Al-jazeera (Ce#5)

Never before have I ever visited the Al-Jazeera news website throughout the numerous times I, along with the rest of the world, have heard about it. I think the first time I have heard about Al-Jazeera was when the Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and Taliban video footages had came out. I was under the impression that Al-Jazeera was not a CNN/BBC_____ (fill in the blank) “legitimate” news source. I had the impression that Al-Jazeera was a popular Islamic website spewing filth. But when I visited, reviewed and navigated the page I was DEAD wrong!

Quite often I check the CNN webpage for the latest global events, everyday in fact so I can easily compare Al-Jazeera to CNN. The main difference between the two in my opinion is obviously the sphere of focus. Al-Jazeera, rightfully so, is centered around the Middle-East and Asia whereas CNN is more centered on the Western hemisphere mainly US and Europe.

Unlike CNN, Al-Jazeera is not covered with advertisements (which is nice) and has better coverage of important areas such as Asia and the Middle-East. A question that was raised in my International studies English class of whether or not the “Subaltern” has a voice. (The subaltern being those poorer citizens of the world living in developing countries who are often used and uncared for) I think Al-Jazeera, a legitimate news sources, provides that voice to parts of the world that many forget about.

It is very interest and different to me to see headlines in Mogadishu and Comoros (Africa) next to ones on the US. For me Al-Jazeera is a break from the self centered ideology that is the American media. Todays, May 4, 2007, headlines on the CNN website are about a man facing execution by lethal injection. My opinion/thought is “Is that the best you can find?” same date and time on Al-Jazeera is “No US-Iran talks at Iraq conference”.
Of course relevant but included on the front page of Al-Jazeera are headlines with pictures of; “Islamic Jihad men killed near Jenin”, “Azeris jailed for 'insulting Islam”, “Haitians die after boat capsizes” and finally “Scottish nationalists win vote”
See the trend here? WORLD coverage!
Of course this is just one day and perhaps other days CNN appears to have a broader area of coverage.

Over I am glad I have been finally introduced to other worldly news sources and I have already book marked the Al-Jazeera website and plan to cite it in the future.


The things you discover when going to school huh...... :)