Despite the network’s spectacular converge of the Egyptian protests, one can’t help but suspect its impartiality given that it is owned by a 185-year-old royal family that has friends and enemies all over the Arab World. Of the two major protests going on the Middle East, why is Al Jazeera (and the world) covering one more than the other.
Al Jazeera has come a long way from the time when it was just known for showing Osama Bin Laden tapes. During the Egyptian crisis the entire international media, including BBC World and Reuters, were at least a step behind the Arab news network. At one point, I think, even Twitter was panting with all the running it had to do to keep with Al Jazeera. Indisputably the historic success at Tahrir Square does have a vital contribution from the live 24/7 coverage by the channel.
In the process, Al Jazeera became the sole spokesperson for the Arab World overnight and came to dominate the narrative of the Arab World Protests. Now that I look for latest news on what is going on Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan or Iran, I log on to Al Jazeera website, not something I used to do a month ago. Why go to a western news source which probably has only one or two reporters in capitals of the Arab countries, when Al Jazeera staff has proliferated to all the small and big cities of the entire Middle East. And I can’t be sure, but I am guessing a lot of the Western news sources are also taking their cue from this Arab channel to know where the protests will hit next.
However, it does make me queasy that the network is owned by Qatari Royal Family, which undoubtedly has its own agenda, an agenda that doesn’t always align itself with free, uncensored press.
Many have observed that Al Jazeera and its benefactors in Qatar were only too happy to see Mubarak go and even happier that their efforts made it possible. Which is fine. But now there are two major protests going on the Arab World- Yemen, where the protests are going on for eight days across many cities, and Bahrain, where three-day old protests have claimed more than two lives. Both are equally important and have a very similar chance of turning into a success.
Yet, on Al Jazeera English homepage has six links to Bahrain protests (including a live blog and a country profile) while Yemen protests get only a single link. If you are watching Al Jazeera as a casual observer, you are going to walk away thinking that Bahrain is the only country that has a significant protest going on. Yemen can be lumped into the Jordan/Iran category - important but not yet at Tahrir Square level. Inspired by the network, most of the media channels have also shifted their focus entirely on Bahrain. For crying out loud, Yemen is on eighth day of consecutive protests. On the eighth day of Egypt protests (1 February) there was not a single soul in the entire world who was not aware of what is going on in Egypt.
May be the answer lies in the fact that while Yemeni Government enjoys good relations with Qatar, Bahrain and Qatar have been in dispute for a long time. So with this immensely powerful tool, Qatar can shift world’s attention from its friends to its enemies, at least to some extent.
Of course, saying media is biased and driven by the interests of their owners is like saying fish swim. But when fate of an entire region and world balance is stake, when millions are struggling against tremendous odds, when history is taking an unexpected turn of enormous proportions, it would be a tragedy to lose out on some opportunities simply because of a news network and its politics. Yemen and other countries that will follow, and they will follow, deserve the same attention from the world as Egypt. International pressure is going to play a key role in conflicts to come and we better get our facts straight.
To see DoT's complete coverage on Arab World Protests, click here.
Image Credit: Foreign Policy Magazine
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