Foreign Affairs:CNN & BBC vs. Al Jazeera

Beginning in 1996 the AmericanCNN and British BBC faced a new opponent from the Middle East when it came to news coverage. Al-Jazeera, an Arabic news channel based out of Qatar has been providing news coverage and information to the Middle Eastern areas for the past fourteen years. Al-Jazeera states that they remain unbiased of all dictatorships, while surrounded by them, and seek only to provide update and accurate information relevant to that area of the world. Beginning in 2006, after ten years of operation, Al Jazeera began Al-Jazeera English, which sought to broadcast to English speaking audiences worldwide.

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                There is however a conflict between the views presented by Al-Jazeera and those presented by the likes of the American CNN or British BBC. For example, a main focus of Al-Jazeera reporting is the number of civilian casualties. The station constantly broadcasts images of wounded or dead civilians in an effort to provide a casualty report. This is in complete contrast to the views provided by CNN and BBC who specifically do not broadcast such images of anyone, in particular British or American soldiers.  This is an interesting contrast when considered, because by presenting gruesome images of innocent civilians hurt due to war efforts, Middle Eastern viewers are often incited with negative responses, particularly towards soldiers. Due to regulations American and British networks are prevented from displaying fallen soldiers and other bodies, this was broken only on September 11, 2001. Al-Jazeera on the other hand freely broadcasted the execution video of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist who was kidnapped tortured, and beheaded on video tape. This tape was then submitted and broadcast on the network.

                Perhaps it is cultural differences, or perhaps CNN and BBC networks seek to defend while Al-Jazeera seeks to accuse, but the two different perspectives presented are typically polar opposites. It is however, quite interesting and educational to use all three sources to develop a well rounded view of given topics.

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