Sunday, May 27, 2007

"Fair and Balanced"--Saudi Style. Whenever I want a full exposition of views covering the full range of opinions, I turn to Al-Arabiya TV. No, really. Why do you think that I am being sarcastic? Like now, Al-Arabiya TV is hosting a discussion about Lebanon, and the guests really, REALLY, represent the views of all of the Lebanese people and organizations. They invited three people: Michel Far`un (a member of parliament from the Hariri bloc), Qasim Qasir (a writer in the Hariri newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal), and As`ad Haydar (a writer in the Hariri newspaper, Al-Mustaqbal). Don't you think that those three cover the range of opinions in Lebanon? Do you want more than that? The funny part is this: Qasir and Haydar were not identified as writers in Al-Mustaqbal newspaper, but as "political analysts." This is like An-Nahar newspaper referring to itself as "independent newspaper." Fox News should learn form such media, and should start referring to Karl Rove as "an independent political analyst."
PS I forgot to add that the discussion on Al-Arabiya was moderated by an "independent" anchorperson: Najwa Qasim, who worked for Hariri TV before joining Al-Arabiya TV. (I don't want to bother you, but when will the oxygen masks drop from my ceiling?)