Al Jazeera America launches today

I just watched a report on the violence in Chicago. The white reporter talking to gang members in disguise, giving background on the history of the problems of the neighborhood, and mentioning the role Mexican & Columbian cartels are playing. This is the best report I have seen on this on TV. They are doing a series of reports on Chicago. This is what cable news USED to be. No bias, just the facts.

 

Speak for yourself. Houston opens our windows to Air out the stench of bias that foxnews brings.....

 

It's not that Al Jazeera is so good. It's that US news outlets are so bad. The model is broken in the US because all the news channels are run by companies looking to maximize profit instead of maximizing quality news, which means chasing headlines instead of reporting actual news. Everyone assumes Al Jazeera is a terrorist news organization just because it sounds foreign but they're actually quite liberal and have been kicked out of many Middle Eastern countries because of their critical views of the respective regimes.

 

It would be interesting to read more about how Al-Jazeera describes its self-governance and editorial independence.

Interesting article here:

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/30/al-jazeera-independence-questioned-qatar

 

I used to think that. But I started to tune them out ever since I watched their coverage for Katrina while I was in the area at the time. I have not watched any local or cable news channel for years now. This Al Jazeera sounds interesting and I might just give it a try.

 

All news outlets have some bias in them, Fox is one of the ones that is extremely over the top. I was actually impressed by AJ, I heard the name and had some preconceived notions about the channel but enjoyed the style of reporting. When it comes to the Israel stuff they are more to the anti-israel side but the rest seemed ok.

 

I agree with you on AJ. It's a nice change from the usual American partisan back and forth.

 

Sucks that its not in HD on DirecTV, is that the case on other carriers? I know its trivial, but that's a huge pet peeve of mine.

 

Have you detected bias? Can you show me some?


I'm not really going to say anything on this subject other than I think Al Jazeera is less biased than any of the other news channels on TV, and they actually report news rather than gossip and social media. You look on their website, you have to really search to find that filth. If I want news, I'd go to Al Jazeera before CNN, MSNBC, or Fox.

 

I posted a link above.

A more recent article (yesterday) about Al Jazeera's Pro-Brotherhood bias:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/21/al-jazeera-accused-pro-muslim-brotherhood-broadcas/

Apparently, 22 staff have recently resigned over biased reporting:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/media-...al-jazeera-over-biased-egypt-coverage/5342152

Video with interviews of some staff members who quit here:

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/07/17/314225/al-jazeera-staff-quit-over-egypt-coverage/

Does this answer your question?

P.S.: There are also serious (and justified) allegations of regular anti-semitism. For example, they helped to propagate the ridiculous rumour in the Arab world that Jews were told to stay home before 9/11.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_controversies_and_criticism

 

You need mental help.

 

I've been watching the new Al Jazeera USA channel a little this weekend. Great stuff. It's more in line with BBC news focussing on the news and not entertainment pieces. I appreciate that. It's a great change from the normal stuff.

Also last night they had an interview with Cornell West who's one of my favorite human beings, so that was a plus for them as well.

 

I posted facts. Your post has no substance.

Do you think the 22 staff who quit over biased reporting "need mental help", too?

 

I know you don't like to communicate in words, which is fine, but seriously? Is there *anything* you can defend in US 24-hr cable news? From FOX to MSNBC to CNN? They're all basically on the ESPN model. BUT DID YU HEER ABOUT TIM TEBOW'S NEW HAIR. ERMIGERD! BUT LESSEE IF WE CAN MAKE YOU ANGRY FIRST. HEER IS BLACK MAN BEING SCARY!

PS -- this is no defense of Al Jazeera, which I have never watched. But the market is ripe for real reporting, whoever might brave that task.

 

Biased becoz muslims I guess

seriously if you are gonna nitpick about news stations being biased might as well turn off every single news source ever.

I have just started watching AJ recently, I think I'm with the majority here and think that their news reporting has very non bull**** straight forward approach instead of the political clown shows Fox and MSNBC brings. Their twitter is also pretty good for international news in general.

 

I watch them sometimes, too. I am not saying they shouldn't be available. I am just saying that one should be aware of the links the various media have, and to which organizations. It might just be me, but I feel more comfortable with a TV station having a link to some old, very conservative Australian dude than with a TV station having a link to an organization like the Muslim Brotherhood, which is basically the breeding ground for Al Qaeda.

The best way to deal with TV media bias is to have choice, and to not always watch the same station, in my opinion.

 

Can you elaborate a bit more on why you think this is the case? I'm not aware of the Muslim Brotherhood being in any way aligned with Al Qaeda.

 

All three of Al Qaeda’s leaders, Osama bin Laden (before he died), Saif al-Adel and Ayman al-Zawahiri were members of the Muslim Brotherhood or one of its arms.

Khalid Sheik Mohammad, the man who organized 9/11, joined the Muslim Brotherhood at age 16. Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian who headed the Hamburg Cell, was part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The men behind the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, Ramzi Yousef and the Blind Sheikh, are Muslim Brotherhood. The Egyptian who wrote the Islamic extremist’s terrorist manual, Ali Mohammed, is a member also. Mohammed was behind the bombings of the United States’ embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Practically every terrorist incident in the last thirty years has been an act by members of the Muslim Brotherhood. That includes the assassination of Anwar Sadat, the Luxor Massacre which killed 58 tourists, the attack on the USS Cole, and the Millenium Plot.

I could go into a lot more detail, but I think you can easily google it yourself.

Here's a first link:

http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=52092

 

I'll need to read more about it, but this doesn't necessarily mean that they are responsible for radicalizing otherwise moderate thinking people into terrorists. An organization like the Muslim Brotherhood (historically a conservative but relatively moderate political group with highly populist appeal) might attract a wide range of people who share a few common, possibly valid political concerns.