Al Jazeera in Canada: A positive addition to the media mosaic

Collaborated article with Anita Krajnc

Find this article in The Tyee, rabble.ca, and Common Ground.

A year ago, OpenMedia.ca and Canadians for Al Jazeera, along with several other groups, rallied people from across Canada to contact the CRTC in support of Al Jazeera English's (AJE) application to broadcast in Canada. Of the approximately 2,800 public comments submitted to the CRTC, all were in favour of bringing the broadcaster to Canada, except 40 parties who filed comments in opposition.

Last fall, open media advocates celebrated the approval of the AJE application. The CRTC directly cites the citizen input it received to back up its decision, showing once again that we can push the regulator to do the right thing.

While Canadians looked forward to accessing this new independent public broadcaster, many worried that AJE would be unable to convince cable and satellite companies to carry the station. After a much anticipated wait, AJE officially began broadcasting on Bell TV, Rogers, and Vidéotron, on May 4, 2010. The best offering is from Videotron, which is giving customers a three month free preview of AJE from May 4 to August 4, and offering AJE in every package. Cable and satellite customers can learn more on how to order the new channel by visiting IWantAJE.net.

Why support AJE?

Some of the best talent from public broadcasters such as the CBC and Britain's BBC are now on staff at AJE. Avi Lewis, formerly host of On The Map and CounterSpin, now anchors AJE's lead program, Fault Lines. Managing Director of AJE is Tony Burman, who was editor in chief of CBC News from 2002 to 2007. He is blunt in describing the network's goal: "We simply want people to understand the full story, not a narrow one. Every angle. Every side. Regardless of the consequences."

AJE offers high journalistic standards and diverse perspectives. It has a tendency to cover issues like war and peace, the environment, and the economy, from the vantage point of average people and grassroots organizations. AJE also tends to be critical of powerful institutions, government officials, and business leaders.

Read the rest of this article on rabble.ca's website.

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Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca. He is a contributing author of Censored 2008 and Battleground: The Media and has written for The Tyee, Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Common Ground, Rabble.ca and Adbusters.

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http://medialinkscolumn.com

Media Links is a syndicated column supported by CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly

Media Links by Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License. You must attribute this work to Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly