The persecution of al-Jazeera ... by Hugh Miles

[HuckleB]

The spirit of Saddam

With his persecution of al-Jazeera, Allawi is missing a golden opportunity to send a message about freedom of expression in Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1294713,00.html

"...

But what the US and the Iraqi authorities fail to take into account is that such reporting is only part of al-Jazeera's output. After 9/11, al-Jazeera started a weekly talkshow out of Washington, From Washington, during which the host interviewed many members of the US administration, as well as a variety of other politicians, Republican and Democrat.

In January, at the start of the US primary elections, al-Jazeera started another weekly show called US Presidential Race which, like From Washington, is broadcast from the Washington bureau. US Presidential Race is concerned with the forthcoming US elections: it covered most of the primaries in the major states and will continue to cover events up until the November elections and beyond, until the president's inauguration.

US Presidential Race has taken great pains to explain to Arab viewers the US political and electoral process. Al-Jazeera reporters travelled around America to meet Arab communities in different states; they asked people what they thought of the elections, what were the key issues, who they were going to vote for and why. By the time the election arrives, Arab viewers will have had an opportunity to follow the democratic process every step of the way.

More of the Democratic convention was aired on al-Jazeera than on most US networks - several hours each night, more than the combined time of the three US news networks covering the convention. Al-Jazeera's London bureau has a similar focus on British politics. Three weekly programmes come live out of London, besides which al-Jazeera gives extensive coverage to British news, politics, opposition activities and goings-on in parliament.

..."

[Larkspur]

1. Didn't the Guardian get the Memo?

Censorship is Free Speech