The following 7 news
outlets are English-language international broadcasters. All but one (CNN
International) are funded by foreign governments. I discussed international broadcasting
that is funded by the United State government in my post on the BBG.
For those who are tired of hearing about the meaningless trial tabloid stories
that occasionally overwhelm mainstream US television news (Kardashians, the
Sarah Palin bus tour, Charlie Sheen, Lindsey Lohan’s legal troubles, Royal
Weddings, etc. ad infinitum.) some of these outlets can offer substantive world
news coverage as an alternative.
BBC News is funded by the
British government. BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC
provides news to Britain and has a separate branch, called BBC World News,
which broadcasts internationally in a variety of languages. In the US, BBC News
can sometimes be found on local public
radio or public television stations.
BBC News is a standard bearer in producing high quality world news.
France 24 is
funded by the French government. It broadcasts in French, English, and Arabic.
It produces high quality news as well.
CNN International (CNNI) is an
English-language news channel that is the version of CNN viewers outside of the
US see. It is owned by the Time Warner corporation and, unlike the rest of the
international broadcasters profiled in this post, is not funded by a
government. CNNI carries some of the same shows as CNN US,
such as Anderson Cooper 360, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Piers Morgan
Tonight, and State of the Union with Candy Crowley. Many of CNNI’s shows, however,
does not appear on CNN US. These include International
Desk and Amanpour. CNNI has
covered the Arab Spring protests in Bahrain. CNN US has not.
Al Jazeera English (AJE) is funded by the
government of Qatar, a small nation in the Middle East. Its sister channel is Al Jazeera Arabic. AJE
is an incredibly high-quality world news channel.
In addition to its daily
reporting, AJE has several specialty programs as well. People and Power
is an hour-long program that investigates the some of the world’s most
interesting and important topics. Listening Post is
a show that examines the global media.
Here is a story from NPR’s
On
the Media that discusses the clash between supporters and opponents of access
to Al Jazeera English on a local cable system in Vermont.
Russia
Today (RT) is funded by the Russian government. RT America is a sister channel
that has many of the same programs but has more shows that focus on the US. RT
has sister channels that broadcast in Russian, Spanish, and Arabic.
RT has a bad habit of
bringing on conspiracy theorists as credible guests. Birthers,
Truthers, and the notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones have all found
a platform on the channel. RT also skews
its coverage of stories that could show Russia in a negative light. This kind
of malpractice is hardly unique to RT, however. The US Press skews
the coverage of stories that could portray US foreign policy in a negative
light as well.
None of this is to say
that RT doesn’t produce some valuable reporting; it merely means that RT should
be watched with a skeptical eye. RT has some specialty programs that I enjoy. I
watch The Alyona Show, The Big Picture with Thom
Hartmann, and Julian Assange’s show on
RT.
CCTV News
CCTV News is funded by the
Chinese government.
Press TV
Press TV is funded by the Iranian government.
In 2009 Press TV
aired a confession
from Maziar
Bahari, a Canadian-Iranian journalist, which was obtained through torture. The
confession was staged to look like a normal interview. Bahari had been charged
with espionage and was released after spending 4
months in an Iranian prison.
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