And Americans thought their yellfest ideological talk and news shows were bad? Who could ever imagine a discussion over media freedom in Syria on American television leading to yelling, a table being pushed back and forth and general chaos? Over the subject of Benghazi, the Obama administration and the IRS, or whether Hillary planned to have shoes thrown at her or Monica Lewinsky write a new article — yes. Over media freedom in Syria, no.
And that’s exactly what unfolded on Jordianian television. Just watch this tug of war where things truly do fall apart:
The Washington Post gives this account:
The fight erupted on the “Bayn Etijihayn” (Between Two Ways) show between Shaer Al-Johari, head of the Electronic Media Association in Jordan, and Mohammed Al-Jayousi, editor-in-chief of the news Web site al-Mustaqbal al-Arabi.
The heated conversation turned physical when Al-Jayousi accused Al-Johari of being a “deviant” who supports the Syrian revolution. Al-Johari responded by accusing Al-Jayousi of supporting the Syrian regime in exchange for money.
This prompted the two men to start shoving the studio table toward one another, eventually flipping it over. The clip is not to be missed. The host then ended the program abruptly. ?
This is not the first time a debate has created a stir on Jordanian TV. In 2012, a member of parliament not only threw his shoe at an activist on air, but then pointed a gun at him. No shots were fired.
Hopefully this clip won’t give the three ratings seeking U.S. news networks any ideas.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.