I saw this mentioned on the ticker of Fox News (of all places) last night.
I wonder if it'll be FTA or subscription, like the original Arabic 'mothership' is?
"We will have the same editorial ethic as BBC World but from a non-western base," he said, adding that it wanted to tap into the Muslim market not yet served by al-Jazeera.
"There are millions of non-Arabic speaking Muslims who want to know what all the fuss is about. There are swathes of people across the subcontinent of Asia who only get CNN or BBC and who don't have much empathy for CNN's agenda. The BBC would like to get to them but it doesn't have the money."
Basically, then, al-Jazeera are saying that it is a channel for Muslims who do not speak English, but want to know what the big deal is with the al-Jazeera they have heard so much controversy about...
... and then they go on to say "The new station will not be an English-language version of the Arabic station that has caused so much controversy".
Right.
And why mention Muslims at all? If they are trying to be fair and impartial, there shouldn't even be references to religion; you don't hear CNN saying "oh, we're mainly for Christians, to be honest". The fact that they are already talking about targetting it towards a specific group with specific interests shows that they already have an agenda before the channel has even started.
And why mention Muslims at all? If they are trying to be fair and impartial, there shouldn't even be references to religion; you don't hear CNN saying "oh, we're mainly for Christians, to be honest". The fact that they are already talking about targetting it towards a specific group with specific interests shows that they already have an agenda before the channel has even started.
CNN's coverage of Middle Eastern affairs is a long-standing joke, although not quite as impartial as FNC's.
Cat, every news channel has a bias or agenda - I am sure you have spotted this.
Despite the fact that CNNI markets itself as an international news channel, it is nothing more than reports from around the world with an American-values spin on them. One would have to be blind to miss that.
At least Al-Jazeera English has the honesty to tell its potential viewers beforehand that it will be reporting on the news from a different moral/political standpoint. Hopefully though, it will not be an Arab version of FNC.
CNN's coverage of Middle Eastern affairs is a long-standing joke, although not quite as impartial as FNC's.
Cat, every news channel has a bias or agenda - I am sure you have spotted this.
Despite the fact that CNNI markets itself as an international news channel, it is nothing more than reports from around the world with an American-values spin on them. One would have to be blind to miss that.
At least Al-Jazeera English has the honesty to tell its potential viewers beforehand that it will be reporting on the news from a different moral/political standpoint. Hopefully though, it will not be an Arab version of FNC.
Considered a joke by whom, exactly? And I assume you mean 'not quite as partial as FNC', rather than 'impartial'.
And what twaddle you talk with regards to ''let's respect them for being honest about their agenda''. I suppose Hitler had the honesty to tell the Jews he didn't much care for them; what a nice guy!
al-Jazeera has done a lot for freedom of speech in the region, yes. But whilst I do think CNN's coverage is a mile wide and an inch deep, I would rather watch CNN/BBC/etc. for regular coverage of the Middle East than al-Jazeera, which seems intent on making and influencing the news rather than simply reporting it.
The point is, Johnnyboy, it should not be reporting news from ANY moral/political standpoint. The BBC and CNN do genuinely do their best to avoid that, al-Jazeera on the other hand seems to pride itself on it.
Considered a joke by whom, exactly? And I assume you mean 'not quite as partial as FNC', rather than 'impartial'.
Correction noted. The CNN coverage is considered a joke by anyone who respects fairness and equal-time coverage. As with the BBC, two bus bombers can get the top headline and live coverage - if Palestinians are killed, it barely gets into the first 15 minutes of the bulletins.
All of the media-watch organisations I am aware of share this opinion on CNN's coverage of Middle Eastern issues, from Palestine to Iraq to Iran.
cat posted:
And what twaddle you talk with regards to ''let's respect them for being honest about their agenda''. I suppose Hitler had the honesty to tell the Jews he didn't much care for them; what a nice guy!
You know, you are obviously a smart guy, but when you come out with silly retorts and comparisons like these, you do yourself a huge disservice.
I would respect FNC if they were honest and open about their bias. In the same way I do for newspapers. I respect Al-Jazeera for being honest in admitting that they will report something for a non-Western moral/political viewpoint.
The deceipt of other media news organisations in their pretence of impartiality is disgusting - this should not be lauded.
cat posted:
al-Jazeera has done a lot for freedom of speech in the region, yes. But whilst I do think CNN's coverage is a mile wide and an inch deep, I would rather watch CNN/BBC/etc. for regular coverage of the Middle East than al-Jazeera, which seems intent on making and influencing the news rather than simply reporting it..
I don't think the Al-Jazeera is responsible for the war in Iraq, the apartheid wall or anything else. It can only report news.
The reason it MAKES news in the West is that it chooses to report death differently to our news channels. We make 'news' out of them, they don't make 'news' themselves. BBC et al are intent on censoring the real effects of war by not showing pictures of its victims. BBC et al pretend that 'embedded' reporters can retain impartial.
For the many good things about the BBC, there are many bad things too. I am sure a similar argument could be made about al-Jazeera too.
cat posted:
The point is, Johnnyboy, it should not be reporting news from ANY moral/political standpoint. The BBC and CNN do genuinely do their best to avoid that, al-Jazeera on the other hand seems to pride itself on it.
The BBC and CNN do nothing to avoid it, as can be seen by the tremendously pro-war coverage before and during. This can be seen in their choice of stories, their choice of vocabulary, the pictures they do and do not show and their lack of critical analysis before the fact.
This deceipt annoys me, and so many people fall for it, unfortunately.
I agree with you that news channels shouldn't be like this, but they are and one channel sticking its head above the trenches and speaking a truth of sorts should be applauded.
If you really think BBC and particularly CNN are bastions of free and fair reporting, you really need to read and watch for content more. May I recommend "Manufacturing Consent" by Naom Chomsky?