The Listening Post

When fighting broke out a month ago in the world's youngest country, South Sudan, the story was framed as just another tribal power struggle coming out of Africa. A more precise analysis is that the conflict is really political in nature - a fallout between the president and the vice president, with some ethnic elements fighting it out on the ground. Those who are critical of the media say that, when it comes to Africa, all too often international news outlets resort to the same formula - reducing just about any conflict to the tribal level, which seems to explain everything without actually telling us anything. Is there a hierarchy of knowledge in reporting about Africa, with more authority given to international journalists?

Listening Post examines how covering the Muslim Brotherhood has become a minefield for the media. Discussing the latest developments in Egypt's media are: Hugh Miles, the author of Revolution in the Arab World; Sharif Koddous, the correspondent for Democracy Now; Adel Iskander, the author of Egypt in Flux; and Sahar Khamis, a media scholar from the University of Maryland. Also on Listening Post: Nic Muirhead reports on citizen-generated news imagery and the career-ending implications for professional photojournalists.

A look back at the biggest media story of 2013 - Edward Snowden and the NSA surveillance programme. Talking us through this story are three journalists who know the story better than most: James Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory, who has been described by the New Yorker as "the NSA's chief chronicler"; William Arkin, who has been tracking the expansion of the security state in his Top Secret America project; and Holger Stark, a senior correspondent for Der Spiegel, who has collaborated with Greenwald on stories with international implications. Media lawyer, Lynn Oberlander and Amie Stepanovich from the Electronic Privacy Information Center give us further insight. The second half of the programme is dedicated to an interview with one of the leading defenders of government surveillance, former NSA general counsel, Stewart Baker.

Syria, Colombia, Israel and the Philippines - we take a special look at the Listening Post's 2013 highlights.

The Listening Post's producers pick their media stories of 2013.

Listening Post examines the issues behind the global news coverage of Kiev's Euromaidan protests.

Amid accusations of an 'information blockade' we examine the Venezuelan president's relationship with the media. How is he using the airwaves to counter criticism? and how does he even get more airtime than Hugo Chavez?

Listening Post examines the twists and turns of the Thai political story playing out in a factionalised media landscape.

We analyse a new diplomatic discourse in the media following a breakthrough in nuclear proliferation talks.

As Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, we look at the media's role in the aftermath of natural disasters. Talking us through the story this week is Glenda Cooper, a PhD researcher at City University; Jacobo Ocharan, the head of Disaster Management at children's NGO Plan International; Jamela Alin-Dogan, Al Jazeera's correspondent; and Mel Fernandez, the editor of Filipino News.

We delve into the tensions between the Chinese government and the international media outlets that cover it. Talking us through China's balancing act with the global media is Thompson Reuters China correspondent Paul Mooney; Sarah Cook, a senior research fellow at Freedom House; Michel Hock, the director at SOAS China Institute; and Demetri Sevastopulo, the South China regional correspondent for the Financial Times.

We examine why most of the Egyptian media are lining up behind the military government since Morsi was ousted. To discuss the new dynamics of the Egyptian media we speak with Shahira Amin, a former host on Nile TV; Marwa Maziad, a columnist for Al-Masry Al-Youm; Ursula Lindsey from the 'The Arabist' website; and Adel Iskandar, a media scholar at Georgetown University.

What are the Chinese authorities doing to keep rumours in check and the media under control?

We look at the global impact of the Snowden files as the US is heavily criticised for its spying activities. We speak to Le Monde editor Alain Franchon; Julian Borger, the diplomatic editor for the Guardian; national security journalist and author Shane Harris; and roving correspondent for Time Magazine, Vivienne Walt.

How will the battle between two of Britain's newspapers impact the ongoing debate about the future of press regulation? Plus, a look at the professional media pundit and what they tell us about the news industry.