When did Al Jeezera...
- Thread starter wvupsc
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Al-Jazeera America is probably the least biased 24hr news station in the US. I actually respect their reporting more than MSNBC, CNN, or Fox News. Their slogan is "Fact-Based, In-Depth News." That should be a ridiculous slogan, but they know all about the propaganda houses they compete with.
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Now Al Jazeera is credible. The Blue Lot never ceases to amaze me.
I love these kind of oh so telling posts.
"Look at me! I have planted my pseudo-intellectual flag on yet another imaginary hill!" [thumbsup]
Dammit, this is just like the No Fun League. Vernon Goodell, imo.
You mean posting a fact based on observations over several years to refute an argument that is boiled down to the "Muslim-y" name of a network?
The only thing that's telling is that there are people who want to be informed and there are people who want to be told how to feel about things - the latter watch cable news of any sort, which is what the majority of this board does.
When was the last time you watched it? Its incredibly refreshing to watch, IMO. They literally JUST report the news. There aren't any biased, intellectually flimsy opinion pieces from the talking heads like you see on Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC. They might bring in a conservative or liberal guest to discuss something, but it never devolves into a shouting match like it does on the other 3.
I actually think that's why the ratings for it suck so much. People in the US like to be preached to and entertained, not to be informed. They want the news they want to hear. So Republicans watch Fox News as it preaches intellectually vacuous right wing opinions. MSNBC is the same thing, just change "right" to "left." CNN preaches sensationalist nonsense to the sensationalists that want scandal and entertainment. I mean, I get it, a lot of people think Al-Jazeera is that vaguely terrorist sounding company that is plotting the demise of America. It is what it is.
I don't think you understand the difference between "news" and "opinion journalism." Take away the obviously slanted opinion shows on Fox or CNN and their hard news coverage is the easily the best in the world (along with the BBC) given the talent they employ and their vast contacts/resources. They blew by traditional network news years ago and Al-Jezeera isn't in that conversation.
And yes, I've watched Al-Jezeera many times. They generally do a pretty good job and right now they are benefiting greatly from not being obsessed with our election cycle, but their presentation/slant is absolutely affected by their heritage and historic viewing demographic and they lack real reach/resources in many parts of the world. That's not my opinion and not really a knock on them. That's just reality. They are what they are.
You should be aware that it's become quite the little position du jour among wannabe intellectuals to talk about how cool Al-Jezeera is. It's far more poseur than fact. BTW, your whole "Muslimy name" comment was a sad attempt at condescension and completely telling about where you come from on this. It's ok to be a liberal...just don't be a cliche'.
This sounds like a station we could all benefit from, but you may have to help us mortal souls. How do we detect the segments as being literally just reporting of news? How do we make that judgement? How do we know the talking heads are not biased or not intellectually flimsy opinionated pieces by the talking heads. When listening to their reporting, what do you have to compare that to to deduce that the reporting meets your above criteria? Have you already heard the news they are reporting and taken the time to verify the authenticity?
Help me to understand the purity of their reporting as you understand it.
I get news from the three networks you find fault with. I watch Fox because it is more in line with the position I take. I refrain from those shows that are used for entertainment value on all three channels. I watch Morning Joe when he is on the show. I watch CNN mostly when Fox and MSNBC is not striking a note. Like CNN when the ex-Fox lady is reporting.
There are a couple networks that are of the "blame America first" flavor - BBC and Al's station.
It depends on what you are watching. Pretty much the entire prime time slate for Fox News is opinion. Same with MSNBC. CNN isn't quite as bad, they are just sensationalist. They are the idiots that had a pilot inside a replica airplane for a week and a half running simulations on what might have happened to that lost airliner. When they put on their "serious news channel" hat and just report the news, they are accurate. Its just that that follow that up with editorializing. And its done in a way that people can't tell the difference between actual news and what is simply opinion. Fox News is probably the worst at this. And there is objective data to back this up. Poll after poll show that people who watch this sort for "infotainment" are less informed. Just google it. One such poll had a nice graphical representation:
And who were the three worst? Yup.
Watch both Sky News and Al-Jazeera America. There is very little of that sort of infotainment. And if there is, its usually from an invited guest that is on a panel -- and the discussions are always civil.
And I really don't think BBC or Al-Jazeera America are particularly anti-America. If you want to see what that's like, tune into Russia Today. It's flat out propaganda. It gives me a nice chuckle. They spent all of last year trying to put out news stories about how the dollar is going to collapse.
Don't know how to answer this rather than suggest you are watching too much TV. I prefer Fox with Morning coffee. With current lady, they have gone too far to human interest and animals and other non newsy coverage. That has sent me to Morning Joe when Joe is on. CNN gets some time - if they have anything of interest. 4PM to 7, I watch Fox some. Cavuto is tolerable when economic issues are topic. The 5 is entertaining and like the imbalance leaning toward conservative. Have watched a lifetime of network TV when the imbalance favored liberals. 6 o'clock news is Fox uninterrupted.It depends on what you are watching. Pretty much the entire prime time slate for Fox News is opinion. Same with MSNBC. CNN isn't quite as bad, they are just sensationalist. They are the idiots that had a pilot inside a replica airplane for a week and a half running simulations on what might have happened to that lost airliner. When they put on their "serious news channel" hat and just report the news, they are accurate. Its just that that follow that up with editorializing. And its done in a way that people can't tell the difference between actual news and what is simply opinion. Fox News is probably the worst at this. And there is objective data to back this up. Poll after poll show that people who watch this sort for "infotainment" are less informed. Just google it. One such poll had a nice graphical representation:
And who were the three worst? Yup.
Watch both Sky News and Al-Jazeera America. There is very little of that sort of infotainment. And if there is, its usually from an invited guest that is on a panel -- and the discussions are always civil.
And I really don't think BBC or Al-Jazeera America are particularly anti-America. If you want to see what that's like, tune into Russia Today. It's flat out propaganda. It gives me a nice chuckle. They spent all of last year trying to put out news stories about how the dollar is going to collapse.
Russia state news would not invest 1 minute of my life reporting absolute predictable coverage. We will simply disagree on AJ & BBC.
Polls that put Fox in bad light should be predictable, but who gets the most coverage? I think Fox has greater viewership, and that is the true polling in my estimation,
Because they only have 30,000 viewers. Hell.... Al Gore got them to pay him 500 Million and he won't even watch them.
That's an excellent question. And hopefully they'll find out.
But from what I've read, some guy who worked at a clinic that prescribed this stuff allegedly claims that he lied to them. Not sure what you can do about a guy that lied. But if the reported responsible bent the truth, I'm sure they'll be reprimanded.
All I'm saying is that Al-Jazeera America is a better channel than Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN in my opinion.
I've watched AJN quite a bit. They are much less sensational, but to say they have better news coverage is a bit of a stretch. I think their primary investigators are actually employed by the AP.
IMO is a qualifier that no one should argue with. You have an absolute right to your opinion just like the rest do. But, when you offer it as a fact, the issue changes.
"Not sure what you can do about a guy that lied" is no excuse for shoddy reporting. Most honorable reporting asks for a confirmation on the report. Normally the confirmation is a second source. You choose a confirmation as going back to the source and asking if he is sure. When he says "hell yes" that is not considered a confirming second source.
Will you disregard future reports from AJ if this turns out to be partially or fully unreliable? Will it be viewed as just another tabloid?
Certainly from that reporter I would have to question things. I don't ignore NBC because of Brian Williams, or CBS because of Rather. Or any of the other countless instances where a story wound up being untrue. People lie to reporters. It happens. And, again, we don't even really know the full story. Each news item should be taken on the merit of the facts presented, not by who is presenting it.
And when I talk about prefering Al-Jazeera America over other "news channels," I'm not even talking about when they put on the "serious news" hat from time to time. All of them generally do fine in that regard. I don't like the Big 3 because of how they mix fact with opinion in ways that have objectively led to people being misinformed.
Your last paragraph fairly well states the conservative position when we only had the Network News. But, we didn't fully appreciate what we were being told until Roger Ailes introduced Fox. We had nothing for comparison of 6 o'clock news we were being fed. Obviously, the networks could not alter their concept of news reporting. Network news is being replaced by the 24 hour news and local news at the 6 o'clock hour where they enjoyed monopoly liberal news. The difference was the deliver of the liberal slant from your favorite reporter. We have come a long way baby.