Al -Jazeera: "It's the only channel that gives you the real news"

[Better Believe It]

January 31, 2011

Live From the Streets
This Revolution is Brought to You by Al-Jazeera
By CHARLES R. LARSON

This past Saturday, when I managed to pull myself away from Al Jazeera for a half an hour so I could run an errand, I discovered that the TV at the dry-cleaning store was on the same station. No Muslims work there and, although the TV is usually on, this was the first time I had paid any attention to the TV set. Maybe it had always been on Al Jazeera and I simply hadn't noticed.

During the Bush years, Al Jazeera was vilified as biased in favor of the Arab world. I never heard the Bush administration criticizing American TV networks for favoring the United States. It wasn't until three years ago that Al Jazeera began broadcasting in English from its offices in Fairfax, Virginia, not far from where I live. I watched the station sporadically until a year ago when I went to a local Midas automobile repair shop and discovered—early in the morning when I dropped off my car—that the channel in the lobby was set on Al Jazeera. When I picked up my car in the afternoon, it was the same. I asked the manager if there were any Muslims working for him and he said no, but his more revealing answer came when I asked why his lobby television was set on Al Jazeera.

"It's the only channel that gives you the real news." His response led me to conclude that if middle America had figured this out, something interesting was happening.

I increased my own viewing of Al Jazeera and realized that, yes, the manager at Midas was right. Sometimes events unfolding in the United States received better coverage and analysis on Al Jazeera than on American network and cable channels. That was particularly true during the run-up to the 2010 mid-term elections.

Read the full article at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/larson01312011.html

[gateley]

1. Agree! nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

2. They are regular viewing for me -

I watch the half hour show on LinkTV. Jon Stewart pointed out the irony of Al Jazeera being the only news outlet to focus extensively on the 9/11 workers healthcare bill.

[pacalo]

3. I agree. And what would we have done without "The Guardian"? I'm thankful for both.