Today, when Egyptians protest against President Mohammad Morsi and
the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Jazeera is often critical of
them, in the style of the old pro-government TV station. Conversely,
according to ex-correspondent Suliman, Al-Jazeera executives have
ordered that Morsi's decrees should be portrayed as pearls of wisdom.
"Such a dictatorial approach would have been unthinkable before," he
says. "In Egypt we have become the palace broadcaster for Morsi."
I can't believe I'm reading this. According to an
article at Der Spiegel, Al Jazeera has become a mouthpiece for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, just as Fox in the US is the mouthpiece for the GOP.
A prominent correspondent who, until one year ago, used to report in
Beirut for the network, says: "Al-Jazeera takes a clear position in
every country from which it reports -- not based on journalistic
priorities, but rather on the interests of the Foreign Ministry of
Qatar," he says. "In order to maintain my integrity as a reporter, I had
to quit."
When, for instance, mass protests were staged against the neighboring
regime in Bahrain, a close ally of the emir, Al-Jazeera almost entirely
ignored the situation. In Syria, on the other hand, where Qatar supports
the Islamist-leaning opponents of President Bashar Assad with money and
weapons, the network's journalists are extremely close to the rebels.
That's
a page directly from the Fox News playbook. This is distressing because
Al Jazeera has been a sterling, independent news source since its
creation. What a terrible downfall for a formerly trusted news source.
And I'm not the only one who thinks this.
The Arab TV network has recently suffered an exodus of prominent staff
members. Reporters and anchors in cities like Paris, London, Moscow,
Beirut and Cairo have left Al-Jazeera, despite what are seen as
luxurious working conditions in centrally located offices.
It's just sad. Of all the things I thought Al Jazeera might turn into, Fox News wasn't on the list.