Empire strikes back

The Arabic channel Al-Jazeera has started broadcasting in English. Al Jazeer English marks a milestone in the history of news and broadcast and may have important consequences for turning the tide in the global flow of information and images. Hitherto, the west has had a monopoly on information. It was the countries of North America and Europe that controlled the flow of news through outlets like CNN and BBC that had a global reach. This monopoly was used to control news flow in a way that favoured a western point of view. This became painfully apparent during gulf war II when “embedded” journalists traveled with American army columns and prostituted news reporting. Apparently, even “liberal” media outlets like CNN and BBC reported the American invasion uncritically and treated the US army with kid gloves. I remember watching a shocked Rageh Omar, The BBC’s war correspondent, reporting from Baghdad on how US soldiers were targeting journalists. Rageh is now with Al Jazeera.
Al jazeera is notorious in the west (especially America) as a propaganda outlet for Al qaida. But just because they show al qaida videos which CNN won’t show due to misplaced notions of patriotism and self-censorship does not mean they do plug jobs for terrorist outfits. Just call it reporting the other side of the story, the side that the west does not want to hear. The channel has provoked as much outrage in the middle-east by taking a critical view of the authoritarian regimes that dot the landscape. It is a channel that has provoked a lot of debate and discussion, something that is sorely needed in that troubled region. And, if they show the damage wrought by American foreign policy in Palestine, Iraq and possible Syria and Iran should they be labeled a channel that supports terrorists? Especially when CNN, ABC, BBC and Fox will not show the graphic and violent visuals that keep getting generated everyday in the Arab street.
A host of popular television personalities from BBC and CNN have joined the fledgling network (albeit one that is backed by the financial resources of the Qatar government). David Frost (BBC), Rageh Omar and Riz Khan (CNN) to name a few. Why did they leave their comfy media jobs and join a new venture? I believe it was for the challenge as much as anything else. Here, for the first time in modern history, is a channel that is challenging western media outlets and their dominance of information flow and ability to set the economic and political agenda in connivance with their governments. Al-Jazeera intends to bring an Asian and African perspective to its reporting, an alternative world-view. At last, a new perspective.
I hope they start broadcasting in India soon.