JUST WHAT WE NEED – AT 8:59 P.M. ET:  The chaos in Egypt is providing a cynical opportunity for Al Jazeera, the news organization sponsored by the emir of Qatar.  Al Jazeera wants to expand its English-language "service" to the United States.  The New York Times dutifully reports:

Al Jazeera stands to benefit greatly from its protest coverage, a fact not lost on the network, which has been placing advertisements in major American newspapers. The live reports strengthen the network’s already tight grip on its Arabic-language viewing public, while bolstering its argument that cable and satellite distributors in the United States should make the English version available to American viewers.

A sense of mission — and of opportunity — permeates the Al Jazeera compound on the outskirts of Doha, where on Friday the televised cries of antigovernment protesters resounded through the hallways at all hours along with the ringing of cellphones and the shouts of news anchors. Staff members were well aware they faced stiff challenges — from opponents who wish Al Jazeera off the air and skeptics who doubt the objectivity of a network backed by the emir of Qatar.

Yeah, I'd have a problem with their objectivity.  Jimmah Carter recently announced that he watches Al Jazeera, which should convince anyone above the mental age of ten that there might be something dubious about their coverage.

Since its inception in 2006, Al Jazeera English has been fighting for access to American viewers. Distributors have been unwilling to carry the service, but Mr. Anstey, the managing director, said in an interview that renewed talks with the major distributors were now under way. “There’s a growing call for Al Jazeera. That’s clear,” he said.

I'm sure they're beatin' the drums in Berkeley.

There remains a deep suspicion of Al Jazeera’s motives, however, particularly with regard to its recent protest coverage. In an essay that appeared on The Huffington Post, Marc Ginsberg, a former United States ambassador to Morocco and a former contributor to Fox News, accused Al Jazeera of acting “more and more like a ‘Wizard of Oz’ type instrument for social upheaval in the region — whether or not it brings to power Salafi extremists is immaterial to its mission.”

COMMENT:  Observers I respect, like John Fund of The Wall Street Journal, report that Al Jazeera has improved – they once employed a spy for Saddam Hussein – but I still think they have quite a way to go.  Also, Americans would certainly feel uneasy about a news organization financed by a dictatorship.  We're not too big on emirs here. 

I'd imagine that some systems in the U.S. will start to carry Al Jazeera, and it will be watched by the same crowd that watches the BBC on public television, and thinks it's getting the news because the accents are so neat.  But I wouldn't want democracy's future dependent on Al Jazeera's reporting.

February 7, 2011