**Aljazeera News TV **

[Mehdi]

I'm an arabic citizen
I wanna how you see this tv station, what are its advantages and its drawbacks?
As an arabic it's really important to me to know, u c ?

[JeffK]

And of course any response will be careful not to break the forum rule which prohibits political discussion.

JeffK

[xbot]

It does provide a different perspective, but I do think it presents a hidden form of bias. I mean look at what JeffK said - obviously it's not the regular discussion.

[injinuity]

Riz Khan has just joined Al Jazeera

[gdg]

I'm not being political in the opinion I'm about to make, as I discriminate against all news agencies equally, no matter the country of origin: I personally see it as mostly propaganda, making easy targets of weak minds all over the world.

[ReuvenNY]

Mehdi, welcome to the forum!
To determine whether this topic belongs here and to get an answer, you will need to specify what do you exactly mean "advantages/drawbacks".
If it has any political connotations, it can not be discussed on this forum

[David]

Originally posted by gdg
I'm not being political in the opinion I'm about to make, as I discriminate against all news agencies equally, no matter the country of origin: I personally see it as mostly propaganda, making easy targets of weak minds all over the world.

What a great post gdg. I totally agree

[rmns2bseen]

Originally posted by gdg
I'm not being political in the opinion I'm about to make, as I discriminate against all news agencies equally, no matter the country of origin: I personally see it as mostly propaganda, making easy targets of weak minds all over the world.

That may be true, but we have to get news from somewhere unless, to quote a famous Islamic historian, we want to "look at the universe with the eyes of oxen". The best course is probably to get news from many sources expressing various viewpoints, including hearing what Al Jazeera has to say. Thoroughgoing cynicism isn't all that productive in the long run, either. [edit] if nothing else, outlets like Al Jazeera provide some insight into what the average "person on the street" in the Arabic countries may be thinking.

[Shelded]

The problem we have is that breaking news is fed to the most sympathetic mouthpiece, because we tend to mistrust the media. So it's a problem that perpetuates itself. AJ will have to work really hard to present a "balanced" view if what they come across easily are things Americans wish not to see. But American papers shrink from showing flag-covered American caskets and that's slanting the news too.

News from a variety of sources seems a reasonable antidote to a weak mind, but sometimes we have direct conflicts of facts to deal with. What's a reader to do?

[Shelded]

To answer the original question and try to stay within the rules of the forum, I will say at times it appears spitefully slanted and at other times fearfully accurate. What I see of AJ is pre-filtered for me by other media outlets, by the way.

[David]

Originally posted by rmns2bseen
That may be true, but we have to get news from somewhere

That is true rmns2bseen, but gdg was correct when he said:

I personally see it as mostly propaganda, making easy targets of weak minds all over the world

I agree with you also, and think that we have to read many news sources (offering different viewpoints) However, at the end of the day, we need to mull the aruguments over, bearing in mind what I quoted above. And to form our own opinions, based on the real facts, and our own knowledge.

We need to keep in mind (as well) that even the people who teach us (in our schools and universities) often themselves have an hidden agenda (I am talking of all countries here)

We only get a real handle on the truth, after we have lived in these countries (not as tourists) People are much the same (wherever you go) worldwide; most desire only to live in peace.

[gdg]

Originally posted by rmns2bseen
That may be true, but we have to get news from somewhere unless, to quote a famous Islamic historian, we want to "look at the universe with the eyes of oxen". The best course is probably to get news from many sources expressing various viewpoints, including hearing what Al Jazeera has to say. Thoroughgoing cynicism isn't all that productive in the long run, either. [edit] if nothing else, outlets like Al Jazeera provide some insight into what the average "person on the street" in the Arabic countries may be thinking.

Actually, I'm not saying I avoid watching or reading any news, but I just take what I am exposed to with a healthy helping of salt. You never know what you can trust.

Do we really have to get our news from somewhere lest we look at the universe with the eyes of oxen? I would say not necessarily, if you view only news agencies as valid sources of information. I don't see news agencies as great purveyors of worldview and information, nor do I see them as the means to intelligence. There is far more to do with a life than sit and absorb what's shoveled out of a tube, and more knowledge to be obtained than what one finds while staining one's fingers with the black ink of a newspaper.

Then we get into issues of viewpoints as opposed to facts. If any news agency expresses the view of the average person on the street as opposed to spoonfeeding their own viewpoint or that of their respective parent state in the name of entertainment or whatever else you may imagine, I haven't run across one yet. The view of the average person on the street is not what I would consider news or a means to enlightenment anyway. Not meaning to be gruff, but I guess I just look at things differently.

I tend to keep in mind these agencies are concerned with ratings and what people want to see more than honest journalism.

If mankind could have millenia of civilization without the help of CNN, AJ, etc, and did so in an intelligent way, I'm sure we wouldn't hurt much if we had to go without them again.

[rmns2bseen]

Originally posted by gdg

Do we really have to get our news from somewhere lest we look at the universe with the eyes of oxen? I would say not necessarily, unless you view only news agencies as valid sources of information.

Let's say you want to know information about the state and prospects for the Social Security program, or about the recent controversy over judicial appointments in the US Senate. Now, you can plow through loads of primary source materials on these issues (each of which may have its own agenda to push forward) or you can catch the main points in digest form from various news sources (each of which also may have ulterior motives). Either way, you're gathering information about those topics from somewhere , none of which may be fully trustworthy. Or you can choose to ignore these topics and topics like these altogether, in which case yes, you would be looking at the universe in, um, a rather limited way. And I still rather think that the views of the "person on the street" can indeed be a source of enlightenment. It was the "people on the street" that created the Solidarity movement in Poland, for example.

[psalzer]

I don't see much TV news directly. I get most of my news from internet news sights and their sources include newspapers and tv news stations. Some are more biased than others. Some see the bias as part of what they do and don't see anything wrong with it. I think, from what I've seen of Al Jazeera, it's not so much that it's biased as that it's coming at things from such a different point of view from most westerners, and basing it's reportage on a different, but not necessarily less - or more - true, set of assumptions from western journalism that we're quick to say it's biased. I think most of reporting, except for reporting by the rare truly internationalist journalist, is biased in thet sense that it reflects a worldview which is not always shared by the entire world.

[gdg]

Originally posted by rmns2bseen
Or you can choose to ignore these topics and topics like these altogether, in which case yes, you would be looking at the universe in, um, a rather limited way.

Yes...from your point of view, but I would say many that are up on the news every day still look at the universe in a more limited way than...say...even Greek philosophers that lived over 2000 years ago...as just one example. Most modern people don't have the ability or thought to grasp many things that were tossed around even then. All one has to do is read things translated from manuscripts even 3000 to 4000 years old to realize how limited the view of modern man is. Deep thinkers are almost nonexistent...everything is temporal and materialistic...at least in my corner of the world. I would be honored to be considered limited in the ways of our post-modern society.

Just a little tangent from the original subject, eh?