2008 Woodie Awards
Control Room
Is Al Jazeera More Biased Than Anybody Else
Mathew Cherny
Issue date: 3/8/05 Section: News
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Yeshiva students coming together to watch television usually means channel surfing in Morgenstern lobby. But on Wednesday, February 23, nearly 30 undergraduates gathered in Furst Hall to take part in a viewing of a much more serious nature, a special screening of the documentary "Control Room." Directed by Jehane Noujaim, an Arab-American, "Control Room" goes behind the scenes of the Arab news network Al-Jazeera during America's war on Iraq in an effort to reveal a credible news station rather than what Donald Rumsfeld once called "the mouthpiece of Osama Bin Laden." The screening was followed by discussion.
Al-Jazeera was launched in 1996 as the first independent news channel in the Middle East. It soon became the most popular news station, with over 40 million Arab viewers. The film begins just as President Bush warns of attack and continues through the toppling of Saddam Hussein. It takes place primarily at Central Command, the media center in Iraq during the war. The documentary is directed as a response to accusations that Al-Jazeera presents propaganda that is biased towards anti-western sentiments. The film focuses on presenting Al-Jazeera as a responsible news station, and exposing bias in all forms of media from all sides of the spectrum, including America.
"Control Room" centers around three particular characters: Sameer Khader, an executive producer at Al-Jazeera, Hassan Ibrahim, a journalist for Al-Jazeera who used to work for BBC news, and Lt. Josh Rushing, an American press officer. The three characters are used to provide different outlooks on the situation. Khader has taken a realist approach, asserting that media is a tool necessary for war. Ibrahim is steadfast in his belief against American action, stating that, "eventually you'll have to find a solution that doesn't involve bombing someone into submission... democratize or I will shoot you."
When speaking about Al-Jazeera in particular, Khader says, "my own feeling is that the message of Al-Jazeera is first of all, educational. To educate the Arab masses on something called democracy." He defends the network by commenting, "We wanted to show that any war has a human cost...we care for the Iraqi people. We are Arabs like them. We are Muslims like them." Khader's remarks offer a window into his vantage point. Hassan Ibrahim constantly speaks out against the war but also states, "I have absolute confidence in the American constitution and the ability of the American people. The United States is going to stop the United States Empire."
Al-Jazeera was launched in 1996 as the first independent news channel in the Middle East. It soon became the most popular news station, with over 40 million Arab viewers. The film begins just as President Bush warns of attack and continues through the toppling of Saddam Hussein. It takes place primarily at Central Command, the media center in Iraq during the war. The documentary is directed as a response to accusations that Al-Jazeera presents propaganda that is biased towards anti-western sentiments. The film focuses on presenting Al-Jazeera as a responsible news station, and exposing bias in all forms of media from all sides of the spectrum, including America.
"Control Room" centers around three particular characters: Sameer Khader, an executive producer at Al-Jazeera, Hassan Ibrahim, a journalist for Al-Jazeera who used to work for BBC news, and Lt. Josh Rushing, an American press officer. The three characters are used to provide different outlooks on the situation. Khader has taken a realist approach, asserting that media is a tool necessary for war. Ibrahim is steadfast in his belief against American action, stating that, "eventually you'll have to find a solution that doesn't involve bombing someone into submission... democratize or I will shoot you."
When speaking about Al-Jazeera in particular, Khader says, "my own feeling is that the message of Al-Jazeera is first of all, educational. To educate the Arab masses on something called democracy." He defends the network by commenting, "We wanted to show that any war has a human cost...we care for the Iraqi people. We are Arabs like them. We are Muslims like them." Khader's remarks offer a window into his vantage point. Hassan Ibrahim constantly speaks out against the war but also states, "I have absolute confidence in the American constitution and the ability of the American people. The United States is going to stop the United States Empire."