Al Jazeera America ends in 2 days. It will be missed.
I know that Al Jazeera, as a Doha, Qatar based organization is biased. I’ve lived in that country. CNN, as an Atlanta based organization, is also biased. So is Fox News. It has been a very long time since journalism has adhered to the three tenets of “accuracy, accuracy, accuracy”. So why will I miss Al Jazeera America (AJAM)?
AJAM reports international news and has reporters pretty much everywhere that Western news organizations fear to tread. I find this service invaluable. It is one thing to have accounts read from anchors sitting safely in major national capitals, and quite another to see reports from the scene. As I write this I am watching a report from Darfur. No other TV news I get has covered this region in a very long time. Oh, AJAM just moved to a report of fighting in Basilan, Philippines. I served there and it has not been in American news in many years.
Hate Al Jazeera if you will, but they are on the ground reporting the stuff that American news organizations can’t be bothered with.
A combination of poor ratings and falling oil prices doomed AJAM. The sheikhs are pulling the plug. Some see this defeating a propaganda outlet. I see it as losing an international news source.
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Grando autem duodecimo hominis
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