Greg Sheffield mentioned earlier the wacky al Jazeera-Fox comparisons in today's Philadelphia Inquirer. I would only add in that Gail Shister report, former ABC reporter Dave Marash is coming out swinging again in defense of his new employers, Al-Jazeera, against those "hysterical" Americans who aren't fond of Arab propaganda channels:
Marash says he expected a backlash when he was hired. When it comes to the Arab world, Americans display an "anxiety and suspicion that sometimes rises to the hysterical level."
Note: Marash was talking on a speakerphone in Washington, with AJI publicist Jazayerli in the room. Network policy, she said.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other White House officials "have said several very untrue and nasty things about the network," Marash contends.
Among them, he says: That Al Jazeera broadcasts beheadings of hostages and is a conduit for bin Laden and al-Qaeda terrorists.
Marash says Al Jazeera has never shown a beheading, and hostage videos are run without sound.
Its broadcast standards are similar to those of ABC, NBC and CBS, he says, and its coverage of al-Qaeda is frequently critical.
"The implication is that Al Jazeera is in bed with the insurgents. The truth is, they cover the insurgents, and they cover them journalistically."
PS: The Inquirer is also pleasing liberals with a Sunday editorial on impeachment titled "It's not as outlandish as it may seem."
"It would be easy to dismiss impeachment as a quixotic fringe movement, yet that would be a mistake. The odds are at least even that Democrats will win the House in 2006. That would make Conyers chairman of the Judiciary Committee, free to push through resolutions and hold hearings as he sees fit...Impeachment is still in the distance, but make no mistake: Eventually the circus is coming to town."
