It was informative and disturbing yesterday to hear a ‘talking head’ on CNN make the following point which we paraphrase hear: “Al Jazeera is not only the most popular Arab news web site, but it is watched by journalist, government officials including the White House, and others as the most important source of information concerning the current disturbances in Egypt.
“The government [USA] is eager to inform the Egyptian people of our good will and we fear being labeled as trying to prop up the current regime. Yet no spokesperson for our government ever appears on Al Jazeer, where our message would reach the entire Arab and Muslim world. Why not Al Jazeera?”
According to Wikipedia: “Al Jazeera (Arabic: al-ǧazīrah IPA: [ˌʔæl.dʒæˈziːrɐ], literally, “The Island”) is an international news network headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Initially launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel with the same name, Al Jazeera has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the Internet and specialty TV channels in multiple languages. Al Jazeera is accessible in several world regions and is owned by Qatar Media Corporation.”
NewsLanc faults itself for only recently using Al Jazeera as one of its sources of news articles. Our goal is to supply diverse (but responsible) reports and views so that our audience will be better informed and able to draw their own conclusions. We see ourselves as a supplement to the Lancaster Newspapers, not as a substitute.
