A fairly effective comeback to those who say Al Jazera is biased:
We are not, definitely, like channels whereby we mix comment and opinion with the news. I have been watching the debate about the health care in this country, and I can tell you frankly that a lot of channels, when they are debating this issue, it’s very clear for me, who’s coming from outside this country, that they are taking sides. It is not the case in Al-Jazeera.
That from Al Jazeera Director General Wadah Khanfar. He was a guest on On The Media last week. More from that interview, on why the world needs Al Jazeera English:
Al-Jazeera English has a philosophy of reporting the voice for the voiceless. Al-Jazeera has the most diverse newsroom in the world; we have 50 nationalities from all backgrounds, religions and races. We are trying to create a great model, whereby the Asians are reporting about Asia, through a broadcasting center in Kuala Lumpur. Europe, we have broadcasting center in London. In Washington, we have a broadcasting center with at least 200 people working in it.
So we are a TV station that is truly global, and at the same time trying to enable journalists, regardless of their origin and culture and religion and backgrounds, to practice journalism, based on the principles that the forefathers of this profession created decades ago.
And why the Arab world needs Al Jazeera:
The amount of commitment that our audience has towards Al-Jazeera, they embrace us, not because we are politically correct from the point of view of governments, which most of them are authoritarian, no. We are full of pride and determination because the public out there think of Al-Jazeera as their own. They own it.
So, therefore, yes, we will continue. But definitely we will face trouble. So what? Let us face troubles. We are journalists. If we choose this profession, we should choose it for a mission, to be committed to the audience, to truth, and to allow space for transformation to be correct and right.
How could the Arab world build future if 65 percent who are under 30, you know, 65 percent are, are ruled by authoritarian regimes – no democracy, aging regimes, corruption and so on, and so forth. The only voice that has the strength to challenge this status quo and say there is something wrong, please let us fix it, is Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera is on the foremost power of creating democracy and freedom of expression in, in the Arab world.
We have no censorship in the U.S. but the only place you can get Al Jazera is Washington, DC?
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