Al Jazeera Changes Plan to Rerun Documentary

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

Al Jazeera English has quashed several planned rebroadcasts of “Shouting in the Dark,” an hourlong documentary about Bahrain’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters that had its debut last week and brought complaints from Bahraini authorities.

The decision this week to halt the repeats raised concerns among Al Jazeera’s staff members that the channel was succumbing to political or diplomatic pressure from Bahrain and its ally Saudi Arabia.

In response to inquiries by The New York Times, a spokesman for Al Jazeera said Tuesday that the documentary would be rebroadcast on Thursday and would be paired with a round-table discussion.

The episode illustrates the thorny issue of independence for Al Jazeera, one of the world’s biggest satellite news organizations, which is financed by the emir of Qatar and is perceived by some people to be a diplomatic tool of the country. Al Jazeera insists that the Qatari government does not interfere in the network’s editorial operations.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/world/middleeast/10jazeera.html

[gateley]

1. I thought AJ was independent. Hmmmm. nt

[MattSh]

2. Well, someone has to pay for it.

Either government, or viewers, or advertisers.

Since viewers don't really want to pay for anything, especially when free options are available, it's up to government or advertisers to pay.

Either way, they are no longer truly independent, are they?

[gateley]

4. I can't remember what I read on how they more or less self-financed.

It MAY have been a loan, come to think of it, from someone/somewhere in the desert with lots of oil.

[Alamuti Lotus]

6. No, it really never was anything more than a tool of the Qatari dictators

When the Saudi-Qatari feud was in full swing, the network was incidentally afforded a great deal of latitude in its operations; now that the Arab Counter-Revolution has closed the ranks of the club of kings (manifested primarily in the Gulf Cooperation Council), a tight leash is wrapped around the necks of any elements of decency the network previously harbored.

[Downwinder]

3. Good documentary.

[Turborama]

5. It's available to watch on their website and their YouTube channel...

Bahrain: Shouting in the dark

HD: http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/2011/08/201184144547798162.html

They're allowing commenting on the YouTube one, too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaTKDMYOBOU