American
journalism has taken another severe hit.
Al Jazeera America will shut down its cable TV channel tomorrow. An unsustainable business model is the reason
given for its inability to continue the broadcast. Several weeks ago, it was forced to close
down its website. (Fortunately, the
worldwide website remains in operation.)
The loss of Al Jazeera
America will leave a huge vacuum in US news coverage. Their journalism was actually worthy of the
name. They set a very high bar for
in-depth reporting from countries all over the world (many of which, I’m sad to
say, a large number of Americans probably don’t even know exist).
I would hate
to think that the Arabic logo and name had a role in its failure. One thing that can be said is that they have
shown a real commitment to impartiality.
Qatar, the organization’s worldwide headquarters, has itself come under
serious scrutiny for governmental corruption and failure to protect human
rights. A good example has been the
abuse of workers involved in the building of facilities for the 2022 World
Cup. (By the way, the decision to award
Qatar that major tournament has itself been subjected to investigations of
wrongdoing.)
