Linda Fletcher and Hebab Abdallah of Al Jazeera America say their show, The Stream, generates conversations. Bryan Lowry/Medill
WASHINGTON – If you watch U.S. cable news channels, you probably think that the country is made up of just three cities: Washington, Los Angeles and New York, something that a newcomer hopes to change.
Lisa Fletcher, host of Al Jazeera America’s The Stream, told a group of Medill students in Washington last week that Al Jazeera America, launched Aug. 20, offers its audience a broader perspective on both the U.S. and world.
Al Jazeera America is a version of the international news organization based in Qatar that is aimed at U.S. audiences. Al Jazeera purchased Current TV in January for an undisclosed amount and used its subscribers as a base. It is currently available 44 million American homes.
Hebab Abdallah, a senior producer, called the Al Jazeera America approach to news giving a voice to the voiceless.
Some Americans mistakenly believe Al Jazeera is a mouthpiece for Arab propaganda, acknowledged Abdallah, who was a journalist for Al Jazeera English, which provides English-language news throughout the world, during its peak of scrutiny in the early days after 9/11.
But she said that image was never accurate. Al Jazeera was the first Arab news channel to air interviews with Israeli officials, and it would also air interviews with Arab critics of Israeli and American policy, voices not often heard in Western media, Abdallah said. The goal was to generate conversations, something the American version continues to strive for.
Not all American journalists are ready to praise the channel just yet. Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute, questioned whether the motives behind the new channel, which receives much of its funding from the royal family of Qatar, were solely journalistic.
“The motive here has to do more with geopolitics,” said Rosenstiel. “Why is the royal family financing this operation?” He said the royal family gained political influence in the Middle East through the Arabic version.
However, Rosenstiel said he would not cast aspersions on Al Jazeera America’s journalists or content. “They’re clearly to trying to fit in a niche as an explanatory source.”
The Stream attempts to engage in conversations through social media, asking viewers to submit story ideas about issues they think have gone under-covered. It continues this engagement during the show, allowing the audience to submit questions to guests, and sometimes even after.
Fletcher said an episode on genetically modified organisms inspired an audience member to hold a Google Hangout discussion on GMOs to continue the conversations.
Fletcher said that viewers get used to seeing the same narrative repeated in other news shows.
“A lot of stories that start as breaking news, or start as extremely significant, you get fatigued,” Fletcher said.
The war in Afghanistan, for example, has entered its 12th year. Viewers need more depth in their coverage in order to appreciate both the human and financial costs, Fletcher said.
“It’s sort of bringing it back to people who’ve forgotten that these things are still all playing out in the background. Just because they’re not seeing them on TV every night doesn’t mean they’re not still happening.”
The Stream recently aired two episodes about drones. The first episode looked at all the non-military uses of drones, ranging from their use in scientific research of weather patterns to their use in finding missing children.
The next night looked at the toll of the United States’ use of weaponized drones in the Middle Easy, examining the extent of collateral damage in drone strikes which have increased under the Obama administration.
“I don’t think people in the U.S. don’t want to know. I just think they don’t know. And when you tell them this is going on they are moved and intrigued and often enraged, and most importantly engaged,” Fletcher said.
