Al Jazeera English

In Australia, Al-Jazeera was the story, before it was the source of the story. The news about the 'upstart' channel was acerbic, and like Afghanistan, Iraq and Islam, the US administration ambiguously and conveniently linked Al-Jazeera to the 'war on terror'. Not easily manipulated and increasingly wary of centralised western media and 'yes-men', I sought out the few columns that questioned the status quo, watched the documentary Control Room and read Hugh Miles’ book Al-Jazeera: How Arab TV News Challenged the World; then made my own decision.

Having originally cut short my journalism degree pessimistic about traditional media in Australia, my interest was piqued by rumours of a designated Al-Jazeera English language channel. Since it started, its production, recruitment and increasing public profile have garnered attention in the West for often unrepresented stories and voices. Surely more sources the better so we’re better positioned to make up our own minds. After all, I like knowing how different people will answer the same question; what it is about their experience that means they may answer so differently. How else will we hope to bridge the divide?