The setting for the 2008 Republican National Convention — the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota — is a beautiful and exciting venue. The convention floor has a more or less traditional look, with each state’s delegation identified by colorful vertical standards bearing the names of the particular states. Ringing the arena high above the floor are work places of various news organizations, including the “big Five” television news networks, public broadcasting, the BBC, some local stations, etc. The arena has the “feel” readily recognizable to anyone who has followed American political conventions through the years.
Still, it is jarring to the eye to see an “Aljazeera Network” booth poised high above the GOP convention floor. Aljazeera? Are you kidding me? Isn’t Aljazeera essentially the public relations arm for Al Queada? (Certainly many Americans probably consider it as such). Yet, Aljazeera is here in full force, sporting a bold media presence just to the right of the MSNBC booth. (Think about that one for a little while).
Maybe Aljazeera really is the legitimate international news organization which the Republican Party, evidently, acknowledges it to be. But, I have to confess, it was a surreal experience to see First Lady Laura Bush and our next First Lady, Cindy McCain, both address convention delegates with (from my vantage point) the Aljazeera brand clearly visible just above and to the right of the podium from which they spoke.
Juxtaposed against the official Aljazeera presence is an information campaign waged by “The Israel Project” designed to highlight for conventioneers the claim that among the 19 Middle Eastern and North African countries rated by Freedom House, only in the state of Israel does there exist a truly free press, where the media can criticize the government, western-style, without fear of reprisal. Delegates walking into the Xcel Energy Center today were handed pamphlets by volunteers for “The Israel Project” reminding assembled Republicans that 400 journalists from all around the world work freely in Israel every day. How does this compare to the Muslim states in which Aljazeera is the dominant news source?
Like it or not, a national convention of either one of the two major American political parties is an international event. The BBC is here, along with Reuters, and even Aljazeera. But, then again, so is “The Israel Project.”
America is a free country, thank God. Great Britain is too, as is Israel. But, I’m still not so sure about some of those other guys, regardless of media credentials issued at the RNC.
If you want to sample Aljazeera’s coverage of the Republican National Convention, click on the following link:
http://english.aljazeera.net/
And, for balance perhaps, you can view the website of “The Israel Project” here:
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.4424837/
Magnolia Tribune
