
As Egypt Erupts, Al Jazeera Offers Its News for Free to Other Networks - solipsist
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/01/al-jazeera-egypt/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
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_delirium
I'm curious why Al Jazeera has such a negative reputation in the US. Is their
Arabic-language reporting different? I don't regularly follow them, but their
English-language reporting seems to be professional and not greatly slanted
whenever I've run across it. It's actually _less_ obviously partisan, from
what I can tell, than a lot of typical Western news sources (think MSNBC v.
Fox News), even well-respected ones (think _Libération_ versus _Le Figaro_ ),
possibly due to their attempt to appeal to a fairly broad pan-Arab-world
audience.

~~~
DanielBMarkham
Very interesting question. I'll try to answer. I feel this way myself although
I haven't taken much time to consume their material or examine why I have my
opinions.

I believe it was because that I figured that any network owned by a bunch of
dictators from the Middle East wouldn't have my best interests, or the
interests of the average citizen, in mind. Seems like I also remember OBL
releasing tapes to AJ -- they always seemed to have a magic touch of finding
these terrorism videos nobody else could get. From the rumors I heard, they
ran so much pro-terror and anti-Israel commentary and opinion shows (in my
mind) I began to think they were part of the problem and not part of the
solution. I also remember quotes from some of their shows with the most
ridiculous Islamist propaganda. Seems like there were some spying allegations
involving their reporters too. And IIRC, didn't they have reporters/producers
that were so close to insurgents that it was difficult for the U.S. Military
to separate where journalism ended and where terrorism began?

But thanks for asking that. I need to reexamine my feelings and make sure they
are valid. Most of the items I bring up above I heard third-hand or from
rumors. Perhaps they run a fine news organization and just have editorial
content I might find objectionable. No reason to throw the baby out with the
bath water.

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nodata
While you're re-examining, throw in Russia Today (<http://rt.com/>). Not quite
the same calibre, but interesting to watch your thoughts while watching it.

~~~
protomyth
Clips from Russia Today seem to end up on Reason.TV's podcast feed a lot.

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vimalg2
The live coverage is pretty good.

I've quit watching TV for ages. But oddly, i'm hooked on their coverage for
the past 48 hrs, via the live webcast.

It reminds me of the good old BBC (before i found out they practiced
censorship)

~~~
hcho
And not without a reason, they have a sizeable amount of ex BBC people in
their staff.

~~~
borism
Heck, they have Sir David Frost himself!

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j_baker
Aside from the political and journalistic implications, I think it's
interesting that they're making this available under a Creative Commons
license. Are there any other major news organizations that CC license any of
their content? I'd be shocked if _any_ of the major US news organizations use
the CC licenses in any meaningful way.

~~~
cma
Democracy Now! does:

<http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/10849>

But they fail the "major" qualification.

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burgerbrain
Has there been any talk about how Al Jazeera is getting their footage out of
Egypt? I'm assuming they're probably using their own communication satellites,
has the Egyptian government made any public comments about what they think of
Al Jazeera reporting on this?

~~~
JonnieCache
_> has the Egyptian government made any public comments about what they think
of Al Jazeera reporting on this?_

At some time around 3PM UK time yesterday (bang in the middle of the rioting),
they suddenly broke off the commentary from their studio in downtown cairo,
saying "The police have entered the building." There was a knock at the door,
some shouting in arabic, a moment of silence then they carried on with the
news, perhaps sounding slightly shaken.

Take from that what you will.

EDIT: Also at one point they had a split screen with their live footage of a
burning upturned APC on one side, and the feed from egyptian state TV showing
a calm and placid view of the skyline on the other. They then spent the next
few minutes roundly mocking the regime for living in a dream world. It was
pretty funny.

~~~
yread
At that moment the police just wanted them not to stand on the balcony - since
the curfew was about to start.

So they stayed with the camera inside for like 15 minutes and then moved out
on the balcony again.

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sambeau
"reversing the North to South flow of information"

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jacquesm
for some more perspective on this, yesterdays thread:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2152622>

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shareme
A question from an American..

I am attempting to understand the political landscape in Egypt. Two questions:

1\. would it be correct to say that there are in fact two MB orgs, one that is
non violent and slightly good and one MB org that is violent and not good?

2\. Given the almost outright banning of opposition political parties in Egypt
what political parties is the military involved with?

~~~
_delirium
As far as I know, all current prominent leaders in the Egyptian MB support
nonviolence, which the group officially adopted in the 1970s--- that led to
the more radical factions leaving to form groups like Egyptian Islamic Jihad
and the Islamic Group.

There's a range of politics within that, though, from religious-conservative
types who'd like a more traditionalist Islamic republic, to almost-secular
moderates who focus on the movement's social institutions and see Islam's role
as mainly spiritual/charitable. Since it's been operating semi-underground,
I'm not sure anyone is 100% sure which leaders would end up dominating if it
were to operate in the open and have some degree of power. The _hope_ among
western analysts is that its strength over the past ~20 years in universities
and social services means that it's picked up enough educated moderates so
that they would dominate a legalized version of the organization.

