3 ms·

This is too bad. They were one of two sources of serious news on cable TV [1] and their global breath of coverage, including many important, original stories I

This is too bad. They were one of two sources of serious news on cable TV [1] and their global breath of coverage, including many important, original stories I didn't see elsewhere, was exceptional. I always held my breath a little, expecting some propaganda because Al Jazeera is owned by the government of Qatar, but I never noticed any even in Middle East coverage. That doesn't mean it wasn't there - the point of propaganda is to convince the audience that it's legitimate. [1] IMHO: The other serious news on cable is Bloomberg. Some of their content is obvious shilling or advertorial (bring on the CEO and give them a platform and t-ball questions), much is over-stylized, and their priority obviously is business and not other news. However, at least they address serious topics, and provide sophisticated analysis and valuable knowledge. Fox, CNN, MSNBC are a complete waste of my time - all I learn is various political groups' talking points. BBC's analysis is too superficial and too many stories are not hard news, for my taste. As always, print/text news are by far the best sources.

Cyph0n 11y ago
They do a good job of separating the regional channels from the main one. AJ English is quite different from AJ Arabic that at times I feel it's a different channel entirely. However as an Arab Muslim my goto is AJ Arabic as it focuses on the region and I feel covers important events and causes. It's documentaries and investigative pieces are awesome as well.
- hackuser 11y ago
  > AJ English is quite different from AJ Arabic that at times I feel it's a different channel entirely. I'd be very interested to know about AJ Arabic (and I don't speak Arabic at all). If you don't mind sharing a little more: How does it differ from AJ English? Also, maybe 15 years ago I'd hear how AJ Arabic was the only real journalism in the Arab world and a force for democracy and reform. Was that your experience? Is it still? Finally, how and how much does AJ Arabic serve Qatar's rulers' interests? How much better or worse is it than the other government sponsored competitors (e.g., I seem to remember Saudi Arabia runs one, and of course there is the BBC). The best coverage I've found, in English, of the Middle East is Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, both from Israel. I know people may assume they would follow the Israeli government line but I haven't noticed it in the journalism which reports much that challenges the government, including abuse of Palestinians (maybe in the editorials support the government but I don't read them, and Haaretz is against Netanyahu). They cover important stories I don't see in AJ English and cover other stories better - though I read all three anyway.
  - Cyph0n 11y ago
    > I'd be very interested to know about AJ Arabic (and I don't speak Arabic at all). If you don't mind sharing a little more: How does it differ from AJ English? In general, the "feel" of the channel is different, to the point where if AJ English had another name, you'd have no idea they're related. More specifically, AJ English is a bit more general in its global coverage, whereas AJ Arabic focuses more on the region. The two channels are completely independent entities actually, and it seems to work well. > Also, maybe 15 years ago I'd hear how AJ Arabic was the only real journalism in the Arab world and a force for democracy and reform. Was that your experience? Is it still? Personally, I believe yes, it's the only channel that actually cares about the Middle East. Granted, I've only been watching it for 8 years or so. > Finally, how and how much does AJ Arabic serve Qatar's rulers' interests? How much better or worse is it than the other government sponsored competitors As with any other news channel, AJ Arabic has a clear agenda. Put briefly: anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, anti-Egyptian government, pro-Brotherhood, anti-Iran, anti-Syrian government. Even with their clear biases, I feel they do a good job showing both sides of the equation, especially in their discussion programs. The other competitors in the region are Al Arabiya, BBC Arabic, and France 24 Arabic. Al Arabiya is sponsored by the Saudi government I believe, but is headquartered in the UAE. Similar to AJ, it is anti-Israel and anti-Iran/Syria, but the rest is the opposite. So as you can see they usually cover regional news differently. BBC Arabic and France 24 are pro-Israel and neutral when it comes to Iran. > The best coverage I've found, in English, of the Middle East is Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, both from Israel. [...] They cover important stories I don't see in AJ English and cover other stories better - though I read all three anyway. I have not read it to be honest. I might take a look at it when I get the chance. However I would be truly surprised if it was actually neutral. The way I see it is that there simply is no neutral news source. For me however, I feel that AJ Arabic properly represents and covers the Arab/Muslim causes, and does so in a professional manner.
    - rudimental 11y ago
      >The way I see it is that there simply is no neutral news source. Very much agree here >BBC Arabic and France 24 are pro-Israel I find this hard to believe, especially BBC Arabic being pro-Israel. The English language BBC is pretty critical- it would be surprising if the Arabic language articles are more neutral or sometimes positive.
- deleted 11y ago
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melvinmt 11y ago
AJ+ (their social media offspring) is pretty well disguised. I always like to watch their video news items from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish) but it took me a while (months) to figure out that AJ stood for Al Jazeera.

Cyph0n 11y ago

They do a good job of separating the regional channels from the main one. AJ English is quite different from AJ Arabic that at times I feel it's a different channel entirely. However as an Arab Muslim my goto is AJ Arabic as it focuses on the region and I feel covers important events and causes. It's documentaries and investigative pieces are awesome as well.

hackuser 11y ago
> AJ English is quite different from AJ Arabic that at times I feel it's a different channel entirely. I'd be very interested to know about AJ Arabic (and I don't speak Arabic at all). If you don't mind sharing a little more: How does it differ from AJ English? Also, maybe 15 years ago I'd hear how AJ Arabic was the only real journalism in the Arab world and a force for democracy and reform. Was that your experience? Is it still? Finally, how and how much does AJ Arabic serve Qatar's rulers' interests? How much better or worse is it than the other government sponsored competitors (e.g., I seem to remember Saudi Arabia runs one, and of course there is the BBC). The best coverage I've found, in English, of the Middle East is Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, both from Israel. I know people may assume they would follow the Israeli government line but I haven't noticed it in the journalism which reports much that challenges the government, including abuse of Palestinians (maybe in the editorials support the government but I don't read them, and Haaretz is against Netanyahu). They cover important stories I don't see in AJ English and cover other stories better - though I read all three anyway.
- Cyph0n 11y ago
  > I'd be very interested to know about AJ Arabic (and I don't speak Arabic at all). If you don't mind sharing a little more: How does it differ from AJ English? In general, the "feel" of the channel is different, to the point where if AJ English had another name, you'd have no idea they're related. More specifically, AJ English is a bit more general in its global coverage, whereas AJ Arabic focuses more on the region. The two channels are completely independent entities actually, and it seems to work well. > Also, maybe 15 years ago I'd hear how AJ Arabic was the only real journalism in the Arab world and a force for democracy and reform. Was that your experience? Is it still? Personally, I believe yes, it's the only channel that actually cares about the Middle East. Granted, I've only been watching it for 8 years or so. > Finally, how and how much does AJ Arabic serve Qatar's rulers' interests? How much better or worse is it than the other government sponsored competitors As with any other news channel, AJ Arabic has a clear agenda. Put briefly: anti-Israel, pro-Hamas, anti-Egyptian government, pro-Brotherhood, anti-Iran, anti-Syrian government. Even with their clear biases, I feel they do a good job showing both sides of the equation, especially in their discussion programs. The other competitors in the region are Al Arabiya, BBC Arabic, and France 24 Arabic. Al Arabiya is sponsored by the Saudi government I believe, but is headquartered in the UAE. Similar to AJ, it is anti-Israel and anti-Iran/Syria, but the rest is the opposite. So as you can see they usually cover regional news differently. BBC Arabic and France 24 are pro-Israel and neutral when it comes to Iran. > The best coverage I've found, in English, of the Middle East is Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, both from Israel. [...] They cover important stories I don't see in AJ English and cover other stories better - though I read all three anyway. I have not read it to be honest. I might take a look at it when I get the chance. However I would be truly surprised if it was actually neutral. The way I see it is that there simply is no neutral news source. For me however, I feel that AJ Arabic properly represents and covers the Arab/Muslim causes, and does so in a professional manner.
  - rudimental 11y ago
    >The way I see it is that there simply is no neutral news source. Very much agree here >BBC Arabic and France 24 are pro-Israel I find this hard to believe, especially BBC Arabic being pro-Israel. The English language BBC is pretty critical- it would be surprising if the Arabic language articles are more neutral or sometimes positive.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

melvinmt 11y ago

AJ+ (their social media offspring) is pretty well disguised. I always like to watch their video news items from their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish https://www.facebook.com/ajplusenglish) but it took me a while (months) to figure out that AJ stood for Al Jazeera.