A fair look at the role Al Jazeera plays in Arab-Israeli media politics. Though it's presented in an op-ed form, it refrains from commentary and examines the issue from a third person perspective at the right times. The tone is generally neutral and didactic, not fire-and-brimstone. This, however, is the first time I've read an article from Middle East Online. I'll be sure to check it out more often.

The author presents an analysis on how the Isreali government has dealt with Al Jazeera in the past (trying to use Al Jazeera to explain Israeli policies to the Arab world), and why it has recently changed in the light of Al Jazeera's coverage of the Fatah-Hamas conflicts, which the Israeli government perceived to be biased. Pintak further makes the arguments that Al Jazeera is not a monolith with a single viewpoint: its newroom is divided between pro-Hamas and pro-Fatah factions; and that the shortcomings of Al Jazeera are also paralleled in many Western channels. The author also raised the question of "what is balance?" in journalism, and how that might be related to the context and the person of the reporter. All in all, a ... More »