Al-Jazeera war coverage catches world’s eye

Al-Jazeera has come under fire for giving air time to suspected terrorist, Osama bin Laden Keystone

The Arab broadcaster, Al-Jazeera, has grabbed international attention for its coverage of the war in Afghanistan. One of its journalists gave swissinfo an exclusive interview.

Al-Jazeera’s footage in Afghanistan has provided a window to the war launched in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

The satellite TV channel was catapulted into the international spotlight when it broadcast statements by Osama bin Laden – Washington’s chief suspect behind the attacks – calling on Muslims to wage a holy war against the US.

The US responded by demanding that the Emir of Qatar – who provides Al-Jazeera’s funding – rein in the station; a request that was rebuffed.

Covering controversial issues

The station has repeatedly come under fire, both within the Arab world and beyond, for its coverage of controversial issues, and for giving airtime to all protagonists, irrespective of their views.

Al-Jazeera presenter, M’hamed Krichene, told swissinfo that the US attitude proved that pluralism in the media has its limits in the West.

“When we started Al-Jazeera, we tried to model it on CNN and other TV stations in the US and Europe. In the Arab world, unfortunately, we have a very tough and [one-sided] media.

“We were surprised, therefore, to hear that this model has been criticised for presenting different points of view. We recognise, now, that those who are against plurality can be found in the Arab world, developing countries, and also in the US and Europe.”

Coverage in the West

Indeed, Krichene said coverage in the West of the war in Afghanistan was almost exclusively from an American perspective, and that Al-Jazeera provided much-needed balance.

“CNN and other mass media now follow very closely the American point of view,” he said. “Viewers can’t really understand who the Taliban and bin Laden are, and what they stand for. If Al-Jazeera didn’t exist in this crisis, we would have no idea what bin Laden thinks or the reaction of the Taliban.

“I think Al-Jazeera has provided a service, even to the Americans, to give them an idea of what others think.”

Krichene maintained that Al-Jazeera has always been committed to presenting all sides of every issue, regardless of the views involved. “We try our best always to have two points of view, even if one is not ‘acceptable’.”

Airing many views

He said this was evident from the station’s coverage of the Afghan conflict in which all the protagonists – the US, the Taliban, and bin Laden – have had the opportunity to air their views.

“We’ve tried hard to present the American point of view – from secretary of state, Colin Powell, the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, and the national security adviser, Condoleeza Rice. And, at the same time, we also try to present the Taliban’s point of view and bin Laden’s point of view.”

Concerning criticism that Al-Jazeera has allowed itself to become a platform for extremist views, Krichene admitted there was a risk that extremists might use the station for propaganda purposes, but he added that the network’s journalists were used to performing a difficult balancing act.

“The risk exists, but we are very careful and we refuse to be manipulated by bin Laden or anyone else. We broadcast bin Laden’s first video because it came to us after the war had started.”

He was also quick to point out that much of the criticism against the station comes from within the Arab world, mainly from governments trying to stifle legitimate opposition views.

“Most Arab governments don’t like the way Al-Jazeera operates – giving airtime to the opposition. We are frequently criticised, and we come under pressure. But we intend to fight hard to preserve our editorial independence.”

In Krishene’s view, the emergence of Al-Jazeera has marked a fundamental shift in the way wars are covered by the media. “It’s the first time the Americans don’t have control over the ‘media war’,” he said, citing the Gulf War when CNN dominated the coverage.

He added that the West was still practising censorship, though, in its selection of the material made available by Al-Jazeera. “All the broadcasters were very interested in the video of bin Laden,” he recalled, “but they aren’t interested in pictures of dead civilians, killed by the US air strikes”.

by Anna Nelson and Jonas Hughes