Al Jazeera Breaking Into the U.S. Market: My Thoughts
With its lauding Al Jazeera for its coverage in the late 1990s, savaging it during the Abu Ghraib ordeal of several years ago and again praising it for its coverage of the Arab Spring, the U.S. government’s attitude towards the Qatar-based network bounces like a ping-pong ball. Now that Al Jazeera will acquire Current TV for half a billion dollars, it is curious to see how the cable operators will react. Time Warner first dropped Current after news of the transaction, but after relentless criticism the company may reconsider its decision.
Last week Al Jazeera English asked for my thoughts on the deal and what it means for American journalism. I insist that it could transform American broadcast journalism, the quality of which has long been in decline. Al Jazeera English, however, has an incredible team of journalism, and delivers the best coverage of India, Africa, the Balkans, Latin America and of course--the Middle East. To hold a grudge against Al Jazeera because of what occurred several years ago is absurd . . . and if the BBC or CNN revealed the Abu Ghraib scandal, the network’s bid to purchase Current would not be an issue. Bring on the upcoming Al Jazeera America, let viewers watch it, and then let them make their own decision. Comb through Al Jazeera's coverage of Syria: enough said.
The embedded video, which ran on AJE’s Listening Poston January 12, is 25 minutes long: fast forward to 9:12 to hear my thoughts.
Image credit: Wikipedia (Kai Hendry)
About The Author
Leon Kaye
Leon Kaye is the founder and editor of GreenGoPost.com and its advisory division, GGP Media. Contact him to discuss how he can work with your organization or event.
His focus is making the business case for sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
He writes for San Francisco-based Triple Pundit, Inhabitat and now The Guardian, for which he writes about corporate responsibility, water, and green building. He has also written for AIA's Architect Magazine.
Leon works out of Fresno and Silicon Valley, California, and when he has free time, he enjoys hiking, gardening, cooking, weightlifting, and planning his next trip to one of the 60 countries he has visited. He has an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business and is also a proud graduate of the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) and Cal State-Fresno.
