大象传媒

I can understand the reporting difficulties, but unconfirmed material should be declared as that: UNCONFIRMED.
Yesterday, I heard a new pan-Arab TV station went on the air Monday. Viewers see MAINSTREAM coverage of the political upheaval sweeping the Middle East as biased against the regimes in Syria & Iran and their close ally in Lebanon, the powerful Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

Beirut-based station Al-Mayadeen (Arabic for The Squares) hopes to counter influence of REGIONAL MEDIA HEAVYWEIGHTS like Al-Jazeera & Al-Arabiya - both funded by oil-rich Sunni Gulf Arab countries that have backed the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Al-Mayadeen is headed by Ghassan bin Jiddo, a well-known Tunisian journalist who quit Qatar-based Al-Jazeera last year to protest what he contended was one-sided reporting in favor of the Syrian opposition. Since the Syrian revolt began 15 months ago, some Arabs have accused Al Jazeera of whipping up public opinion against Assad's regime & using sectarian tensions.

Ghassan bin Jiddo: is against any media that deviates to the level of provocation, incitement & sedition. He pledges balanced/professional approach at Al-Mayadeen. Bin Jiddo used to lead Al-Jazeera's Beirut operations; he was only journalist who was granted an interview by Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah during the 2006 war between Israel & Hezbollah.

So tired and disillusioned with all this war and warmongering

Don't see the sense of it all or who is really at war with whom. It's like watching a hollywood 'B' movie where nothing seems to add up and the acting just gets worse and worse.

No-ne says they're involved but they're all involved. Suicidal road to Armageddon.

Speculation over source of funding for Al-Mayadeen, which employs about 300. Bin Jiddo has denied it was receiving money from ANY country, saying it is funded by businessmen whose identities he cannot disclose. All-Jazeera & Al-Arabiya - 2 most viewed stations in the Arab world, are funded by Saudi Arabia & Qatar. Syria refers to 2 stations as "incitement" channels or "death" channels.

A little intrigued about the 大象传媒 & 'reports', especially what decides which ones get rushed out & which find themselves secured behind a very big barrier. Still, on matters of info, free or not, others are catching on, and up:

If you're 'unique' too often, it ceases to apply.
Anyway, time to bale 'n stuff.

The Al-Mayadeen Channel is attracting journalists from across the Arab world & beyond. George Galloway, the Respect Member MP, will host weekly program called "A FREE WORD". In the run up to the launch, billboards advertising Al-Mayadeen popped up across Lebanon with the words:
"REALITY AS IT IS."

That the 大象传媒 follows the government agenda re Syria is obvious. From the imaginary gunboat bombardment of Lattakia to the reversal of facts in the Homs massacre, the 大象传媒 has not apologized or corrected. Those seeking facts can check the Facebook group "The Syrian Revolution-the Untold Story" and the FAZ newspaper's articles on Homs.

Far be it from me to accuse the 大象传媒 of bias, (we have heard much of this claptrap from the Friends of Israel). HOWEVER, there is no doubt that the hard political facts as they emerge with time show that the Arab revolution in the ME continues, whilst the US/Israeli lobby has got stuck in the mud. Viva Muslim Brotherhood!! (I am a Christian).

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

The reference to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung article on the Houla massacre was removed. This reference can be obtained on Twitter or on Facebook from the group mentioned above. It is very important that this FAZ investigative reporting be compared with what the 大象传媒 has presented.

'12. At 14:12 27th Jun 2012, madmaxtheprof9 - compared with what the 大象传媒 has presented.'
Also, what it 'un-presents'?
Charles Shoebridge @ShoebridgeC At link, bottom of page, see how 大象传媒 has removed reference to UN saying #Syria #HoulaMassacre may have been by rebels..

鈥淭he report also says the 大象传媒 "made efforts to alert listeners and viewers when such material could not be definitely authenticated鈥�

I actually beg to differ. Although this was done at times, the fact that 大象传媒 reporters made sure they UNDERMINED the Syrian Government account (when it got a mention), meant an undue credibility was given to these unverified materials by merely displaying them.

In fact, the 大象传媒 has allowed people with little credibility like Danny Abdul Dayem and Rami Abdul Rahman to shape the narrative without a challenge- to the DISMAY of many Syrians!!! At times, the 大象传媒 appeared as a propaganda platform for the Syrian opposition who have been presented as 鈥渇reedom fighters鈥� when millions of Syrians view them as terrorists and mercenaries!!!

I find it astonishing that the 大象传媒 rarely allows pro Government Syrians to express their views!! The amount of misinformation is just huge; the 鈥渞evolution鈥� is the most UNPOPULAR revolution in the ME, yet it鈥檚 been portrayed as a popular uprising!!! Similarly, 鈥淔SA鈥� who committed many HR abuses is presented as an army of freedom fighters who are 鈥減rotecting鈥� civilians!!

It is quite evident that the 大象传媒 is promoting the foreign policy of the British Government, in that presenting a NATO military action against Syria as the best possible 鈥渉umanitarian action鈥� to sort out the Syrian crisis!! Following the foreign policy of the British Government, the 大象传媒 also never promoted DIALOGUE and peaceful resolution of the Syrian crisis!!

Sources should be identified on a credibility scale. Accuracy is more important than where information comes from - assessment of which is not done well by western liberals, who are ill-equipped to get into the heads of hard and ruthless people. While the 大象传媒 avoids the hard questions, for reasons of "cultural sensitivity", we shall be looking at the "Arab Spring" through a very distorted lens.

Why do 大象传媒 journalists think that in order to be on the 鈥渞ight side of history鈥�, you need to side with a minority opposition against the Syrian majority who support PEACE and DIALOGUE and disapprove of regime change by force- advocated by the opposition and its allies in NATO/ GCC!!

#10

"Viva Muslim Brotherhood!! (I am a Christian)."


Mmm.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

A few years ago the 大象传媒 was trusted.

Most people who watch this jaw-dropping video:
/news/world-middle-east-18580029
will feel uncomfortable as Ian Pannell is shown practically gloating over the laying an IED designed to murder entrapped homeland troops.

The 大象传媒 will never be trusted again by the Syrian people

I complained about this video this morning:
/news/world-middle-east-18603713

Then received a swift reply from Mark Barlex, Editor

"Like you, I am not an expert in these matters, but I do trust Ian's accuracy and impartiality. I hope that helps clarify matters."

The points I raised about that video
/news/world-middle-east-18603713
were:
Shrapnel wounds suffered by the children are not consistent with the damaged bedroom (curtains, windows, chandelier undamaged).
Where did the debris come from on the staircase?
Reinforcement bars still in roof - no "shell" penetration?
Cannot believe the bedroom was for 6 boys - a girl maybe?
more ....

continued from 24:

In my opinion, the father's appearance & demeanour is not in keeping with the lush interior of the damaged bedroom.

The children were supposedly taken to a secret location because if taken to hospital the boys would be arrested.

Even so, it's hard to believe that a father would not hesitate to do so considering one boy had a head injury.

cont from 25:

Why did he fear arrest?
Maybe he was using his home & children as a human shield for the rebels?

The video then follows the rebels to where they planned to murder homeland defence troops as an act of revenge.

The plan went wrong & despite continuing gunfire from the rebels I could see no sign of any retaliation from Syrian troops - did they exist?
There's more - but no time. END

23. Peter Barry wrote -
"..not an expert in these matters, but I do trust Ian's accuracy and impartiality. I hope that helps clarify matters."
Given what you subsequently share, it simply raises a bunch more questions. I note that on 'The Editors' those seldom get answered, before an early closing. Trust IS an issue.

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Steve,

Please open up "Barclays boss Bob Diamond says he will not resign" for comments. We need our own user generated content to challenge those in positions of power who cling on in the face of terrible performance, immorality and illegality!

Nowhere should have untouchables!

Yannos

Steve, I think 大象传媒 achieved a good balance of using user generated content vs standard reporting in the Middle East. Given the difficulty of , people that are there physically, admittedly with some caveats, are essential to give an accurate picture of what's happening.