“Do the right thing for the right reason”
December 23rd, 2006Few weeks ago Al Jazeera started new English channel (official launch video on YouTube). I've watched Al Jazeera English for some time and here are my opinions about it.
My possibilities in news programme reception are limited to DVB-T, DVB-S, internet and it consists mainly from these programmes – BBC World, CNN, Sky News, CT24. Al Jazeera was well known for a long time as a station which broadcasts information which was west media afraid of to show to people (US military failures in Iraq and it's impact on common people, other then west-world propaganda materials, ..). Although Al Jazeera was screened over ASTRA satelite network to Europe for a long time, it was nearly impossible for European viewer to watch it because of language barrier.
Spots, graphics and music
Probably first impression from every TV is from it's jingles and graphics. Both are done great way – it's not agressive as on CNN. For most of the time there is only Al Jazeera logo in the bottom of the screen and headlines information line. Everything is well arranged and easy readable.
Objectivness and fairness
When I firstly heard about English channel of Al Jazeera I was afraid that it will be propaganda similar to Fox News or other news channels in US and the only difference will be the side which will the channel propagate. I don't say that everything is done the right way but I was positively surprised that Al Jazeera is more close to channels like BBC. They've got some information about this topic on their web – Code of Ethics.
Well-known faces
When Al Jazeera English started one of surprises was that Sir David Frost joined this channel. He has strong background in other news stations – you can find more about his previous work on Wikipedia.
I'm glad that Al Jazeera finally started it's English channel. It's good if people can see other views for the same topic on TV not originally from the western world, especially in the time when most of the governments lie to it's citizens. It gives mirror to everyone and helps with creating opinions to many things happening in the world. Although they've got broadcasting centers in more places in the world (Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC), they still not cover everything and they are focusing much more on Middle East region then stations like BBC, CNN, .. Despite of this I recommend you to give them a try. If you don't have DVB-S satellite, you can try internet streaming.
thanx man
Comment by seks — June 14, 2008 @ 12:33 pm
I have only recently discovered Al Jazeera English, and I like it very much. As they say themselves, they give a more „global perspective“ on events than other channels. And it seems that Al Jazeera really is home to those journalists who still carry that sense of idealism, who are dedicated to just one thing: real information. I believe that a station so well done will automatically become more popular in the west too, in time.
If you're in one of the countries who can access the Zattoo service (www.zattoo.com) you can also stream Al Jazeera English from there. The quality there is better than the free stream on AJE's website.
Comment by Daniel — November 12, 2008 @ 1:21 am