Post: #1

I've heard quite a bit about Al Jazeera. I recentyly started reading its American website. Stuff's damn good...they talk about issues mainstream media won't:

I.e. divorce law and child custody:
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/20...years.html

How welfare breaks up marriages:
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/20...olicy.html

I'm optimistic to see how Al Jazeera America plays out...yeah I get there's a lot of negatives associated with it (not least because of its arabic name), but I imagine if the quality stays good, more and more people will tune into it instead of the crap CNN etc. have become.

Post: #2

Al Jazeera America is lame. Decent by American media standards, but lame.

I loved Al Jazeera English. I've been following their Youtube channel for several years now. It is my main source of news. I love it primarily because it is the only source from which I can get quality and extensive video coverage daily on a range of issues.

One minute I'm watching a story about Pakistanis dealing with inflation. The next I'm checking out a story on a luxury housing boom in Kenya (who knew?). Then I'm in Latin America hearing about roaming mobs looting in Argentina and fish farms in Chile. This is the kind of news I love: truly international, always high quality. And there was TONS of it: over 45,000 videos on YouTube and a livestream that was always running.

The Al Jazeera America experiment killed this great source of news. Once it went live, Al Jazeera English geo-blocked its youtube and main international sites to American viewers. The content on Al Jazeera America is significantly watered down - there is MUCH less of it and its focus is less international. Better than most mainstream American news providers, but not as good as what we had.

For this reason, I'm not a fan of Al Jazeera America and do not watch or read it. I've went out of my way to get access to Al Jazeera English again and, thanks to a VPN, I can now bypass the geo-block (they think I'm Danish - LOL) and enjoy great coverage on Al Jazeera English's Youtube channel and their main site. I'm better for it.

Post: #3

(01-16-2014 01:55 PM)Athlone McGinnis Wrote:  Al Jazeera America is lame. Decent by American media standards, but lame.

I was immediately going to make this same post when I initially saw the thread but didn't want to bother. I was accustomed to AJE for years as well, until AJA's TV launch cutoff my AJE channel (only DC and Vermont had AJE access via TV). The American format is totally different and watered down for a mainstream US audience. You'll never see the kind of bold programming like this classic interview AJE did with Donald Rumsfled:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talk...16261.html

What made AJE (English and Europe) so remarkable was it captured a nuance about international perspectives that you simply don't get in American mainstream news television.

For example, the whole world pretty much disagrees with America's stance on many of its foreign policy positions (Middle East wars, Israel, etc). You see this all the time when UN bodies vote on these matters. Al Jazeera was really good at expressing that nuance, especially from the view of people on the street in various countries.

They also have interesting documentaries and programs. Where else are you going to learn about Congo's symphony orchestra? Or programs like Livestream where viewers can tweet questions to panels about very specific topics in countries that rarely get international coverage.

Sadly, AJ had to make a compromise to get access to US markets. The Bush administration tried its best to ridiculously associate the network with terrorism (something they later retracted). Big media conglomerates (i.e. Time Warner) were forced to abandon all ties to the network as it entered the US market due to widespread ignorance about it from angry and misinformed Americans.

Post: #4

Al Jazeera - a great international news organization since 1996 - is forced to dumb down their news for America. The United States is a market of idiots apparently... hardly the voice of democracy and freedom.

Post: #5

Quote:Al Jazeera America is lame. Decent by American media standards, but lame.

This is a sad commentary in so many ways.

Post: #6

Here's a quick anecdote - During the 2003 invasion of Iraq I turned to Al Jazeera Online for a non-US perspective. I'll never forget how the site was blocked in the U.S. after the convoy with the all-American girl Jessica Lynch was ambushed. The NY Times reported how Private Lynch heroically fought off and killed some of the attackers. She was taken prisoner only after she ran out of ammo. This played well to the feminists and served as "proof" that a woman was every bit as capable of heroics as a male soldier. While being held captive by the evil Iraqis, a rescue mission was launched and U.S. special forces retrieved the "hero" just in time for a hometown parade and requisite TV interviews.

The truth was different. Very different. Pvt. Lynch was knocked unconscious and later woke up in a hospital without any recollection of the fight. Iraqi doctors made at least two attempts to deliver her to the American lines, however, they were forced to retreat after being shot at by American troops.

Had Al Jazeera been accessible at the time, it's unlikely the U.S. media would have been able to fabricate this story.

On the other hand, Al Jazeera is owned by the Qatari government. Thus it's wise to view all perspectives with some skepticism.
______________________________

Confucius says: "Woman who puts man in doghouse, soon finds man in cathouse."

Post: #7

(01-16-2014 05:24 PM)birdie num num Wrote:  On the other hand, Al Jazeera is owned by the Qatari government. Thus it's wise to view all perspectives with some skepticism.

Yes, I've noticed they do a lot of anti-fracking stories. They might be true or not, but they definately play into preserving Qatar's market for gas exports.

They also play the Sunni line on the Syria crisis. Then again, so does CNN.

Post: #8

Al Jazeera is for bored, married women.

If you are pressed for time, section V is the most important.

Post: #9

(01-16-2014 06:37 PM)Sp5 Wrote:  

(01-16-2014 05:24 PM)birdie num num Wrote:  On the other hand, Al Jazeera is owned by the Qatari government. Thus it's wise to view all perspectives with some skepticism.

Yes, I've noticed they do a lot of anti-fracking stories. They might be true or not, but they definately play into preserving Qatar's market for gas exports.

They also play the Sunni line on the Syria crisis. Then again, so does CNN.

Yeah. They lost a lot of cred during the "Arab Spring."

Post: #10

There are nuances to this.

Al Jazeera has different "versions" that are marketed to different audiences. Each should be considered on its own merits, or lack thereof.

The original Al Jazeera Arabic is designed for consumption by Arabic speakers in the Middle East, and on the whole delivers a very good product, by the standards of the region. Its appearance in the late 1990s was nothing less than revolutionary, for several reasons. It covered subjects no other station would cover, and it had a frank pan-Arab flavor that had appeal from Al Maghrib (Morocco) to the Gulf. It had immense influence, even on the language. It helped shape a standardized formal Arabic news style that has been often imitated. But it often found itself embroiled in controversy, as any good news service should. I follow its website and like it very much. But it's in Arabic only.

I should add that one must keep in mind that its bills are paid for by the Qatari emir, and so it has an establishment, conservative, vaguely pro-Sunni flavor that to me can be off-putting. But this can be balanced out by following Arabic language sites from opposite perspectives.

Al Jazeera English (the international, 24 hour, English language satellite station out of Doha, Qatar) is marketed for an international audience. To me it feels a lot like the BBC. Professional, stimulating, and well-rounded, its hard to go wrong with this one.

Al Jazeera America (the American cable news channel) was the company's attempt to capture a slice of the "international news" market in the US. As far as I can tell, it just has a focus on stuff that would be perceived to be of interest to Americans. It's frankly targeted for the American viewer.

There are other Arabic language sites that can fill in the holes left by Al Jazeera. Some I like, some I don't:

1. Al Arabiya. I hate this site, as it's run by the Saudi government, and shows its bias nearly every story. Sunni, pro-Gulf, the usual story.

2. An Nahar. Lebanon's best news site. I like these guys.

3. Al Hayat. Another mainstream establishment news site, pretty good.

4. Al Alam. This is Iran's Arabic language news site. The Iranians kowtow to no one. Got to love that. They put it right in your face. Stridently anti-American, anti-Israel, presents the news from the perspective of the "resistance". I have a soft spot for this site. Sometimes it's nice to hear someone say what no one else has the guts to say. And they definitely do....

5. Al Manar. This is the site run by the "resistance" in Lebanon. It's Hezbollah's site. It was frankly anti-Israel, pro-resistance, and very well presented. Maybe that's why it got censored. I used to watch their satellite channel in years past, before it got blocked in North America. What I like about these guys is that the message is right there, no hedging, no apologies, no equivocation. I remember the hilarious children's shows, which were just...unique, to say the least. I don't like their website very much. Lots of bullshit. The television station was better.

6. BBC Arabic. A fantastic site. I listen to these guys all the time. The oldest and most distinguished of the "good" sites.

I should say that I also like to look at Debka File, which is basically a propaganda arm of the Israeli army. They report rumors and propaganda (who doesn't?), but it's nice to hear what the Israeli military's opinion is on things.

Post: #11

(01-16-2014 10:40 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  I should add that one must keep in mind that its bills are paid for by the Qatari emir, and so it has an establishment, conservative, vaguely pro-Sunni flavor that to me can be off-putting. But this can be balanced out by following Arabic language sites from opposite perspectives.

One alternative is Press TV - Iran's English-language programming. They have a very robust news operation and are similar to RT in their cynical stance about the west, less balanced than AJ. The Press TV channel used to be on Dish Network until the sanctions went into effect. Even the website was blocked in the US, but that's recently been lifted.

The Press TV channel on YouTube has a lot of good content, especially the documentaries and specials.

Post: #12

Nice to see people treatning Al Jazeera fairly here.

I was reading it in class once and this chick acted like she caught me reading Nazi websites. "Its so biased!" "Have you ever read it?" "No I would never read it, its so biased!"

Post: #13

My dad likes watching this channel instead of the BBC.

Any idea how Al Jazeera is funded? It never seems to have adverts on, at least in the parts of the world I've watched it.

Post: #14

(01-17-2014 09:53 AM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

(01-16-2014 10:40 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:  I should add that one must keep in mind that its bills are paid for by the Qatari emir, and so it has an establishment, conservative, vaguely pro-Sunni flavor that to me can be off-putting. But this can be balanced out by following Arabic language sites from opposite perspectives.

One alternative is Press TV - Iran's English-language programming. They have a very robust news operation and are similar to RT in their cynical stance about the west, less balanced than AJ. The Press TV channel used to be on Dish Network until the sanctions went into effect. Even the website was blocked in the US, but that's recently been lifted.

The Press TV channel on YouTube has a lot of good content, especially the documentaries and specials.

Hen:
Yeah, Press TV is hilarious...I do have it bookmarked and check in with them from time to time. Sometimes it's nice to get a full blast of hardline stuff...straight, no chaser.
I really do miss the Al Manar station, definitely....! Parades, cartoons, songs, the whole works...
I also check in with RT from time to time. Pretty good too.

QC

Post: #15

(01-17-2014 10:55 AM)TopPanda Wrote:  My dad likes watching this channel instead of the BBC.

Any idea how Al Jazeera is funded? It never seems to have adverts on, at least in the parts of the world I've watched it.

The Qatari emir and his family/clan funds it.

Post: #16

CNN International is pretty good too. That's the default CNN in every other country. It's interesting how much more global the news programming is abroad. Even CNN Intl's Youtube vids are blocked from within the country. Anyone know how to get around that?

Post: #17

(01-16-2014 06:59 PM)2Wycked Wrote:  Al Jazeera is for bored, married women.

If you are pressed for time, section V is the most important.

That's a great article.

Quote:The shut down was the inevitable consequence of a government not permitted to compromise, smothered by the oppressive gaze of a kamikaze media that will kill itself and your country just to get a headline today. I'm starting to wonder if the reason it is always pretty white girls who get kidnapped is that the media is the one kidnapping them. And you blamed Bear Stearns for being too focused on short term profits?

All media is pushing an agenda. If it's not overt editorial policy it's pressure from advertisers, and if it's not that, it's covert pressure being afraid of their advertisers. Even NPR can't get past it because they're afraid of pissing off their supporter base.