Whenever Americans want to learn about what’s happening in the world, many turn to trusty news sources such as CNN, ABC, or Fox News. Some media consumers who are slightly more adventurous may look into other foreign news organizations such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, or BBC. Junior Betty Harwick said, “I check the BBC site probably every week. It’s really informative!”
Indeed, for many people who come to the United States from foreign countries, the news stations of their home country are often viewed as more trustworthy in their reporting on America than American media and vice versa.
But on the whole, Americans usually rely upon American organizations to see the events of the world on the television or computer screen. The reasons for this are many: there is a sense of convenience involved, but oftentimes, foreign media is seen as biased and therefore untrustworthy.
Perhaps the biggest victim of this stereotype is the Qatar-based news station al-Jazeera, which roughly translates to “the island” in Arabic. The station launched on November 1, 1996 following the closure of the BBC’s Arabic language television station with the support of the Emir of Qatar. Sophomore Robert Blaine said, “I think [al-Jazeera] offer[s] good coverage on the Middle East, but they might be biased against America.”
Many people see al-Jazeera as being biased against the state of Israel and acting as a sounding board for terrorists. The truth, however, is that al-Jazeera was pitched as an impartial news source and platform for discussing issues relating to the Arab world. In fact, al-Jazeera became the first Arab news program to present an interview in Hebrew and was well known for a popular confrontational show called The Opposite Direction, which was a constant source of controversy regarding issues of morality and religion.
As a result of its position in the Middle East, al-Jazeera was among the first news organizations to provide reports from Afghanistan and Iraq and has been praised by the Index on Censorship for circumventing censorship and contributing to the free flow of information in the Arab world.
Another such object of these accusations is Russia Today, which is often accused by Westerners of being a Kremlin-owned mouthpiece. The station is the second most-watched foreign news channel in the United States, after BBC News. By March 2012, its videos had garnered almost 700 million views on YouTube. RT started broadcasting on December 10, 2006 in order to present “an unbiased portrait of Russia,” according to its editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan.
According to a variety of sources such as Der Spiegel and Reporters Without Borders, the channel presents pro-Kremlin propaganda and is unashamedly pro-Putin while others view the channel as an important alternative media source. Senior Tiffany Leal said, “I heard [Russia Today is] pretty pro-Russia but I think they often give an interesting perspective on the news.”
As in many cases, the veracity of foreign media sources is not always black and white. While there may be some bias in reporting, these sources often provide a refreshing perspective on the news that is not often seen in today’s world. It can be difficult to view these sources, but it can be well worth the effort.