Al Jazeera English News Network

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

I'm a news hound, and I watch Al Jazeera English a lot. It is much better than CNN and BBC World News. It is now the leading 24-hour news channel in the developing world (SEA, Africa, and South America). It is not the Al Qaeda news network as it is portrayed in the U.S. It gives a very balanced mideast perspective on the news.

Al Jazeera English launched in November 2006. I like the fact that one of its four offices is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Funded, like the Arabic-language original, by the seemingly bottomless pockets of Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the new channel has offices in Washington and London as well as Doha, Qatar, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. So far the emphasis has been on long-form reporting from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia more than from Europe and America; the effect, for an American viewer, has been a bit like looking at a map of the world turned upside down. One of the first things you notice about Al-Jazeera English is the amount of money that's been spent on it. The studios and sets look glitteringly high-tech, and they are stocked with smartly dressed male and female ex-BBC staffers, both of English and Arab origin.

They have excellent coverage of the U.S. presidential election, although, like all of the international media, they are too enamored with Barack Obama. Of note, anchor Dave Maresh, who came from ABC's Nightline, recently quit as a correspondent for Al Jazeera English, allegedly because the news station is starting to adopt the anti-American bias of its sister station, Al Jazeera Arabic. Maresh quits Al Jazeera

David Frost has a regular weekly programme called Frost Over the World.

My favourite regular programme is Inside Iraq. It is set up as a debate between western and arab pundits. The host of the show is a crack-up as he blasts the incompetence of U.S. foreign policy. Inside Iraq

Al Jazeera English website

[Jingthing]

Yeah, I watch it and like it very much. I like to mix it up: BBC, CNN, Fox, and now AJE. CNN (sourced from the US, not their international version) is still my favorite but probably because I am American.

Edited April 17, 2008 by Jingthing

[Neeranam]

I have Al Jazeera, Fox, Cnn, and BBC - I don't watch any of them for more than 5 min except BBC world occasionally.

Fox is the worst but good to laugh at them.

[Jingthing]

Fox is the worst but good to laugh at them.

An old college friend is a liberal pundit there (yes they have them), so I kind of have to watch to see him.

OK, and I admit I really like Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld (and if you don't, you Sir, are worse than Hitler).

[Scott]

Is it available on UBC?

[Thai at Heart]

Fox is the worst but good to laugh at them.

An old college friend is a liberal pundit there (yes they have them), so I kind of have to watch to see him.

OK, and I admit I really like Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld (and if you don't, you Sir, are worse than Hitler).

"We report (with a bias), you decide (while your brain is in neutral)"

[Naam]

FAUX News, especially the uneducated but boasting @sshole Bill O'Reilly is a nice change from watching Deutsche Welle or al-Jazeera only Pat Roberts is more entertaining than O'Reilly.

[ignis]

Yes watch it often.........

Have found that any 'Breaking News' is on Al Jazeera English, then later or next day the same news is on BBC just many hours late.

[pampal]

I like Al Jazeera English, refreshing to have different view points

[popshirt]

Al Jazeera is my favourite news channel. I watch it as often as I can.

[meom]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

[rixalex]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

And who doesn't want to see maimed children?!

You people are sick.

[meom]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

And who doesn't want to see maimed children?!

You people are sick.

My point was that the Arabic version is less censored and more focused on the plight (for lack of a better word) of for example the Palestinians while CNN, Fox and to a lesser extend the BBC are more supportive of Israel.

Don't know what you mean with "you people"; anyway not really related to Thailand so better quit here.

[rixalex]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

And who doesn't want to see maimed children?!

You people are sick.

My point was that the Arabic version is less censored and more focused on the plight (for lack of a better word) of for example the Palestinians while CNN, Fox and to a lesser extend the BBC are more supportive of Israel.

Don't know what you mean with "you people"; anyway not really related to Thailand so better quit here.

Censoring of horrific scenes has nothing to do with the focus of a news channel, rather their ethical standards.

The hunger for gore and the complete lack of respect for victims, shown both by the programme makers and the audience is what makes me sick and was who i was refering to with "you people".

[madjbs]

So because it's unacceptable to you, you think it MUST be unacceptable for the rest of the world to show those kinds of images, your standards are RIGHT and BETTER than others right? And then to use racial slanted attacks like "you people"...... It may come as a surprise to you but those kind of gruesome scenes are part of everyday life for some people, if you want to go back to just seeing all the nicey nicey images and how great the war is going watch Fox.

[britmaveric]

AJ is shi*e - completely slanted. Makes it no better than the rest and prob on par with awful CNN. However good to see what the enemy is saying....

Edited April 17, 2008 by britmaveric

[geriatrickid]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

Too bad that it is usually attributed to entities that are not the cause of the injuries.

[Jingthing]

I find AJE less biased than Fox. I wish AJE was more biased so then I could really learn something about their point of view, but I think for marketing reasons they have really toned it down.

[britmaveric]

I find AJE less biased than Fox. I wish AJE was more biased so then I could really learn something about their point of view, but I think for marketing reasons they have really toned it down.

Watch the arabic version - you want over the top bias.

[JetsetBkk]

Looking at the top 5 news stories:

Hamas vows to avenge Gaza deaths - same same

Suicide bomber strikes Iraq funeral - same same

Bangladeshis seek war crimes trial - ???

Olympic torch met by Delhi protests -

Ahmadinejad: Iran 'most powerful' - same same

...nothing much has changed in the last 5 years, nothing much will affect me and even if it did there's bugger all I can do about it so why read about it or worry about it?

[rixalex]

So because it's unacceptable to you, you think it MUST be unacceptable for the rest of the world to show those kinds of images, your standards are RIGHT and BETTER than others right? And then to use racial slanted attacks like "you people"...... It may come as a surprise to you but those kind of gruesome scenes are part of everyday life for some people, if you want to go back to just seeing all the nicey nicey images and how great the war is going watch Fox.

Making entertainment (dressed up as news) out of people who are in suffering is just wrong, no matter what your culture or background. Yes my standards are RIGHT and BETTER than yours if you think otherwise.

As already explained, my comment about "you people" was refering to those who enjoyed watching a nice bit of decapitation over dinner. I have no idea what meom's racial origin is, as nor do i yours, and frankly it's of no interest to me, so stop trying to play the racial card and start expaining just why it is you need to see images unsensored of death and suffering as you sit in the comfort of your sitting room.

[madjbs]

Making entertainment (dressed up as news) out of people who are in suffering is just wrong, no matter what your culture or background. Yes my standards are RIGHT and BETTER than yours if you think otherwise.

Why are they making entertainment? If it happens to be the truth then it's news isn't it? Like I said before, if you can't cope with the reality of the situation then thats your problem, go and watch Fox, perhaps it might make people think twice before supporting gruesome wars and attacks on innocent people.

Your comments on "you people" were very poorly thought out as you were referring to people watching an Arabic news channel which would obviously lead to the assumption to who exactly you were referring to. Poor excuse in my opinion. You seem completely unable to see anything from your own narrow perspective.

Edited April 17, 2008 by madjbs

[way2muchcoffee]

Uncensored is better in my opinion.

Images make a stronger and more truthful impact on people's understanding of the reality of situations. To know that someone died is not the same as seeing someone dying.

We see these types of images on TV and at the cinemas already, so why not show them on the news? The viewers will at least be closer to understanding the true human cost of various policies, actions, and events.

Again, just my opinion.

Edited April 17, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[madjbs]

Exactly coffee boy, if people support these various policies, actions, and events then they should be mature enough to see the impact they have on the people they effect. To scurry away and make excuses of the gruesomeness of it seems rather ignorant to me. I guess most people don't liked to be disturbed while sat on there nice soft sofa in their big house in suburbia somewhere.

[Gary A]

Quite frankly, I'd rather watch Fox and Al Jazeera that the Communist News Network or the British Bullsh!t Broadcasting.

[jstumbo]

I have Al Jazeera, Fox, Cnn, and BBC - I don't watch any of them for more than 5 min except BBC world occasionally.

Fox is the worst but good to laugh at them.

I think the people on Fox live in a different world. A bunch of right wing wackos

[madjbs]

I watched some BBC the other day, it seems to have become unbelievably boring these days and rather low tech.

[Ulysses G.]

Here in the Middle-East (Saudi to be precise) I'm watching the Arabic version sometimes. You get to see a lot of wounded people, children with shot off limbs etc. most of which is censored by the BBC, CNN etc..

Too bad that it is usually attributed to entities that are not the cause of the injuries.

Ain't that the truth!

[jstumbo]

perhaps it might make people think twice before supporting gruesome wars and attacks on innocent people.

I believe that the number of people that are killed by the US in Iraq now is a very small number, especially compared to the number that are being killed by their fellow citizens. Most if not all US attacks are targeting insurgents or who they believe to be insurgents, whereas many of the attacks by fellow Iraqi citizens specifically target civilians. Sometimes US attacks do kill civilians. But these civilians are usually family members of insurgents or other people that are in the house with the insurgents.

I wish the US never went in and I never supported that, but what do you suggest now? Now that the US is there and the people are killing each other, should the US just pull everyone out? That would lead to massive civilian deaths from sectarian fighting. You would then complain that the US left it in a mess. So what would you like the US to do now?

Edited April 17, 2008 by jstumbo

[britmaveric]

Innocent is well subjective - I agree with the prev poster most of the death/mayhem is caused directly by the people themselves.