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> 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?
by 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.
- hackuser 11y agoThanks for taking the time to respond; it's hard to get that perspective in the U.S. and on HN. > As with any other news channel, AJ Arabic has a clear agenda. > The way I see it is that there simply is no neutral news source. While it's literally true (there is no perfectly neutral news source) I disagree. There are large differences of degree. Similarly we could say that neighborhood A as a burglary rate of 1% and neighborhood B has a rate of 0.01%, therefore all neighborhoods are dangerous. While literally true, the statement obscures the facts. In the U.S., Fox News is much more biased than the NY Times (or AJAM), but of course the latter sources do have some bias.