Dear Bob,
I am a big fan of this show, and have been following it for years now. So I was very disappointed with your reporting, if we can call it that, about Al Jazeera's entering into the US market. There was no reporting whatsoever, in fact, just the rerun of a guy who obviously does not like the network. Fair enough, but how about a voice for those who do like it? Instead, just a cold, dull, official statement.
But what really bothered me was the dishonesty. First, it does not require a lot of research to figure out that Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English are two different, editorially independent entities - actually, a simple wiki search will tell you that. In your "reporting" (quote, unquote), neither you nor your totally biased interviewee bother to point that out to the listener. Second dishonesty is to use what is probably the most difficult story to cover today - the internal conflict in Syria - to illustrate a point. You know that journalists are not even allowed to enter the country? Besides, brave journalists, like Al Jazeera English Anita McNaught, did some courageous reporting on the ground in 2012.
The main issues, which OTM kept away from, are the hurdles for AJE to enter the US market, just because the government did not like its reporting. Now, even after members of the current administration have publicly praised AJE's reporting, private companies, such as Time Warner, are still wary of the AJE brand. A second issue of interest, from a media angle, is how AJE's global news coverage and plural debate will be received by the American audience. Is there a suppressed demand in the US for the kind of journalism AJE does?
Unfortunately, these are questions that remain unanswered by OTM. I am still hoping that OTM will do a good story on this subject.
Finally, an advice. Why don't you guys interview Richard Gizbert, the host of AJE's own OTM, the Listening Post? It would be a fantastic conversation.
Keep up the good work, I still love the show, expect when it talks about AJE.
Kind regards,
Bernardo Jurema
I am a big fan of this show, and have been following it for years now. So I was very disappointed with your reporting, if we can call it that, about Al Jazeera's entering into the US market. There was no reporting whatsoever, in fact, just the rerun of a guy who obviously does not like the network. Fair enough, but how about a voice for those who do like it? Instead, just a cold, dull, official statement.
But what really bothered me was the dishonesty. First, it does not require a lot of research to figure out that Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English are two different, editorially independent entities - actually, a simple wiki search will tell you that. In your "reporting" (quote, unquote), neither you nor your totally biased interviewee bother to point that out to the listener. Second dishonesty is to use what is probably the most difficult story to cover today - the internal conflict in Syria - to illustrate a point. You know that journalists are not even allowed to enter the country? Besides, brave journalists, like Al Jazeera English Anita McNaught, did some courageous reporting on the ground in 2012.
The main issues, which OTM kept away from, are the hurdles for AJE to enter the US market, just because the government did not like its reporting. Now, even after members of the current administration have publicly praised AJE's reporting, private companies, such as Time Warner, are still wary of the AJE brand. A second issue of interest, from a media angle, is how AJE's global news coverage and plural debate will be received by the American audience. Is there a suppressed demand in the US for the kind of journalism AJE does?
Unfortunately, these are questions that remain unanswered by OTM. I am still hoping that OTM will do a good story on this subject.
Finally, an advice. Why don't you guys interview Richard Gizbert, the host of AJE's own OTM, the Listening Post? It would be a fantastic conversation.
Keep up the good work, I still love the show, expect when it talks about AJE.
Kind regards,
Bernardo Jurema
Jan. 15 2013 10:35 PM
read my comment HERE in the On The Media webpage.
