Will we watch Chicago on Al Jazeera? |
But
that “someone” is Al Jazeera, the broadcast network funded by the government of
Qatar, that most people became aware of in recent years as a source of
propaganda for the Middle Eastern interests who viewed the U.S. military and western
society as their enemy.
NOT
THAT WE’LL be seeing any such programming here any time soon.
For
in recent years, there has been an English version of Al Jazeera. Aside from
the fact that its stories don’t center around the United States (their
worldwide weather forecast usually spends just a few seconds on U.S. storms and
spends the bulk of its time on Arab countries), it doesn’t differ much in tone
from the network newscasts many of us don’t pay much attention to.
But
the Al Jazeera folks have hopes of expanding their programming in the United
States. They see a market that could help them make even more money, IF they
can tap into it.
I
have to praise the Al Jazeera types for one thing – they realize that producing
an improved product means having more staff. Crain’s Chicago Business reported
Tuesday that they plan to have a Chicago bureau of six reporters and producers –
along with the rest of their world-wide staff.
MANY
NEWSPAPERS AND networks have reduced their Chicago bureaus, or erased them
altogether (the Washington Post is in the latter category) – all in the name of
saving money. Going along with that old cliché, “You can’t spend what you don’t
have.”
Although
it would seem the Al Jazeera people are following the other old cliché, “You
need to spend money in order to make money.”
After
all, a worthwhile product is what is most essential to make any money from the
news business. Nobody wants to read something that is cheap and shallow in
terms of content.
So
the answer is “yes.” I think it is a good thing that somebody is thinking in
terms of hiring people to report the news. Considering the number of people who’d
like to remain in the business after being told they were damaging some other
company’s financial “bottom line,” they probably won’t have much problem
finding qualified people to work.
BUT
I’M ALSO wary of Al Jazeera – even though I don’t think their political spin is
any more harmful than the nonsense we’d get if the Koch brothers really do take
over the Chicago Tribune and make it in their own image.
Spin
over fact is harmful in all circumstances – regardless of whether one agrees or
disagrees with the viewpoint being expressed!
The
English-language versions of their newscasts that I have seen (usually
broadcast on PBS affiliates) try to make themselves seem like a version of the
BBC. Except that instead of thinking of England as the center of the universe,
they focus on Arab nations.
But
that may be because those were programs meant to air on other networks. We’re
talking about a separate cable television channel they would control – and some
of the observations I have heard are that Al Jazeera in English is much more
neutered than the versions being broadcast in the Middle East.
WHICH
COULD MAKE this whole effort an attempt to cleanse their own image around the
world. Which is something the company desperately has to do.
Because
there is the chance that these newly-hired people won’t get seen much. There
are few cable television systems in this country that even include the channel
in their lineups.
It
may well be nativist paranoia that makes many people reluctant to even consider
such a channel. But if Al Jazeera can’t overcome it, it will be the “Capitalist
Way” – that causes it to fail.
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