Fwd: This Week on NOW

On 13 Jan 2005, at 22:42, ryan griffis wrote:

> Begin forwarded message:
>> …David Brancaccio sits down with Rushing, who left the
>> military in the wake of the controversy, for his take on whether or
>> not
>> Al-Jazeera is just a propaganda machine, or a valuable shaper of
>> public
>> opinion that is too powerful for the US to ignore. "Looking back on
>> it," says Rushing, "Al-Jazeera may be a more important front in the
>> war
>> on terror than Iraq was…it's the largest shaper of Arab opinion and
>> perspective in the world."

SIAW:
"Instead, here's something from a few days ago that's worth bearing in
mind the next time someone tells you that Al Jazeera is a wholly
reliable news source."

http://slate.msn.com/id/2111888/

(Yes, I know this is different from acknowledging its influence…)

- Rob.

> SIAW:
> "Instead, here's something from a few days ago that's worth bearing in
> mind the next time someone tells you that Al Jazeera is a wholly
> reliable news source."
>
> http://slate.msn.com/id/2111888/

If Al Jazeera took a cue from Fox News, they would use "wholly reliable
news source" as their byline ;)
but it was an Al Jazeera Op Ed discussed in the Slate article - a form
of "journalism" that has never held up as a "reliable" source of facts.
isn't that how Bill O'Reilly gets away with his "reporting"? So saying
that "Al Jazeera says…" is misleading, negating the source, given
later under the headline:
"…via an op-ed by one Mohammed al-Obaidi, spokesman for Al-Kifah
al-Shabi in Iraq. (Al-Kifah al-Shabi is a political party that is
boycotting the Iraqi elections scheduled later this month.)"
if media outlets are to give voice to conflicting perspectives, are
they "saying" every perspective aired?
what's funny is when someone starts using CIA reports as a reliable
source.
Timothy Noah of Slate says "A CIA report released last November plainly
lists the Halabja massacre as one of many examples of chemical-weapons
use by Iraq. This was a genuine horror wrought by Saddam Hussein."
Funny that they didn't release such a report when the gassing was
actually taking place. i'm not denying the gassing, just the desire to
uncritically use the CIA as a source.

> NOW
> Friday, February 25, 2005 on PBS
> (Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html)
>
> ==================================================================
> This week on NOW:
>
> * Bridging the digital divide. Should the telecom giants be able to
> decide if poor neighborhoods get access to high-speed Internet? Find
> out in THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT.
>
> * Reading, writing and techno-literacy. Former Governor of Maine Angus
> King, who led an initiative to provide laptop computers to every middle
> school student in his state, on preparing America for the jobs of the
> future. A David Brancaccio interview.
>
> ===================================================================
> THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT
>
> The information revolution is making high-speed Internet access an
> essential element of success in America, but there's a growing divide
> between the techno-haves and have-nots that's keeping some poorer
> neighborhoods, schools, and businesses in the digital dark. NOW goes
> inside the battle for high-speed Internet in two communities where
> local
> governments want to build their own systems to provide affordable
> access
> to underserved neighborhoods, but are being challenged by the telecom
> giants that want to maintain their dominance in local markets.
>
> ===================================================================
> ANGUS KING
>
> NOW regular contributor and former Governor of Maine Angus King saw the
> future of jobs in America and figured out how to prepare his state's
> middle school students by getting them laptop computers. But what will
> the jobs of the future be and should the government play a part in
> preparing the workforce? "If we don't know what the new jobs are going
> to be, there is, it seems to me, two things we can say for sure," King
> says. "Whatever they are, it's going to require more education and
> more
> technology." David Brancaccio gets King's perspective on the role
> government in providing the technology and training to succeed in the
> job market of the future.
>
> ===================================================================
> NOW continues online at PBS.org (www.pbs.org/now). Log on to read
> about
> the debate over community ownership of Internet access; get information
> on Maine's innovative laptop program and other efforts to combat the
> digital divide; find technology education resources for both children
> and adults with an interactive map; and more.
>
> ===================================================================
> Hosted by David Brancaccio, NOW has been called "…one of the last
> bastions of serious journalism on TV" by the Austin-American Statesmen
> and "…public television at its best" by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
> Each week, the series sheds light on a wide range of issues confronting
> the nation and explores American democracy and culture through
> investigative reporting and interviews with major authors, leading
> thinkers, and artists.
>