"As unrest neared Qatar, Al Jazeera softened tone, critics say" May 22, 2011|By Thomas Erdbrink, Washington Post
DOHA, Qatar — For months, Qatar-based Al Jazeera provided intense coverage of the uprisings that have rocked the Middle East, often almost cheering along the protesters. But when tanks from Saudi Arabia rolled in to quell antigovernment demonstrations in neighboring Bahrain in March, the Arabic-language news network’s reporting was only sporadic and markedly neutral, critics say.
It's nearly NONEXISTENT here in AmeriKa's newspapers, and it is far from neutral when it is there.
That contrasting approach has brought fresh attention to Al Jazeera’s close ties to the Qatari government, which owns the influential network, and prompted charges that the broadcaster is serving as an instrument of Qatar’s ambitious foreign policy.
Related: Why Am I No Longer Reading the Newspaper?
See who my media is tied to?
As the unrest moved closer to home, critics say, the limits of Al Jazeera’s independence were exposed: Although it supported uprisings against some longtime Arab regimes, the network — and its owner — clearly drew the line when another Persian Gulf monarchy was threatened.
“In other Arab countries, the channel was clearly on the side of the uprisings,’’ said Joseph Massad, an associate professor of modern Arab politics at Columbia University. But in Bahrain, “it pretended to be impartial while pushing the line of the Bahraini regime.’’
A lot like your media, Amerikan.
Al Jazeera executives say both its Arabic-language channel and the global news channel Al Jazeera English are independent of state control. But the broadcaster is the most prominent outlet of the government-owned Qatar Media, which is led by a cousin of the emir, and a 2009 US Embassy cable made public by WikiLeaks describes Al Jazeera as “an instrument of Qatari influence.’’
Al Jazeera’s slogan says it strives to give “a voice to the voiceless,’’ and the network built its reputation on its critical coverage of the Iraq war. Since then — operating from one of the world’s smallest, and richest, countries — its ratings have soared, making it the dominant Arabic-language news channel in the region.
Journalists working at the broadcaster’s frenetic nerve center in Doha say they are not activists but are proud of the role the network played during the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya.
Al Jazeera’s intense reporting on the Arab uprisings has brought international praise. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in March hailed the broadcaster for bringing what she called “real news’’ and changing people’s attitudes.
It's BETTER than the CRAP WE GET on TV, but the REAL NEWS is found on BLOGS!
On May 4, Al Jazeera English, which launched in 2006, received the Columbia Journalism Award for its coverage.
When corporate media congratulates you I become suspicious of a controlled-opposition operation.
But as the unrest moved closer to Qatar, the situation became more uncomfortable for the government, and, critics charge, the network’s independence suffered.
Back to your AmeriKan newspaper.
There was little coverage when protesters took to the streets in Oman and Saudi Arabia, close allies of the emirate, several analysts said. But the events on the tiny Persian Gulf island of Bahrain, a strategic partner to Qatar, best illustrate Al Jazeera Arabic’s dilemma in covering the uprisings.
Here it depends on what agenda is being pushed. Gays, immigrants, and global warmers always get plenty of favorable coverage. Those that oppose the agenda, no.
Al Jazeera Arabic failed to report on intensifying demands by mainly Shi’ite protesters for the end of the Sunni monarchy in early March, critics say, and the network also neglected several large demonstrations that ultimately led to a military intervention by Saudi Arabia.
After a while you get used to such things. What it does is make the first question after reading an article be "What didn't they tell me?"
The network’s English affiliate, which operates independently, led its broadcast with the news that Saudi tanks were rolling into Bahrain. Al Jazeera Arabic also carried news of the intervention, but less prominently, and focused on the Bahraini government’s rejection of the protesters’ demands and the blame it placed on Iran for the unrest.
Yup, PART of the PROPAGANDA OPERATION!!
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