and off at will in may this year facebooks head of Global Policy management met with vietnams minister of information and communications bichon agreement for facebook to coordinate with vietnamese officials to limit quote illegal and offensive material for vietnams bloggers the net is tightening the problem is that as independent bloggers have gained prominence the state has struck back and increasingly where you probably had a much more vigorous blogging environment say two thousand and nine two thousand and ten when the authorities were still a bit slow on the uptake over the last six or seven years right theres been this Vigorous Campaign to harass to surveil and in instances jay. Some of these independent voices let you but what if you like your political cake for the sake of their interesting film a few i mean if. They feel. You have. To say what you want to thank you like im more like oh so you can feel like lecturing others but the Police Station and you have to ask that question exist to give. You the ball let me ask you. If your facebook account. That much they were betting you would let many things like your life your family life your. Life your business if they were trying to find some way to let you. Finally that dreadful shooting in las vegas this past week the left roughly sixty people dead and another five hundred injured its the kind of story that drives the u. S. Gun control debate to the top of the news agenda for a few days at least and silences again temporarily the powerful pro firearms lobby group the National Rifle association at times like this the n. R. A. Tends to lie low to let the media storm pass were ending our program with an example of what the n. R. A. Usually does on behalf of american gun owners and online video posted four months ago thats basically a call to arms were going to cut the ad with a few comments disarming once from people who arent buying what the n. R. A. Is selling well see you next time youre at the listening. They use their media to assassinate real news they use their schools to teach children that their president is another hitler they use their movie stars and singers and comedy shows and award shows to repeat their narrative over and over again. And then they use their acts president to endorse the resistance all to make them march make them protest make them scream racism and sexism and seen a phobia and homophobia. Just smash windows burn cars shut down interstates and airports bully and terrorize the law abiding until the only option left is for the police to do their jobs and stop the madness. And when that happens theyll use it as an excuse for their outrage the only way we stop this the only way we save our country and our freedom is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth. Michael phelps little the capitol which microcredit. When nature is transformed into a commodity big business takes a new interest and landscapes protecting landscapes its a phenomenal opportunity to be able to use a Business Model to shave sustainability of nature but at what risk banks of course dont do that because they have the heart protection of nature to do that because they see a business that pricing the planet as this time on aljazeera. With bureaus running Six Continents across the deep. The stories they tell. About it. Or is it when theyre on line we were in hurricane winds for almost like thirty six hours these are the things that has to address or if you join us on sat. But. This is a dialogue tweet us with hash tag eight a stream and one of your pitches might make the next show join the global conversation at this time on aljazeera when the news breaks. And the story builds. Much better marketers. When people need to be heard they thought they were american until they broke the law now theyre deported to cambodia aljazeera has teams on the ground to bring you more winning documentaries and live news on air and on line i really felt liberated as a journalist was. Getting to the truth as i would thats what his job. The u. N. Demands myanma humanitarian access to rock state as expects even more refugees to flee violence
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