The ShootOut, The Agent and The Media

Listening Post Looks At The Case Of Raymond Davis, The American CIA Operative Who Shot Two Men In Pakistan.

Last Modified: 05 Mar 2011 11:01 GMT
Courtesy Of "Al-Jazeera"



On this week's episode of Listening Post: Pakistan - the shootout, the American agent and the media that hid his CIA affiliation. And a New York-based website challenging mainstream media in Nigeria.

In late January Raymond Davis, an American working in Pakistan, allegedly shot and killed two men who he claimed were trying to rob him. Soon after the shooting it emerged in the Pakistani media that Davis was a CIA operative, but that information did not surface in the US media until weeks later. That is because - at the behest of the US government - many media outlets there withheld that information. It was not until the UK's Guardian newspaper reported that Davis worked for the CIA that the US media began acknowledging it.

Our news divide this week not only looks at the coverage of this story but the journalistic ethics involved because what for one nation's media is a matter of national security, is a breaking news story in another.

Quick hits from the world of Newsbytes: China comes down hard on journalists and bloggers trying to cover the Jasmine revolution; journalists are attacked, arrested and have their offices raided during Iraq's 'Day of Rage'; eight opposition newspapers in Cote d'Ivoire suspend publication indefinitely; and Bradley Manning, the US soldier accused of leaking state documents to Wikileaks, is charged with 22 more offences.

Nigerians will be heading to the polls next month and the media there have been struggling to cover the campaign. The Nigerian media market is dominated by politicians and influential businessmen and, as a result, news consumers have been denied fair and balanced news coverage. But this gap is being filled by a New York-based website called Sahara Reporters.

Founded five years ago by Omoyele Sowore, the website publishes stories from citizens living in Nigeria that have been ruffling the feathers of some of the country's elite. Listening Post's Meenakshi Ravi looks at a citizen journalism website that is not only breaking news but making news.

There is a term for the generic footage you often see wallpapering TV programmes these days. It is called B-roll and can be anything from scenic landscape shots to market stalls. Sometimes production companies shoot their own B-roll, sometimes they buy it. Our web video of the week is a spoof sales pitch from a fake production company, peddling footage that looks kind of familiar. We hope you enjoy the show.