Al Jazeera

[[File:Graffiti of Shireen Abu Akleh in Nazareth.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Grafitti memorializing Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was shot and killed by Israeli Defense forces in the West Bank]]
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'''Al Jazeera''' (Arabic الجزيرة "The Island") is an international [[news]] network based in [[Qatar]], broadcasting news from the perspective of the [[Islam]]ic world. It provides in-depth news on world events. While it is [[government]]-owned,<ref name=gnprivchange>{{cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/al-jazeera-turning-into-private-media-organisation-1.837871|title=Al Jazeera turning into private media organisation|author=Habib Toumi|date=13 July 2011|newspaper=Gulf News|accessdate=8 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="academia.edu">[http://www.academia.edu/556090/The_Geopolitics_of_the_News_The_Case_of_the_Al_Jazeera_Network DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY(COMMUNICATION) Dissertation]</ref><ref name="theguardian.com">Dan Sabbagh, [http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/30/al-jazeera-independence-questioned-qatar "Al-Jazeera's political independence questioned amid Qatar intervention"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 30 September 2012</ref><ref name="lubpak.com">[http://lubpak.com/archives/39793 Deconstructing Al Jazeera and its paymasters] Let us build pakistan</ref><ref name="bloomberg.com">[http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-09/al-jazeera-gets-rap-as-qatar-mouthpiece.html Al-Jazeera Gets Rap as Qatar Mouthpiece] Bloomberg</ref><ref name="reuters.com">[http://www.reuters.com/video/2013/08/21/qatari-owned-al-jazeera-america-makes-it?videoId=254104873 Qatari-owned Al Jazeera America makes its debut] Reuters</ref> it is less [[bias]]ed compared to other [[propaganda]]-heavy news stations in the region,<ref group=note>Please ignore lovely reports on things like Israel opening nonexistent floodgates.</ref> and is actually the one most sympathetic to the [[United States]] and the [[West]], perhaps because it was founded by former [[CNN]] employees.

Some American news organizations and bloggers allege that Al Jazeera, as an organization, is a "terrorist sympathizer,"<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4188/is_20040711/ai_n11465136/ "Arab media act like terrorist sympathizers"]</ref><ref>[http://www.stopaljazeera.org/ StopAlJazeera.org]</ref> although this may be sometimes because they view anyone who looks ''vaguely'' foreign or who broadcasts tapes from [[terrorist]]s as terrorist sympathizers. [[Conservapedia]],<ref>[https://www.conservapedia.com/Al-Jazeera Conservapedia's article on Al Jazeera]</ref> [[Metapedia]],<ref>[http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera Metapedia's article on Al Jazeera]</ref> and [[Rightpedia]]'s<ref>[https://en.rightpedia.info/w/Al_Jazeera Rightpedia's article on Al Jazeera]</ref> articles on Al Jazeera are basically rants, for example.

Most people in the "international affairs"<ref group=note>Particularly those who do work on [[Africa]], South [[Asia]], or the Middle East.</ref> business find the online English-language version invaluable. Even [[conservatives]] working in the field will read it, though often quietly.{{fact}}

==Al Jazeera America==
[[File:Mehdi Hasan cropped.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Hasan in 2012]]
As Current TV was going belly up with falling ratings and revenue, it ended up being sold to Al Jazeera, broadcasting rights and all. Almost everything about Current, barring about half the staff, was repurposed and relaunched as Al Jazeera America, a surprisingly and stunningly well-done news channel. In less than a year it's taken two Peabody Awards and a [[Robert F. Kennedy]] Journalism Award for programs aired — really.<ref>{{wpl|Al Jazeera America#Content and programs|It seems like the channel has been given near-full editorial independence}}.</ref> 

As one writer put it "Welcome back, real cable news."<ref>[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/04/elizabeth-wurtzel-my-tea-party-mom-loves-al-jazeera-america.html My Tea Party Mom Loves Al Jazeera America], ''The Daily Beast''</ref>

Unfortunately, AJAM shut its doors on April 30<sup>th</sup>, 2016 and instead Al Jazeera English expanded its online news production in North America.<ref>http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/1/13/al-jazeera-america-to-close-down.html</ref> Its online division (at least) closed early on February 26<sup>th</sup>.<ref>http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/26/goodnight-and-good-luck.html</ref>

There might be something cursed about that old Current TV spot, after all…

==Mehdi Hasan==
Award-winning [[British]] journalist [[Mehdi Hasan]] hosts two of the most well-received AJ programs, ''Head to Head''<ref>http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/2014/10/head-head-impressions-2014108125416545657.html</ref> and ''Upfront''<ref>http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/episodes.html</ref>. Among Hasan's more notable interviews were [[Edward Snowden]]<ref>http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2015/09/edward-snowden-speaks-mehdi-hasan-150904102133681.html</ref>, Australian Prime Minister [[Julia Gillard]]<ref>https://newmatilda.com/2015/11/06/julia-gillard-grilled-on-al-jazeera-about-the-toxic-and-inhumane-conditions-she-forced-on-asylum-seekers-on-nauru/</ref>, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked,<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWqz3F3awPk</ref> former director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, [[Michael Flynn]],<ref>http://levantreport.com/2015/08/06/former-dia-chief-michael-flynn-says-rise-of-islamic-state-was-a-willful-decision-and-defends-accuracy-of-2012-memo/</ref> and a surprisingly tough grilling of [[Richard Dawkins]] (surprising to Dawkins and his fans).<ref>https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/01/13/dawkins-versus-mehdi-hasan-a-confrontation-about-faith/</ref>

In late December of 2015, Hasan — a Muslim whose parents are from India&nbsp;— interviewed India's [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] general secretary, {{wpl|Ram Madhav}} in a segment titled, "Is Modi’s India flirting with [[fascism]]?" Hasan grilled Madhav on multiple issues, including religious intolerance in [[India]]; the [[Hindu]] Madhav advised Hasan he should worry about "your [[ISIS]]", to which Hasan took strong exception.<ref> http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/after-ram-madhav-interview-talk-show-host-writes-hindu-nationalist-trolls-tried-to-paint-me-as-isis-supporter/#sthash.yfZBPVqW.dpuf</ref>

After the interview grabbed headlines in India, Hasan wrote on [[Twitter]] that nothing got a Twitter response such as this one in the 30-odd interviews he had done with Al Jazeera. He said that the interview must have really “hurt” as “Hindu nationalist [[trolls]]” have tried to smear him as a closet [[Islamist]], a [[Pakistan]]i and an ISIS supporter in the last 48 hours. One of the first abusive tweets that Hasan retweeted was one from [[Canadian]] writer {{wpl|Tarek Fatah||,}} who wrote that Hasan was a “Pakistani Islamist” and the studio audience was allegedly handpicked to badger Madhav.

==Sunni Arab bias==
Being based in Qatar, an [[autocratic]] [[Sunni]] Muslim state, it is often criticized for bias against [[Shi'a]] Muslims and for supporting Sunni organisations ranging from the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] to the government of Qatar. It was accused of encouraging Sunni protests and uprisings in Tunisia and [[Egypt]] in the [[Arab Spring]] while suppressing news of Shi'a uprisings against the government of [[Bahrain]], a Qatari ally; criticizing [[Iran]] (a traditional rival of Gulf Arabs); and under-reporting atrocities committed by Sunnis against Shi'a Muslims.<ref>{{wpa|Al Jazeera controversies and criticism}}</ref> Some critics also state that Al Jazeera occasionally has bias against non-Muslims in their reporting, evident in their reports of countries like Iran and Turkey. As with most claims of media bias, such allegations are hard to prove, even if one considers them bad things.

==External links==
[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/ Al Jazeera's English language website]

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Journalism]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Television]]

Categories: Journalism, Media, Television