Aljazeera after the listening post keep it or. Its u. S. President donald trump visit to asia the goal is to forge relations and strengthen the resolve to confront the threat from north korea but what impact could this visit really have well be live across asia to bring you the very latest coverage on aljazeera. It is a landmark moment in the investigation russian. Action for you dont want time during which rain they could get. Around. My area no. Hello im richard yes but if youre at the listening post here are some of the media stories were covering this week indictments in washington and the russia factor in the trump election story its a ball of confusion thats what the white house wants and what some news outlets deliver loading up with rubber bullets journalists at one newspaper in moscow will be issued guns to protect themselves the aftermath of the referendum in kurdistan sees one journalist killed others have been targeted freedom of the press in eritrea is virtually nonexistent and by trying to tell the story from a far radio has become part of it weve been producing the listening post for almost eleven years now and we have probably reported on fox news Rupert MurdochsAmerican News channel more than any other news outlet anywhere and even we were unprepared for what we saw this past week foxs socalled coverage of the indictments in washington the possible impact on Donald Trumps presidency as its competitors focused on the news fox downplayed it directing its attention to Hillary Clinton questioning the integrity of the investigator even making time for feature stories on a mode and how to wean candies people forget but this is a network thats made a habit out of creating and building up bogeyman overseas it took. And look at the russian angle in this story and basically concluded nothing to see here fox was quite flagrantly echoing the same line thats been coming out of the white house a blend of diversion distraction and denial blurring the line between truth and falsehood real news and fake the apparent end game being helping this president take back control of the political narrative our starting point this week is washington d. C. The first to die on National Council rob because investigation has just been revealed this is an important story dealing with the legitimacy of the Trump Presidency. Actually decades in prison for the crimes for Campaign Chair paul metaphor and documents have been handed down a guilty plea had been entered or coming up on it right now that he lied about his contacts with people in russia one set of facts that were clear and not open to interpretation. Wrong. And the big question. On this even happened is any of this even happened after they happened during his months with president fox and friends happens to be the favorite morning show of donald trump just because you were indicted doesnt mean youre guilty of anything and you have a chance to find out what they are going to be about the defense its really remarkable to see the beholder how the. Stories that are widely circulated in the rest of the media and put up stories. That are really favorable to whatever happens today with him on the investigation really no that has anything to do with the campaign what happened today why is that hillary or her campaign in the d. N. C. Why arent they getting investigated for the you know from the president s twitter feed that he was watching fox and friends and its a bit you know they have a very important member of their audience and theyre responding to that to a certain extent not only did they spend a good amount of time downplaying the allegations motherhood made but they also found time to discuss any number of other stories. Causing a frenzy online from hamburger im o. G. s to. This is what fox news does this was a more embarrassing case but it is what the channel typically does it always has. Other murdoch owned Media Outlets that havent always been on the trump bandwagon are now climbing on board eight months ago the wall street journal published an editorial questioning the president s credibility calling trump his own worst political enemy and saying of his obsession with socalled fake news that if he doesnt show more respect for the truth most americans may conclude hes a fake president something has clearly changed just prior to the indictments being made public the journal published pro trump editorials including one targeting the credibility of chief investigator Robert Muller calling for his resignation. I find nothing to that story. Predictable and it is a ball. To do his bidding for him. And his allies realize that it would result in real drastic consequences for troops over the next best thing is to try to disqualify right now i dont think thats working either i thought it was a important signal because the wall street journal earlier on in the Trump Presidency had been pretty critical called out his behavior misconducts and so then it tauriel seemed like a seminal turning point a very noticeable pivot toward trump and in an effort to protect him. And this is really the wall street journal which is owned by Rupert Murdoch taking the line that fox news another property and by Rupert Murdoch has taken. The message from the top is the party line trumps line murdoch speaks with trump they have a pretty close relationship and so this is kind of a message that were taking trumps line and when i say the New York Times with. Much of what pro trump elements in the u. S. News media have produced on the indictments there strange obsession with Hillary Clinton included seems designed to so uncertainty in the minds of americans on a story that was already complicated and journalists from other outlets in there is evil to get to the bottom of the story may have unwittingly done the same thing by conflating one story with another the charges against trumps one Time Campaign manager paul manifold for Money Laundering and fraud all relate to overseas transactions that occurred before he was hired by trump in two thousand and sixteen another Campaign Aide charged George Papadopoulos tried to set up a meeting between trump and lattimer putin but it never happened it is not clear whether either case has anything to do with the other russia angle out there the allegations as yet unproven that the kremlin somehow colluded with the Trump Campaign during last years election. When we talk about collusion with russia were talking about the way that russia undoubtedly acted to benefit Trumps Campaign in the way that trump openly called on russia to take action to help his Campaign Russia if youre listening i hope you are able to find thirty thousand emails that are missing i think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. About a series of communications between the Trump Campaign. And people working with russia. Against man a ford and gates dont really get to that level of rational collusion there is a real danger of conflating this with things that both trump personally has done and with things that relate directly to man a for its activities when he was on the campaign the fact that you do have trumps Campaign Chairman in a courthouse pleading not guilty to charges that involve russia to a certain degree means that its still a story but it doesnt mean that President Trump called the plot a mere putin and said how do we fix this election this goal of proving collusion is kind of being and such a overarching theme in the media in some ways it plays in the right wing medias own narrative there is zero evidence of trumped russia collusion and zero evidence of Campaign Collusion and in spite of all of that the media has been lying to you all day and all weekend long because well if they dont prove the trump and putin shook hands and you know pass messages or something then the whole thing has been a goose chase and i think thats thats a danger that the mainstream press. Has been playing into with some of its coverage. With each passing political story american journalism seems to grow more polarized fox news which has never really been fair or balanced how did itself a caricature of itself on this story brazen President Trump argue c. N. N. And the New York Times do the same thing on the other side a false equivalence if ever there was one another fake take on the news and media consumers because its never been easier to hunker down in the comfort of their own echo chambers rarely venture out to a place a site a channel where their beliefs might actually be questioned. Theres a tremendous sort of speaking of a quiet issue in all the journalism thats being done right now you work really hard on the story and. And you wonder if you not just fully cemented the beliefs of people who already share the same sentiment conservatives have spent decades building a parallel news apparatus in order to ensure that conservatives have an entirely different set of facts than those that everybody else gets. And what that means is you have a large group of people that are being fundamentally and deliberately confused about what is going on the one hundred one thats pretty dangerous and it could be moving us in a fairly scary direction. Other media stories that are on our radar this week you know that press freedom is in a dire state when a newspaper feels the need to arm its reporters for their own safety which is exactly what happened in russia this past week the paper is no via gives yet one of the relatively few news outlets in russia still willing to openly criticize the kremlin and president Vladimir Putin editor dmitri murat off said he intends to arm his reporters with guns capable of firing rubber bullets to protect them the announcement comes days after Tatiana Felgenhauer a reporter at radio echo moscow was stabbed in the neck inside her own station an attack she survived independent journalists not toeing the government line in russia work in a hostile environment and the via gets yet to has been disproportionately affected several of its journalists have been killed over the past few years or have died under mysterious circumstances the murder in two thousand and six of Anna Politkovskaya a noted critic of the kremlin remains one of the most the tory assassinations in modern day russia the kremlin is often accused of failing to adequately respond to attacks against journalists thereby creating a climate of impunity in iraq kurdish media workers have been targeted as political temperatures there rise following a bid for independence on october. Thirtieth at a concert a kurdish camera man working for kurdistan t. V. Was stabbed to death by a number of men south of kirkuk kurdistan t. V. Which is affiliated with one of the regions main Political Parties the k d p has been covering alleged human rights abuses by iraqi progovernment forces and has also been reporting on clashes between kurdish and iraqi fighters a day earlier a mob attacked Television Crews from two other kurdish broadcasters n. R. T. And can and in the kurdistan Region Capital airfield. In baghdad the Iraqi Commission of media and Communications Order to kurdish satellite channels rudov t. V. And kurdistan twenty four off the air accusing the networks of inciting violence and undermining peace and security the turkish authorities are similarly inclined on corrupt has ordered the countrys main satellite provider turks out to take the channels down over allegations that the stations promoted kurdish independence me and martial signs of losing patience with journalists working for Foreign News Outlets on the row hinge or refugee story recently arresting two reporters working for turkeys state owned broadcaster t. R. T. Lau hawn mang from singapore and mocked choi lin from malaysia as well as their birthdays colleagues on nane so and locked in were arrested for breaching import laws by bringing a drone into the country without a license an offense punishable by three years in prison relations between me and maher and turkey have soured with turkeys president regift heir to want to kucing the me and maher government of carrying out a genocide against their own hinge a Muslim Minority over the past two months more than six hundred thousand have fled to neighboring bangladesh to escape what the un has described as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing nian maher have made significant progress on press freedom since the end of military rule in two thousand and eleven however with several journalists arrested this year and the government strictly controlling the coverage of the royal hinges there are tangible signs of those freedoms eroding. Every year the french Media Watchdog GroupReporters Without Borders ranks countries in its index on press freedom eritrea has consistently been at the very bottom of that list the worst of the worst until this past year when it rose by one spot above north korea there was only state run media operating within the country so many eritreans have grown to rely on a news outlet operating in exile radio a rana is based in france it beings its way home via satellite and shortwave the station has come to provide a lifeline for the five thousand refugees fleeing eritrea every month many of those refugees are kidnapped by human traffickers along the way held for ransom for them radio a run up place two rolls one part news source one part Hostage Negotiator before we show you this report know this we approached eritrean officials in the capital as well as london and new york to get their side of the story none of them chose to comment the listening posts nick nor had now on the state of the media in eritrea and radio around of the news outlet on the outside trying to make a difference. And now. They need to. Draw. With. Him. This is male and its the phone shes a human rights and it janice the radio. On her show forces of ever trying. To find us highlights the plight of those who have fled. Country and in. A big part of. The stand why eritrean refugees call a journalist in sweden when their loved ones are held for ransom in north africa. The story of a. After thirty year war of independence. The new president. For twenty six years. Keep the country on a war footing in two thousand. And began expelling from correspondents until none were left in the country. That remained with state media. The government. Wanted to. Give the country. Something. So. People are very in. Any meaningful journalism in eritrea tends to happen from outside of the country which is why weve. Had. It was set up in two thousand and nine by a group of exiled journalists who used to work for state media now from the safety of france they can cover issues like Immigration National service and the constitution. Radio ever know were set up with Financial Assistance from the Media Watchdog GroupReporters Without Borders according to Research Conducted by the media defendant group torture of el academia is now the second most recent to Radio Station in eritrea behind only the staple cost. People are. Of course we booked as of last night to light and shortwave insight the only channel you get is the government and media of course the. C. N. N. And other media as you dont find them on. Sites and generals but not in their own language not in doing we also dream online for trends outside the tent which is our second target audience most of the news that they did an upper crust. By the local media. From other sources thats how. Theyre trained produces an estimated five thousand refugees a month from many radio is their primary source of information and can mean the difference between life and death. They face different challenges along the way so radio tries to produce coverage that will help them at every stage. Different. From those who are inside. The heart the danger they face if they try to. Reach their missions we try to give them information like. Life for those who are on the road they do face the biggest challenge. As radio erno was Getting Started a disturbing trend was developing along one of the main escape routes. In the sudanese and egyptian days its refugees were being kidnapped by a human traffickers and held for ransom they would be given a mobile phone and told to call relatives and beg for money families that did not pay would have to listen to their loved ones being tortured repeatedly as the human traffickers tried to extort their ransom which is where as the finest comes in as one of the only journalists covering the story the victims and those trying to set them free started calling her for help she became a go between as a journalist as the finest would shine a light on individual cases and as an activist she would help raise the money to pay their rents which raises the ongoing debate over whether in. To pay ransoms but in this case its hard to argue. The people that i was talking to on a daily basis kept dying one by one i felt helpless i did not have that kind of money and then id like to there were two twenty nine twenty eight men one woman young woman who was eighteen at the time and her story really touched me and everybody was saying we understand like you cannot raise money for twenty nine people but can you at least save this curve. Because for them it was too much to see their sister that. Was being raped downgrade front of everybody and help her she doesnt have anybody she comes from a viewpoint family so that kind of motivated me to raise money so i did not hear that idea or not but social media saying that you heard in my program isnt this kind of positions our listeners are. What sets the eritrean refugees story apart is that they are not feeling a war but the byproduct of a mandatory National Service was introduced to rebuild the country off the air trans war with. The terms are meant to be eighteen months but Amnesty International can be indefinite often last decades in our form of forced labor which the government denies but most eritrean refugees will tell you its why they fled the country. Two years ago the. Foreign aid to eritrea to two hundred thirty seven Million Dollars to keep. The money came with the vague proviso that eritrea would improve its track record on human rights. However when a france twenty four crew was going to drag access to the country last year it managed to share through an unscheduled stop on its guided that the practice of indefinite National Service continues theres no limit that they were not paid and they dont give us anything is the military service they are trained to listen to radio air and will know the horrors that await them if they flee the country but still they choose to leave which should tell you all you need to know about life inside their travel but despite this journalist is asking them to stay migration is not the solution. Is not going to change anything i strongly believe that i try to talk as much about this issue but the kidnapping so that people dont even attempt like whatever is making you happy try to change it in your country but if this is what will happen to you so discouraging people from fleeing from your child this is one of the things that i fight for. Insane. People are afraid of talking and theres mistrust between colleagues neighbors friends what we created is people start to talk what they hear. From. You so you Start Talking about some issues there youre Building Trust i think as a local party. Finally in our lead story we look at fox news in particular its early show fox and friends and how its grown into Donald Trumps morning media bubble of choice never mind that one anchor at c. N. N. Has taken to calling fox state t. V. Trump frequently tweets his approval of the morning show which must mean the world to them will leave you now with a compilation of clips to give you an idea of what makes fox and friends breakfast t. V. Fit for a president well see you next time youre listening post. Match up to the twenty one thousand bombing today with thousand pound bomb explodes in the afghanistan pakistan region it took me two or three blocks before i found a woman and found a white person thats kind of the dodgy areas of from just an aside to the Muslim Community if you dont want to be portrayed in a negative light maybe dont burn people alive and set off bombs and let me just ask any of you concerned that President Trump his campaign colluded with russia to get elected now i dont want that happen now that generally the man is the alpha and the woman is the beta so thats how all almost all relationships start right you as a man make the phone call you pick up you pay the bill you actually even ask the woman to marry you this is the least sexist least racist most free most equal most prosperous country in the history of human humankind low. Games and a hooded sweatshirt all right now will you. You think but not as you said earlier you would like to see something covering President Trump just finished the trio tweet you have created me very fairly and ive been a friend of you show for a long time if he doesnt tweet it it doesnt get on with the way it needs to remember those calling. Was to drive the news because the news is being driven against him its actually its actually genius maybe without those calling somebody else with that here. The consequence of. Im not sure who seems rationals he served in the marine corps for ninety one thousand nine hundred ninety five that just doesnt go away its been living out of his truck for the last couple years. Hes homeless. Follows a group of u. S. Army veterans traumatized by war. As they struggle to get their lives back. At this time. Afghanistan has the best geology of both mentally resources and hydrothermal why are they so poor the measure. Would finally form a government of the toxin with the sensationalism the more we would close down the more they push back we knew it was coming the question was do we sit back and wait or do we surprise them with a preemptive strike on the bottom line at this time ill just hear when the news breaks the. Great change. Oh. Yes and the story builds. Much better marketing. 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 the model and Award Winning documentaries and live news on air and online. Cattle and his deposed president as a wanted man after spain issues an international warrant for his arrest for rebellion sedition and misuse of funds