CNN vs. Al Jazeera

When it comes to a country’s media there, are four main ways it can operate: authoritarian, communist, libertarian, and with a social responsibility. From my past experience, and by being influenced by the American given reputation of the Arab world, I have always assumed that finding similarities between western civilization and the Middle East would be difficult. When comparing articles on the same subject from CNN and Al Jazeera, however, I can determine that for both regions, media serve the same purpose, and have the same journalistic values that fall into the social responsibility category.

 In articles about the possible bailout for the European Union nation of Greece—one from CNN and one from Al Jazeera—both news sites reported the same facts, and overall were very similar to each other. They followed the social responsibility theory of the press by providing social functions such as informing the public of political matters. The information given was unbiased and it was obvious that its main objective was to tell the facts and was not used as a government tool, which is the case with many authoritarian and communist presses. They both mentioned the same key players including the EU Commission’s president and relayed the same facts about a strike that turned violent in Athens in response to their struggling economy and a possible austerity. Neither article used language that was slanted or biased, and refrained from portraying any kind of opinion about the situation. The articles were factually based and allowed the reader to interpret it themselves and have their own conclusion about the situation.

I believe that at least some credit for this phenomenon should go to globalization. Globalization has allowed media to spread around the world, erasing national borders in order to create a more connected globe. This is what allows people in both the United States and Qatar to be concerned with what is happening in a third-party country like Greece. Instead of each country reporting separate facts and opinions, globalization has made it possible for someone in Kansas to get the same information as someone in Saudi Arabia. It’s giving people the ability to step out of their own sphere of vision and see the world from other perspectives, which in turn is opening our eyes against bias. While a completely unbiased world view is impossible, having the opportunity to view matters in a strictly factual way without being fed slanted information by the press, is increasing global awareness and turning what used to be assumed perception and reputation into concrete truth.

Taking into account the tense relationship between the United States and the Middle East, the existence of two news sites with similar goals and values is a production that could not come about without a connection between the media. The two regions may disagree in every other political or cultural matter, but when it comes to media, both seem to have the same values and follow the same responsibilities. This in turns brings two worlds together creating a global bond. We can be sure that whatever is in store for Greece, both hemispheres will be equally and truthfully informed.