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"During the Egyptian uprising, (JNC's) biased reporting became even more obvious....reign(ing) in its reporters," perhaps under pressure to do it. Now "its true colors are fast emerging. Bias is clearly seen (in its coverage of or lack thereof) about Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Algeria, Bahrain, and, of course, its host country Qatar and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.
"This is indeed unfortunate and (shows) when it comes to support(ing) democracy, (JNC was created) to give it lip service (but instead offers) biased reporting (of the kind) it accuses America or the American media of" doing. Unless it returns to its roots, it "will find itself in a dead end, much like some of the dictators it pretends not to support."
Too often, however, JNC replicates Western reporting. As a result, it's now part of the message presenting managed news, not unbiased reporting. That could be its undoing, at least as a source for real news, information and analysis, what too often it avoids.
Even Foreign Policy took note, now a Washington Post publication. On February 1, it headlined "The Al Jazeera Spotlight," saying:
"There are various reasons why (some of JNC's coverage) is lopsided and selective. Some of it has to do with the Qatari monarchy's own diplomatic interests. A decade ago, Al Jazeera used to annoy the Saudi regime fairly regularly....until Riyadh (complained to) the Qatari government." After it intervened, "the TV network softened the nature of its reporting toward Saudi Arabia," and also slanted its other coverage.
Its bias largely depends on where Qatar stands and to what degree other nations influence its positions. In other words, it's like BBC, supporting Britain's agenda the way its founder and first general manager, John Reith, once explained, saying:
"(You) know (you) can trust us not to be really impartial."
BBC never was nor has been to this day. In fact, most, perhaps all, Western media are deeply comprised by state and commercial interests. Increasingly it's no different on Al Jazeera.
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