Al Jazeera: A Different Face to Arab Media

There has always been a lot of talk surrounding Al Jazeera news channel, but lately, more talking has been done considering the channel's big role in covering news from the Arab revolting streets. Obviously, the Qatar-based news channel has lots of fans, but possibly more haters than fans who have been assigning various accusations to the channel and its working staff. Some accuse it of working for the “west” (probably meaning America), while others believe it is not reliable as it tends to exaggerate news for the sake of benefiting one side or another, some even accused it of being the entity behind the Arab world protests (as if the people had no role in all of this), to name but a few of the accusations thrown at the channel.

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I myself am a fan of this channel. I must admit that I am guilty of watching it every day for hours and hours to follow the news of what happens in the world around me. Am I sure that all news I hear over there are 100% accurate? Not really. But is there any other channel that is more accurate? I do not think so (i.e.: I certainly would NOT watch Fox News for more desired reliability).

I do believe that Al Jazeera Channel’s reliability is somehow threatened because of staff's dependence on citizens and lay people to report news (i.e.: a professional news channel cannot accept news reports from citizens with no experience in journalism, and treat those reports as valid news without checking up on their reliability), and this DID happen frequently in the recent Arab world revolutions. However, if we come to think of it reasonably, this has been done due to the limitations created on journalists in general inside the countries in concern, and the only journalists allowed to function inside were the ones belonging to governmental organizations (not my idea of unbiased journalism there) as well as ones working for obviously biased channels. So it is either that or having to watch one-sided media, and THAT would be the answer for me on any given day.

I know for sure that I do not want to watch news where all citizens protesting against their governments are tied to Al Qaida or some terrorist organisation, while those government standing up to them want the best for their loving people…