The long-running conflict between
Saudi Arabia and
Iran reached new heights this week after the kingdom severed diplomatic relations with
Tehran.
The diplomatic rupture, which has heightened tensions in the
Middle East, came after
Saudi executed 47 people on January 2, including a prominent
Shia cleric -
Nimr al-Nimr.
Within hours of the death sentence being carried out,
Iranian protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and started fires.
Iranian media had depicted Nimr as a peaceful dissident, and the execution as a provocative act. In Saudi Arabia, the national security narrative prevailed - Nimr's execution was justified as part of its "war on terrorism".
The coverage in both countries and the international media, has since played up a sectarian divide - one that pits
Sunni versus Shia - however this simplified binary fails to address the larger geopolitical issues involved.
Talking us through this geopolitical media battle are:
Mohammed Alyahya, research fellow at the
Gulf Research Centre;
Borzou Daragahi, the Middle East correspondent for BuzzFeed
News; journalist and author
Azadeh Moaveni; and
Salman Aldossary, editor-in-chief of the Saudi
Asharq Al-Aswat newspaper.
Other stories on our radar this week: In
Bangladesh, a court sentences two men to death for the murder of a secular blogger back in
2013; after nearly four months in a
Turkish prison,
Vice News journalist
Mohammed Rasool has been released on bail; in
Poland, the passing of a new media law has prompted resignations from senior journalists and complaints from press freedom groups and
China has expelled a
French journalist amid accusations that her article supported terrorism.
US elections and 'horse race journalism'
In the US, the race for the
White House is well under way and some news outlets have succumbed to syndrome known as "horse race journalism". This is when journalists focus on candidates' polling positions rather than their policies.
This coverage can leave voters uninformed, however for candidates doing well in the polls this can mean a lot of free publicity.
News editors tend to devote more airtime and column inches to whoever the polls say are leading the race.
The Listening Post's Will Yong looks at the use of polls in the
US presidential election and what gets lost when outlets crunch the numbers more than they do proper journalism
.
In the first few weeks of the year the gym can get rather crowded with all the people trying to achieve their
New Year resolutions of healthier lifestyles and better bodies.
It has become pretty normal human behaviour which may have been the inspiration behind the latest video produced by a US-based health and fitness
YouTube channel called
Buff Dudes.
The video, narrated in the style of a nature documentary, is called Gym
Wildlife and looks at the other kinds of human behaviour on display in gyms. We hope you enjoy the show!
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- published: 09 Jan 2016
- views: 13535