Al Jazeera English

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Due to strong opposition by American cable stations, and as recent survey results suggest, American citizens as well, the Al Jazeera English news station has been all but banned from our television sets, and restricted to broadcast online.

In our changing climate post-9/11, the Al Jazeera Network has become in some circles, known as the "Terrorist Network," a claim that I find to be mostly unfounded. For the most part, Al Jazeera English seems to hit stories that both the American and UK news frequently miss. The network has a monopoly on the news within their countries borders in the sense that they have enough proximity and context to report honestly on stories that otherwise would go ignored.

The question of whether or not Al Jazeera English will ever be allowed to broadcast within the US seems to have been answered already. I think the negative feelings of many Americans will prevent this channel from going anywhere but the Internet for quite a while. This is a mistake, because from my point of view, they should be allowed to broadcast.

The purpose and duty of the news is to inform the public about issues that affect them, and allow them to make an informed decision for themselves. For this purpose, Al Jazeera English is a vital component to the media environment. Because of their ability to scoop both American and world news sources on many issues, and then cover these issues from often unrepresented perspectives, Al Jazeera is giving all it's viewers the opportunity to be just that much more informed, and to make better decisions.

The interviewing and reporting style used on this new news venue differs from what I am used to in the Western News. The interviews seem to be more personal, usually in the subjects environment, and very up-close and personal. The reporting style follows the same theme, with reporters often going out to see and experience the story, instead of just sitting in the newsroom. I think this furthers yet again, their proximity to the news, and improves their story-telling potential.

Ethically, the Al Jazeera network does as good of a job of fulfilling it's obligations as any news network. They have most fulfilled their 5th element of their Code of Ethics, which is "Present diverse points of view and opinions without bias or partiality." Their point of view, by default is a diverse one, but they also do an outstanding job of avoiding bias and partiality, a huge step towards ethical operations. As far as avoiding encroachment by commercial or political sources, Al Jazeera does a better job than many Western channels; if they didn't the American audience wouldn't be small, it would be nonexistent.

It's obvious to me that the negative publicity and reputation that the Al Jazeera English network is receiving is mostly impulse judgement, and largely unfounded. With enough patience and perseverance I do believe the channel will gain popularity in the online space, though it may take a very long time for it to be allowed on American networks.