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Al-Jazeera cleared for Canadian viewers

Canadian viewers might soon be able to watch the Arabic Al-Jazeera network, after the federal broadcast regulator on Thursday approved the network's distribution by cable companies.

In its ruling, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said distributors of Al-Jazeera in Canada will be required to guard against the broadcast of "any abusive comment," which could discourage cable companies from picking it up.

The network, known as the CNN of the Arab world, is already being watched by some Canadians using "grey-market" technology that the CRTC considers illegal.

Critics of the network, including the Canadian Jewish Congress, say Al-Jazeera broadcasts anti-Semitic programs.

The White House has criticized the network's coverage in the war in Iraq, saying its inaccurate and has an anti-American bias.

Several authoritarian Arab governments have also slammed its coverage and have shut down the channel's offices in several countries.

The network, which broadcasts 24 hours a day from Qatar on the Persian Gulf, regularly receives video and audio tapes said to have come from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Recently, the network has received videos of hostages in Iraq shown being held or killed by their captors.

This week, Al-Jazeera issued a code of ethics, saying it would distinguish between news, analysis and commentary to avoid "falling in the trap of propaganda and speculation."

It also promised to "acknowledge any mistake as soon as it is made and take the initiative to correct it and avoid repeating it."

The network was founded in 1996 in Qatar.

Its equipment and most of its journalists came from the BBC after it closed down its Arabic-language division.

[original article]

Posted by thinkum at July 16, 2004 01:26 PM