AL JAZEERA AMERICA MAKES NO WAVES IN COVERAGE OF SYRIAN CRISIS

Any concerns that Al Jazeera America might become a platform for radical Muslims during coverage of the crises in the Middle East were seemingly laid to rest during the recent coverage of the civil war in Syria and America’s threat to punish Bashar al Assad for his alleged chemical warfare attack on his own people. According to the Pew Research Center, the coverage of Al Jazeera America “resembled what Americans saw on other U.S. cable news outlets.” The report did acknowledge that “in some of the coverage there was evidence of Al Jazeera America’s international roots. The channel framed more of its stories, albeit a small minority, around the humanitarian crisis in the region caused by the Syrian civil war. In addition, more of its stories originated from Mideast countries (other than Syria) than its cable competitors.” Overall, it said, CNN spent more time reporting on the Syrian crisis than any of its competitors. Al Jazeera America came in second, followed by Fox News and MSNBC.