Better Know a Noble

CNN? Nah, I watch Al Jazeera

At 12:00 AM tomorrow, Al Jazeera will launch its much-anticipated international news station in English, Al Jazeera International (AJI) which is expected to reach an unprecedented 30 to 40 million homes immediately. Their intentions are evident: to challenge the BBC-CNN monopoly on world news coverage and invite stratification of opinion in political discourse. Wadah Khanfar, the director-general of Al Jazeera network, confidently touts the English station as proof of Al Jazeera’s burgeoning strength:

This is unprecedented in the broadcasting industry - no other international news channel has launched with such a high number of homes across the world. We will continue to build on this figure after launch and will be looking to expand our reach significantly. This is another reflection of the strength of Al Jazeera brand.

What will Al Jazeera’s surging prominence mean for U.S. Foreign Policy? Will they undermine our fight against Islamic terrorism with aggressive propaganda, or will they instead pander to a new English-speaking audience by shifting its notorious media bias? I predict that the new market forces accompanying the expansion will necessarily encourage more journalistic professionalism, objectivity, and candor than ever.

While videotapes of Osama bin Laden are featured regularly on Al Jazeera’s Arabic station, the network is decidedly independent-minded (read Hugh Miles's article in Foreign Policy). Bankrolled by the Emir of Qatar, Al Jazeera has assumed a neutral, dispassionate position in the terror debate. Blood-thirsty terrorists as well as open critics of Islamic extremism receive air-time on Al Jazeera (watch a virulently Anti-Islamic clip appearing on AJ television this year). The network provides the forum for all political discourse, no matter how extreme.

Despite its popularity in the Arab world (and Israel), Al Jazeera has consistently lost money due to its failure to garner Western advertising. A balanced international network recruiting respected journalists, minus the Osama tapes, may be just the gamble Al Jazeera needs to finally turn a profit. After all, the Emir’s treasury is not inexhaustible. Professionalism will be accentuated, extremism curtailed.