Al Gore

Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth has skyrocketed his popularity

On Listening Post this week host Richard Gizbert looks at how a documentary on global warming transformed Al Gore from a runner up in the United States presidential race to a Nobel Peace Prize-winning celebrity activist.

 

We also look at the failures of Western and Arab media in covering the crisis in Darfur. Plus how Microsoft’s latest video game, Halo 3, is stealing Hollywood’s thunder.

 

Headlining this episode is an in-depth look at Al Gore’s documentary An Inconvenient Truth and its role in propelling its star to Academy Award and Nobel Prize-winning fame.

 

The film attracted attention first from the online community and soon after from the mainstream media. Bouquets and brickbats were hurled at the documentary and its presenter. Critics claimed it was too political and contained scientific inaccuracies. But fans praised the film for its clear and powerful argument.

 

Ultimately, An Inconvenient Truth has become a powerful tool for environmental campaigners in spreading the word about climate change. It has also skyrocketed Al Gore’s popularity fuelling media speculation that he may run for president again.

 

According to the UN, Darfur is a “picture of hell on earth”

Also this week, we shine a spotlight on the media coverage of the crisis in Darfur. According to the UN, Darfur is a “picture of hell on earth”. The conflict has claimed the lives of over 200,000 while millions more people have been made refugees.

 

The story receives sporadic coverage in the Western media, which focuses on the atrocities without always attempting to put them into context. However the story is largely ignored in the Arab media.

 

Sudan is 40 per cent Arab and Arabs are at the heart of this conflict but for many in the Arab world, the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur does not exist. Salah Khadr speaks to journalists and media analysts in the Middle East to find out why Darfur has been left off the news agenda there.

 

Saif Aldin was the 26th media worker killed in Iraq this year

In our Newsbytes section we take you on a quick spin through some recent media happenings. Saif Aldin, an Iraqi journalist working for the Washington Post, was the 26th media worker to be killed in Iraq this year.

 

A journalist reporting for Iran’s Press TV claimed that American forces had tortured him for criticising their role in Afghanistan. And the release of a new Microsoft video game called Halo 3 is being blamed for a slump in US box office takings.

 

The Chinese are deadly serious about it, and that is what makes it so funny. This clip from Chinese television shows the opening of the Communist Party’s Annual Congress, and the guest list is a quite a mouthful for the presenter.

 

Finally, our video of the week is a viral ad from Germany. It was an award winner at Cannes and has had around 900,000 hits online.