News

I complain on a regular basis about current news programming on the major networks. So much of what is presented is not anything I consider news. Watching the last couple of days you would think the MTV Video Music Awards were the most important thing going on in the world. Miley Cyrus works hard to shred her Hannah Montana image and be seen apparently as a slutty adult. The big news included the statement that she did something called twerking. Not being up on my teen lingo since I left my teens some 40 years ago I did what any sensible adult would do. I turned to google. It appears twerking is a combination movement involving a deep squat and a pelvic tilt. The explanation is as follows. You (and I mean you and clearly not me) take a wide stance with your legs turned out at 10 and 2 so your hips are externally rotated. (I'm already in pain). You pulse up and down as you thrust the pelvis bone forward and back. So it sounds to me like little Hannah Montana was doing a little air humping. So that is the important news of the day. Miley dresses skimpy and humps around the stage while she sings. She makes Lady Gaga and Madonna look tame. So that's big news. Don't care.

In my search for fair and neutral news presentation I have been consistently disappointed by Fox News (too conservative) MSNBC (too liberal), CNN (which seems to be a shadow of its former self) and NBC, ABC and CBS who seem to have decided that being a celebrity in trouble and the outcome of dancing with the stars is news. This morning for a little while I tuned in to Al Jazeera America. Many may be unfamiliar with Al Jazeera, which means "the island". It is headquartered in Doha, Qatar and was initially an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel. It is owned by the government of Qatar. The officials of Al Jazeera claim to be independent from the government of Qatar but that is disputed. I watched about half an hour this morning and will admit I was impressed with the coverage. The news was in their wheelhouse as the subject was the civil war in Syria. What impressed me was the coverage from so many different angles. The use of chemical weapons, what were the possible responses from Europe, the United States, Russia, China, Iran, Israel, Egypt, the other Arab states. Would the response result in anything other than a strengthening of terrorist groups involved in the Syrian civil war? The approach was balanced. Here is what is going on and here are the possible outcomes. There was no good news there for any option. They spent some time talking about the refugee camps in Lebanon and the fate of those displaced persons. It was honestly the best half hour of news I have seen in years. No slant to the right or left. No Muslim promotion or bashing. Just honest and fair reporting. Is that a ringing endorsement of Al Jazeera? No. It was a good half hour of news reporting. It earned them another visit. If they continue to impress they will have earned a regular viewer. Al Jazeera America launched on Tuesday of this week. If you are a Dish Network customer they replaced Current TV on channel 215. If you are interested Current TV was founded by Al Gore.

So there you have it. Take a look at Al Jazeera and make up your own mind.