Al Jazeera's Global Perspective

"Al Jazeera is what the internationally-minded elite class really yearns for: a visually stunning, deeply reported description of developments of dozens upon dozens of countries simultaneously," Robert D.Kaplan states in his "Why I Love Al Jazeera" (Kaplen 55). He continues by suggesting that over the course of just a few days when he was actively monitoring Al Jazeera, that he saw multiple events in multiple countries. These events included Eritrean and Ethiopian involvement in the Somali war, an attack on a Sikh temple in Austria, the controversy between the Niger rebels and the Nigerian government in Southern Niger, floods in Bangladesh, problems with the South African economy, and foreign Islamic fighters in the Southern Philippines. Al Jazeera sees the world from a global perspective, and consequently reports news from every corner of the Earth. The news stories that Kaplan viewed when monitoring Al Jazeera are located over a vast stretch of land. From South Africa in the south, Austria in the north, and the Philippines in the East, Al Jazeera is sure to cover every part of the globe with any major event happening in it.


Al Jazeera's headquarters is located in Doha, Qatar, the capitol of a small country in the Arabian Peninsula. Because Doha, or Qatar for that matter, is not an area of major world power, Al Jazeera is able to report on other areas of the world instead of its own country and the nations that affect it. Also, because the Arabian Peninsula is located in the Middle East, a part of the world which produces a lot of newsworthy events, Al Jazeera is able to get a front row seat on the events taking place there. Also, because Qatar is generally a neutral country located in the Middle East, Al Jazeera is  allowed to stay longer than other country's reporters in areas of conflict. However, Al Jazeera does not focus solely on the major issues happening in the world, such as the War in Iraq. Instead, they focus on stories that many others may have ignored, such as an attack on a Sikh temple in Austria. Al Jazeera lives by their motto, "The opinion and the other opinion". This motto, however, could easily be substituted with "The major news and the other news." This "other news" is often happening in parts of the world that most international news stations are not covering, allowing Al Jazeera to have a stronger global perspective.