I found out discussion on Al Jazeera during class last week very interesting. We talked about whether or not the United States should provide an Al Jazeera channel to Americans. At the moment, the only people who have access to Al Jazeera, via television, are certain government officials. In my opinion I think an Al Jazeera channel should be created and allowed for a couple different reasons.
The first reason is that they have better access to the most important viewpoints in the world. With 65 bureaus all across the world, Al Jazeera has access to reporters from all parts of the world and who can speak many different languages. When you have a reporter that can blend into a culture and communicate directly with the people in the middle of the conflict or story, they will be able to report a viewpoint from within, instead of a story that has been communicated through numerous sources and translators.
Second of all, since they are based all around the world, I think they are less biased than new sources based in a single country. Although I don’t think that news can be completely unbiased, due to the human involvement, I believe Al Jazeera gets as close to the real story as possible. It also broadcasts 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, so there is always a way to get up-to-date news, happening at all times.
And lastly, 60 percent of the traffic to the Al Jazeera English website originates in the United States. So, although there is no channel allowed to broadcast Al Jazeera on television, Americans are still finding ways to watch it. Also, the government isn’t concerned about Americans watching on the internet, so I think allowing it on the television would allow an older generation to experience Al Jazeera.
Overall, I think it should be a allowed on American television and there should be a channel created. What better news is there than news from inside the conflict?
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