Al-Jazeera plans coverage for DNC
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Updated August 14, 2008 at 1:43 a.m.
The city of Golden has rolled out the welcome mat for a global Arab news network that the Bush administration has condemned for its reporting of the Iraq war.
When Al-Jazeera comes to Colorado to cover the Democratic National Convention this month, it will use Golden as the backdrop to show the Arab world what life is like in a typical U.S. town.
"It's a great opportunity to share a slice of life in small-town America in the midst of an engaging Democratic process," Golden Mayor Jacob Smith said. "I'm sure we'll learn a lot in the process, and so will Arabs about us."
Al-Jazeera, which some describe as the CNN of the Arabic-speaking world, reaches 120 million viewers in 80 countries.
The U.S. has criticized Al- Jazeera for running stories on civilian casualties during the Iraq war. The station also broadcast videotaped statements from Osama bin Laden after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"The U.S. government does not like Al-Jazeera because there's a sense they feed into anti-U.S. sentiment," said Bella Mody, a professor of journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She called Al-Jazeera "an excellent alternative news source."
"Its mission is to represent the Arab streets to the rest of the world and present the rest of the world to the Arab streets," she said.
Al-Jazeera program directors could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The main station broadcast is in Arabic, but about three years ago, the network began an English-language news channel that airs on the Internet.
Al-Jazeera's Washington bureau will broadcast from both Denver and Golden, reporting on issues that will include the economy, the environment, health care and the Iraq war.
The backdrop for its Aug. 27 broadcast from Golden will be the Buffalo Rose, an iconic bar in the heart of downtown, where the college-educated townies and tattooed Harley riders blow off steam after work.
On Aug. 28, the day of Barack Obama's speech, an al-Jazeera crew will broadcast from a bar near Invesco Field at Mile High, Golden officials said.
Another crew will film an American-style barbecue at the home of Golden City Manager Mike Bestor, which boasts spectacular views of Table Mountain.
The broadcast calls for pre-selected townspeople to discuss the environment and health care while enjoying hamburgers and hot dogs, Bestor said.
"It's a color piece to show Arab viewers what Americans are like," Bestor said.
Al-Jazeera scouted other cities, including Boulder, and was turned down by at least one,Golden spokeswoman Sabrina D'Agosta said.
"The idea is reach out to real- world people and not just politicians and activists," she said. They saw Golden as "a good place to have small-town, real- world discussions," she said.
Al-Jazeera, created nearly 10 years ago in Qatar, has grown to include cable and Internet outlets.
Al-Jazeera
Means "the Peninsula," as in the Arabian Peninsula.
* Began broadcasting in 1996 in Doha, Qatar, with a grant from the Emir of Qatar.
* Borrowed formats from a BBC Arabic language precursor that foundered on issues of censorship in Saudi Arabia, where it was based. Many of the former BBC staffers formed the core of al-Jazeera.
* The network's signal reached much of the Arabic-speaking world via satellite and provided an independent editorial voice that hadn't existed in many areas up to then.
* Provided well-regarded coverage of the 2000-2001 Lebanese civil war.
* Made its first big splash globally when it broadcast statements by al-Qaida leaders in late 2001.
* For a link to Al-Jazeera's Web site, go to RockyMountainNews .com/extras.
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August 14, 2008
5:58 a.m.
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warrengfunk7 writes:
Sp they want to depict American's as drunks? Filming political events from bars seems like they want to push that type of image to me. I am not Republican, but I can see why the Bush Administration thinks they try to push an anti-American sentiment. It seems very obvious that this is exactly what they are doing, buy covering a political even from bars. They want to so how sinful and corrupt we are and that we are drunks.
August 14, 2008
8:17 a.m.
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Danchan writes:
I don't care if they show a few drunk Americans, at least the Arabic world will see that we're not all like our half-wit president. I don't think there is enough beer in Golden to make a Coloradan as stupid as "W".
August 14, 2008
8:50 a.m.
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rjnova writes:
They should find ready and sympathetic subjects at the Dems convention for their terrorist audience, especially with Barack "Don't Call Me Hussein" Obama. Sounds like Danchan is first on the list. Since the US finds little support from Al-Jazeera in their Islamist world of one-think it will do them good to see the freedom to associate and even disagree with the administration's policies. It appears Iraq will be the first break in an Islamic society that will follow something of a democratic govt. History will be kinder to Bush than the leftist liberal Democrats and their media supporters.
August 14, 2008
8:51 a.m.
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Mayor_Quimby writes:
They want to see there Manchurian Candidate accept the nomination.
August 14, 2008
9:03 a.m.
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GILPINMAN writes:
I just hope some idiots don't cause trouble for them while they are here. We could look even worse than we already do now.
August 14, 2008
9:26 a.m.
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cspasch writes:
I think what the Buffalo Rose is doing is suicide. I can understand Golden politicians selling their souls to the devil for a little bit of publicity, but the Buffalo Rose being complicit with sham interviews by al-Jazeera? This is wrong on so many levels. Given the current economy, the last thing a bar/restaurant needs to do is alienate their base clientele. The only bikes you will be seeing in the future at the Buffalo Rose are scooters from Boulder. It would be one thing if al-Jazeera showed up on a Saturday afternoon to do live, random interviews but this whole thing is contrived. Everybody they will be "interviewing" is pre-screened and selected so as not to offend the Arabic/Muslim world community. Heaven forbid they would hear what a lot of Americans really think. Looks like the Buffalo Rose will be going the way of the Foss General Store as you will never see another red blooded American's bike there again!
August 14, 2008
9:59 a.m.
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zola writes:
Does no one think it is odd that they are setting up in a bar, since Muslims are fanatic tee-totallers? I live in Golden and have a son in Iraq and I very much resent bringing these apologists for our enemies into my city (and opening up the welcome mat like they are our friends!!). I didn't even know about this until reading this article. Is our mayor that stupid??
August 14, 2008
10:36 a.m.
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temurlan writes:
I go to the buff all the time...I'm mean, now I used to go to the Buff all the time. What the H**L were they thinking? I guess it's Woody's or the Blue Canyon now.
This story sure slid in under the radar.
"The U.S. government does not like Al-Jazeera because there's a sense they feed into anti-U.S. sentiment," said Bella Mody, a professor of journalism at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She called Al-Jazeera "an excellent alternative news source."
What a load of crap!
August 14, 2008
10:39 a.m.
Suggest removal
Danchan writes:
Sure are a lot of experts on Al-Jazeera commenting today....
I would bet money that rjnova, Governer, cspasch, and zola have never watched this network. I haven't either.
Every news agency I know of works to appeal to there audience so they will continue to watch; Al-Jazeera's audience are primarily muslims. Does anyone really think it's a bad idea for the worlds muslims to see that we're NOT the great satan?
I've been to Golden, and I felt relatively sure that satan only stopped in occasionally for free beer.
August 14, 2008
11:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
jbowen43 writes:
Quite clearly most of the commentators posting at the Rocky are ignorant about al-Jazeera, maybe the only news gathering organization equal to the BBC in the quality of its content. The idea that their audience is primarily Muslims or terrorists is seriously a stupid idea and only goes to show the group think of the Rocky's intended audience. Josh Rushing the Marine Lieutenant who was the spokesman for Cent-com during the invasion of Iraq is one of al-Jazeera English's chief correspondents. I for one am hoping the dish networks will provide al-Jazeera English as an alternative to Faux News and MSNBC. I suggest that the readers of this newspaper watch the news program "Mosaic" on World Link TV in order to get a taste of the news being broadcast to the Middle East.
August 14, 2008
11:53 a.m.
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GetReal writes:
Will Al Jazeera do the in depth story on the foreign Muslim found dead with over a pound of cynanide that the Rocky refuses to do?
And will the Dhimmi Golden Mayor be serving any pork products for his terrorist enabling new friends at the big BBQ?
I will never set foot in the Buffalo Rose or Golden again, and suggest anyone feeling the same should contact Jacob Smith http://ci.golden.co.us/Members.asp?Me...
and let him know his town will be boycotted if they follow through hosting an American hating and terrorist loving "news" outlet.
What the hell was he thinking?
Oh wait, he's "Progressive".
Never mind.
August 14, 2008
12:43 p.m.
Suggest removal
GetReal writes:
jbowen-
Al Jezeera threw a special birthday party for a terrorist who had killed a policeman, a civilian, and then bashed in the head of the civilian's four-year-old daughter with his rifle butt.
http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.c...
"Kuntar was convicted when he was 17 years old (albeit in an enemy court in 1980), of murdering, among others, Einat, an innocent four-year-old Israeli girl he dragged from bed at night to the seashore and whose fragile head, the court was told, he had smashed with the butt of his rifle. True to its spirit of courting controversy, Al-Jazeera celebrated Kuntar's release like no other television channel.
"The station not only repeatedly interviewed 'the hero' but brazenly threw Kuntar, live on international television, a surprise birthday party to celebrate the occasion. The party, organized by Al-Jazeera came complete with fireworks, a full band, and a giant birthday cake along with the picture of the Hizbullah leader Hassan Nassrallah.
And this from the same article:
"It's a frightening statistic: According to a Jordan-based agency called the Knowledge World Centre for Polls, 98 percent of political science and media professors in the Arab world claim to watch at least three hours of Al-Jazeera daily, labeling it as the 'the most respected news agency.' What is frightening about that number isn't that 98 percent of Arab political science professors admit to watching three hours of television a day, but that they watch three hours of the same television each day.
"The problem with watching Al-Jazeera in Arabic isn't just that the channel gives ample airtime to militants and terrorists to share their 'perspective,' but because its conspiracy theories and controversies give the station so much influence on the easily swayed Arab mindset. For those who consider the English version of Al-Jazeera to be distinct, the channel's chairman, Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, promised that it 'will be no different.'
August 14, 2008
1:16 p.m.
Suggest removal
Mayor_Quimby writes:
I have seen the network. I can guarantee you that anything positive (of which there wont be much with the dems in town) will be glossed over or not reported at all and everything negative will be exploited.
August 14, 2008
1:47 p.m.
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lauwoo writes:
Golden has NOT rolled out the welcome mat for that piece of junk Arab news network! Golden is made up of the people that live here. As a NATIVE, I don't support this and feel they don't even deserve the privilege to be on U.S. soil - let alone in MY town! Al-Jazeera only has itself to blame for its reputation! I'm so frustrated! Only transient liberals for popularity and our current UNfavorable Mayor and poor leadership officials are welcoming them into our town. None of them are good representation of what Golden NATIVES are really like. This is a bunch of bull!
August 14, 2008
2:08 p.m.
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temurlan writes:
Michelle Malkin just picked up the story. Welcome MM readers.
lauwoo, well said. As a Golden resident, I think we are the majority. Word on the street says that the Buffalo Rose knows nothing about this. When word gets out I imagine Washington street will be pretty noisy that day. All those Harleys...
August 14, 2008
2:38 p.m.
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FCZ writes:
" Al-Jazeera plans to televise the Democrat Party Convention in Denver to all of the Middle East Muslim nations.
No surprise here.
Barack Hussein Obama is their favorite candidate."
http://stuckon-stupid.com/2008/08/14/...
August 14, 2008
5:15 p.m.
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tibercio writes:
This, clearly, is part of the problem with America today. "Freedom of the press" is one of the defining freedoms of our nation -- it is one of the four freedoms enumerated in the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights, to wit:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
And here on this comment board we see the right wing sheeple up in arms because a media outlet is coming to town. These are the same people who watch Fox News and believe in their hearts its coverage really is "fair and balanced."
But I guess it is the American way, in the age of Bush-league politicians and their lemming supporters, to prefer to get angry and shoot 'em up rather than, oh I dunno, maybe go to Golden or the LoDo bar, and try to speak your mind to Al Jazeera. Or do you quiver in apoplectic fear and loathing that you'll end up sounding like an ugly American and only help the Al Jazeera cause? Thought so.
August 14, 2008
6:10 p.m.
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daveteneyck writes:
I also live in Golden and never heard anything about this until this article. How does something like this come about? Progressive liberal politicians desperate for a bit of publicity and the liberal thought that "if they (terrorists) only could see how nice we are, they wouldn't want to kill us". How naive! Terrorists want to kill us because we are infidels, or non believers of Islam. Al-Jazeera feeds this mindset and wants to show drunken Americans to reinforce the sterotype of degenerate America.
Freedom of the press is guaranteed, but that doesn't mean the City of Golden is obligated to entertain and welcome Al-Jazeera.
I certainly hope no tax dollars are being used for this event!
We deserve better from our elected leaders, but honestly, they, and most liberals, just don't understand the real world.
August 14, 2008
6:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
Sensible writes:
yeah, what's the harm...?
Let's make sure we don't give them an extra sweep while cruising our airports... we sure don't want to offend anyone.
They just happen to know the location of the almighty Osama (not to be confused with Obamaamamama)... maybe if we're really nice to them and get them a little tipsy off of some good old Rocky Mountain brew, maybe they'll just give up Osama's whereabouts and we can end the war in Afghanistan.
Imagine what would have happened during WWII...
This is the newly carfted dem/lib version of ending wars... bend OVER.
STAY STRONG GOLDEN COLORADO LOCALS!!! Best of luck in your close quarters interaction with the Obamaamamama international motorcade, Al Jazeera.
August 14, 2008
6:29 p.m.
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Sensible writes:
The reason for Al Jazeera at the DNC:
Our own media parade is growing weary of the constant lies and BS they try to sprinkle into our brains every minute. The Jazeerans are here to cheer them on and keep them on track, at least until their "anointed one" is EL PRESIDENTE.
(FYI, I'm practicing my spanglish for the mandatory international indoctrination due to begin and be enforced November 2008)
Viva Obabbababamamamama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 14, 2008
6:39 p.m.
Suggest removal
Sensible writes:
One more comment then I'll stop...
the local Wal Marts better stock up on towels...
To pander to the Jazeerans, the libs will be wrapping towels around their heads to help them feel welcome and at home. From what I hear there will be quite a few libs in town in a couple weeks... we need more towels!!!
August 15, 2008
9:56 a.m.
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renovate06 writes:
If this doesn't apply to you, then ignore this. But to you who have left these close minded, red neck comments about Al Jazeera being "bad" because they're an Arab news station, WAKE UP! It's people like you that make me ashamed to call myself an American. Because apparently it means being close minded and having the insight depth of a petri dish!
August 15, 2008
9:58 a.m.
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spencerr writes:
Renovate06, you're ashamed to call yourself an American???
Go move somewhere else.
August 15, 2008
10:21 a.m.
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temurlan writes:
Renovate06, does a news organization that glorified 9/11, celebrates US deaths, treats suicide bombers as heros and acts as the mouth piece for terroists make you proud to be an American?
This has nothing to do with them being Arab. It's all about the content.
August 15, 2008
1:27 p.m.
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lauwoo writes:
Renovate06 - Please feel free to move. We'll help you pack.
August 15, 2008
1:46 p.m.
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coarizona writes:
"Small town, real world discussions"...don't make me laugh. Was Mayberry booked up?
August 15, 2008
2:47 p.m.
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rurude writes:
Where did these "elected" leaders come from? And all you can do is complain - did you not vote that day or why don't you run for an office and do a better job than those Progessive liberals.
Good day!
August 15, 2008
2:55 p.m.
Suggest removal
rurude writes:
Did you forget that Barack Obama's mama is white and she is the person that named him just like your mama named you. He didn't pick his name. You idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
August 15, 2008
4:52 p.m.
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Sensible writes:
rurude -
Who the he!! are you idioting at?
August 16, 2008
4:46 a.m.
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Ofearghail writes:
It should be no surprise that the Democrats will invite as many anti-American news organizations as possible to cover their freak show: Al-Jazeera is right down there in the "hatred" muck with MSNBC, whatever has replaced TASS in Moscow, and whatever Chavez is calling his "news network" these days. Hating America will probably be the litmus test for whether Democrats will allow any journalists to their Obama love fest - which certainly means that Fox won't be welcome.
August 18, 2008
10:07 a.m.
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kiwicolorado writes:
Changing Hearts and Minds Beats Terrorism....
I think it is entirely appropriate for Arab television to be coming to Golden during the Convention.
al-Jazeera is an invaluable part of encouraging a free and open press in a part of the world where hate speech and state controlled media have typically defined the debtate. They may broadcast things we don't agree with - but isn't that a free press? (which the US supposed to be supportive of?). The recent National Review article of July 14th (hardly a bastion of liberal thinking) illustrates this point:
" Few tools have done as much to break the wall of Arab ignorance and lack of accountability as al-Jazeera. Debates that were previously thought unimaginable in the Arab world are now heatedly discussed night after night and broadcast to tens of millions. The impact of this development cannot be overstated" -
That the US is nominating an African American called Barack Hussein Obama - is a profound and influential story in even the most extremist parts of the middle east. The west can only eliminate terrorism by changing hearts and minds and not by guns or bombs or anger and ignorance. This is a step in the right direction.
August 21, 2008
4:36 p.m.
Suggest removal
wideglide04 writes:
The Mayore of Golden must not want to be re-elected. This is one of the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. The Buffalo Rose will never see another penny from this biker and all his friends. I can not imagine that the employees will stick around, I know I would quit. Nice Move Jackasses
August 27, 2008
4:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
dave1210 writes:
Well, I have read all these comments and rjnova, you get the award for the biggest retard. congrats. retard.