Journalism 'Ethics' Instructor Compares Al Jazeera to Fox News

March 20th, 2006 2:50 PM

The English-language version of Al Jazeera is coming to America, but Philadelphia Inquirer TV columnists Gail Shister wonders: "is America ready for Al Jazeera?"

The English version will be called Al Jazeera International (AJI) and has recruited journalists from the mainstream media. Dave Marash, formerly of ABC's "Nightline," and former CNN anchor Riz Khan have been recruited.

The new network promises "accurate, impartial and objective reporting," and one journalism instructor said Al Jazeera is no different than Fox News.

Al Jazeera "clearly has a point of view, but so does Fox," says Kelly McBride, director of the ethics program at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"There's a market for that in the world, and in the United States, it's probably a growing market."

So America has a "growing market" for the Arab point of view? If that were true, CNN would have impressive ratings.