Control Room

[theBruiser500]

Just saw this documentry on the media coverage of Iraq as US troops started bombing and go to Bagdad. Well done very interesting I thought. Has there been another thread about this in OOT, just did a quick search and didn't see anything. What was most interesting to me in this movie was that it took place in al jazer the Arab news network and was about them a completely different perspective, they are good guys. Also watching Donald Rumsfeld in this was sickening.

[fluxrad]

It was interesting. I thought it was going to give me a more "balanced" opinion of Al Jazeera and oddly enough it did almost the exact opposite. I walked away with the feeling that, while these guys really wanted to be unbiased journalists, they just didn't get it. The fat guy was kind of cool, but there was a segment where they were talking about how the U.S. wasn't justified in the war etc. etc.

I was against the war myself, but I couldn't believe I was listening to this coming out of the mouths of "journalists."

[ThaSaltCracka]

most people don't need to see a documentary to know that Al-Jazeera is far from fair and balanced .

[fluxrad]

To be honest, from a lot of what I'd read and seen on Al Jazeera (e.g. english.aljazeera.com) I thought they were relatively hands-off with regard to commentary. It's obvious that they present an "arabic slant" with regard to the news they publish, but this is to be expected.

What the documentary did was change my mind about why they were biased. It wasn't because they were intentionally trying to sway public opinion (a la Faux News), it was more because they just didn't understand that journalism is about presenting the news with as little spin as possible.

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
most people don't need to see a documentary to know that Al-Jazeera is far from fair and balanced .

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't understand. How do most people already "know"? From how Al-Jazeera is portrayed in the American media? Gut instinct?

GoT

[ThaSaltCracka]

have you ever been to their website?

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
have you ever been to their website?

[/ QUOTE ]

Ask me again in two minutes. But you get what I'm saying. What makes you think their articles/opinions/info/spin is wrong and NBC, FOX, CNN, etc's is right? Do you have anything to compare them against besides each other? Most people don't take the time to look for relatively unbiased sources and do research on their own. I guess your original comment just kind of bugged me. It's kind of along the same lines as how people say, "I barely know any about SubjectX and even I know THAT!" That just isn't logical to me.

GoT

[ThaSaltCracka]

have you been to their website? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[GuyOnTilt]

[ QUOTE ]
have you been to their website? /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Um, yeah. Who hasn't?

GoT

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
What makes you think their articles/opinions/info/spin is wrong and NBC, FOX, CNN, etc's is right?

[/ QUOTE ] well, I hope I didn't imply this. FWIW, I don't watch much news mostly because I never know anymore whether or not what I am hearing is unbiased.

[nolanfan34]

Partial thread hijack.

Fox News is the only media housed in the "green zone" in Bagdhad, while the rest of the media is in the "red zone" and has to hire their own security firms. Discuss.

[ThaSaltCracka]

their smart, right?

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
their smart, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

I would guess the other media would be in there as well if they could.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
their smart, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

I would guess the other media would be in there as well if they could.

[/ QUOTE ]sure, beats the hell out of being kidnapped.

[fluxrad]

[ QUOTE ]
Partial thread hijack.

Fox News is the only media housed in the "green zone" in Bagdhad, while the rest of the media is in the "red zone" and has to hire their own security firms. Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks to people like Rodger Ailes and Karl Rove, the line has been seriously blurred between real journalism and party-sponsored propaganda. This has seriously damaged the credibility of all news organizations and created an extremely deep divide between those that are buying what Rupert Murdoch is selling, and those who aren't.

[wacki]

[ QUOTE ]
Partial thread hijack.

Fox News is the only media housed in the "green zone" in Bagdhad, while the rest of the media is in the "red zone" and has to hire their own security firms. Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

Maybe they didn't want to go in the green zone and wanted to be close to the action sothey could report on all the bad things happening. Then again, a CBS camera man was arrested for being an insurgent.

[wacki]

As for my above post, I wrote it poorly.

You can't judge every act and and every statistic on a superficial level. In short, fly paper tactics are for the fishes.

[Petro]

[ QUOTE ]
The fat guy was kind of cool, but there was a segment where they were talking about how the U.S. wasn't justified in the war etc. etc.

I was against the war myself, but I couldn't believe I was listening to this coming out of the mouths of "journalists."

[/ QUOTE ]

All journalists have opinions -- they're human. Whether or not it leaks into their reports is the big issue.

I think the Marine Corps spokesperson, who was the most compelling person in the film in my opinion, made a great point about Al Jazeera and Fox News both playing to their audience.

Your point about Al Jazeera not "getting it" when it comes to what unbiased journalism looks like is very valid -- the random crackpot guy they used as a Western viewpoint was a good illustration.

[theBruiser500]

[ QUOTE ]
Partial thread hijack.

Fox News is the only media housed in the "green zone" in Bagdhad, while the rest of the media is in the "red zone" and has to hire their own security firms. Discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

that is incredible

[theBruiser500]

wacki these are my thoughts on this, i think you must be wrong but don't know much about this, nolanfan you have a link to more info?

it sounds like being in the green zone is not a choice of the news people. Nolanfan didn't say anything about where the news people were located in bagdad just that the government provided security for them and not the other news organizaitons. also, out of all the news organizations there just 1 is in the green zone, the most conservative, fox.

[theBruiser500]

[ QUOTE ]
most people don't need to see a documentary to know that Al-Jazeera is far from fair and balanced .

[/ QUOTE ]

maybe al jazeera IS actually fair and it is the american news that you read that is very biased.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
wacki these are my thoughts on this, i think you must be wrong but don't know much about this, nolanfan you have a link to more info?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't have a link, my knowledge there comes from someone who works for one of the networks and has been over there for prolonged stretches at a time. Next time I talk to him I'll ask more about how that works, but I was under the distinct impression that they would much rather be housed in the safe zone, than be "close to the action".