Viva la Evolucion

August 1, 2009 4:27 AM

A new Latin America is emerging on the global political stage. A two part video from Al Jazeera analysing how the Obama administration may deal with Latin America and what the relations will mean on a global level.
Viva la Evolucion - - Part 1 & Part 2
Featuring an exclusive interview with Noam Chomsky, and panel Dr Celia Szusterman, Associate fellow, Chatham House; Prof Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Harvard University and former Brazilian strategic affairs minister; and Dr Andres Mejia Acosta
posted by adamvasco (8 comments total)

Sorry to derail, but I never really know how to think of Al Jazeera. Is it a sort of not-quite-as-shrill anti-west propaganda network or is it conservative propaganda that Al Jazeera is biased? The little I've seen seems okay, but I'm not expert enough to know if AJ's Latin America reporting is solid.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 8:54 AM on August 1, 2009

Grimp0teuthis, it may not be up to the impossibly high standards of journalistic integrity you've come to expect from Fox and CNN, but give it a shot anyway.
posted by limon at 9:52 AM on August 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

My (American) brother is media director for a well-known European NGO, and has appeared on AJ. He says they're pretty objective.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:35 AM on August 1, 2009

(a well-known world civil rights NGO, that is)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:41 AM on August 1, 2009

I would venture Al Jazeera is somewhere between CNN and the BBC, better than the one, not as good as the other. Their website IS worth reading from time to time. Aggregate them with other sources to eventually make up your mind.
posted by edgeways at 11:08 AM on August 1, 2009

I don't know about Al-J's Arabic broadcasts, but it was a pleasure seeing some of the top UK broadcast talent (like Frost) on them when I was watching them a year or two back. They hijacked a fair few of the Beeb's best.
posted by rodgerd at 1:35 PM on August 1, 2009

Apparently their Arabic channel is somewhat shriller, but their English channel is rather good, and more than a little BBCish (which is unsurprising, since Al Jazeera was founded by veterans of the BBC's Arabic Service when it was closed). Their coverage of the riots in Iran was certainly excellent, superior to the Beeb's and certainly much, much better than anything that CNN had to offer.
posted by Skeptic at 2:38 AM on August 2, 2009

Great find! Thanks for sharing! I'll be definitely using this in my Current Events class for high school students this year.
posted by dealing away at 6:29 PM on August 2, 2009