TTAC’s Google ranking on the whole GM bankruptcy deal has delivered unto us a few shout-outs from the MSM. Now that the C11 deed is done, public radio’s “The Takeaway” ’phoned this afternoon—to ask what they should ask GM marketing maven and dealer destroyer Mark LaNeve. Other than that, Al Jazeera. The Arab TV service called to arrange to interview about the collapse of the artist formerly known as the world’s largest automaker. I have mixed feelings about this. On one hand, I’m worried that the network might use my comments about GM’s epic fail, the federal government’s abandonment of free market principles and GM’s bleak future to fuel the fires of anti-Americanism. I am, believe it or not, a patriot. On the other hand, it is what it is. America’s greatest strength is our citizens’ freedom of speech. Of course, I would say that, wouldn’t I? What say you? Should I accept or decline this invitation to discuss the dark side of America’s corporate culture and centralized governance?
114 Comments on “Ask the Best and Brightest: Should I Appear on Al Jazeera?...”
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Refusing to appear just makes you look like an ass-lick for Israel in their eyes, which I think is even worse.
The truth is what it is, irrespective of how some people may spin it. Just remember this when when speaking of GM:
De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est.
That said, GM reminds us that deficit omne quod nasciture.
RF
During my 2 week stay in Paris a few years ago I thoroughly enjoyed watching the english Al Jazeera channel. The most objective news reporting I’ve seen from a 24 hour news channel. It was refreshing.
Long-time visitor, first time commentor
Al-jazeera English is absolutely not some Anti-American, evil media company. It’s a very neutral network that brings a world perspective to the otherwise American media company dominated (CNN, MSNBC, FOX) American TV landscape.
For all the people who are going to flame, do some research first. The only thing most people know of them is that they aired Osama’s messages on the air: This wasn’t an endorsement of his ideas, just very topical and relevant information to the world.
Wikipedia says, “willingness to broadcast dissenting views”
A lot like TTAC
Yes, as long as you wear an American flag tie or a cowboy hat.
I say go on but only if you spend all your time making that shrill hooting sound Arabs make when they’re celebrating the murder of Americans. Just tell them you’re celebrating the death of GM.
There’s nothing wrong with talking about cars with someone that you suspect might be the devil… Just don’t start talking about politics.
Agree, its like Arab BBC sort of. Its the opposite of Al Queda.
Have no fears, of foreign evil-doer variety.
The problem is the story takes too long to tell. The depth of content is breathtaking, and goes past GM to larger US economy which is headed nowhere fast.
There is nothing wrong with going on Al Jezeera. I would go for it. Obviously you have control over what you say, and I would urge you to think out very carefully ahead of time what the three main points you wish to make are. Don’t do an off the cuff rant.
Sure, go ahead.
The Arabic term for your role would be “dhimmi”.
Why Hell Yes!!!
But you should REALLY insist on Mr. Pete “Why, I never go to your God Damn website anyway…no one gives a shit about you.” DeLorenzo’s company.
Variety is the spice of life, right?
OMG…I just went there for a moment- and it’s a raving review of his 10th year anniversary. Not ONE WORD of the greatest event in automotive history in the past 100 years….that is, the final nail in GM’s coffin.
Narcissism is like that. What a freakin’ ego.
I’m with kipp, everything I’ve heard indicates that Al Jazeera is not the monstrous hate network they’re made out to be. I think that’s more of a politically convenient falsehood devised to rile up more FUD in the US back in the early aughts. It’s a news network, at worst the equivalent of Fox News to the Arabian world, at best a CNN. Don’t run away from opportunity.
I say go on; more exposure means more clicks. Do it.
It depends… Al Jazeera English is actually pretty unique (separate from regular Al jazeera). They’re actually fairly balanced and not anti-American or overtly anti-anything whatsoever.
what skor said, and…
If you accept, you’ll have more control over and can elaborate on comments you’ve made.
Do it.
Why help those who would treat you as a second-class person if they would even let you in their countries?
I’d say go ahead, but proceed cautiously.
I took 5 years of Latin and still have no idea what you and skor said to each other. I admire your tenacity of the language.
Well, yes, you should engage. But, bone up on aspects of the probability of some form of hike in petroleum tax. It’s probably what they want to get a pulse on, and they might think you the oracle of delphi, now.
Do it. You can explain to the world how GM’s demise was not a failure of capitalism. If free market principles had been allowed to run their course, GM would’ve rightfully been punished by the market for their decades of misguided management. And an opportunity to demonstrate the inherent rightness of the free market has been wasted.
I read the english version a lot for oil & gas news. They have a lot of good reporting of all sorts. Yes you should do the interview and say it as it is.
Yes. Do it. Any American goes on that channel has real balls.
in the last week I’ve been on Russian State Television and interviewed by Mainichi newspaper from Japan. easier to go on Lehrer NewsHour (was on tonite) or Car Concerns Radio, but what the heck, spread it around the world.
Go for it Robert!
If you don’t, you will be seen to lack the courage of your convictions.
Umm, Rastus? He publishes on Wednesday.
RF
Freedom of speach is one thing, giving ammunition to the enemy is a whole different thing.
I would feel more comfortable if I knew the editing was not going cut and pasted to the point I don’t even recognize myself.
And its not like you have any position to view before publication.
This is difficult enough with unbiased (am I dreaming) media than this rag.
You can’t trust anybody anymore.
And your words and opinion are important to you and TTAC.
A word of advice from a journalist: Go ahead, but be circumspect about it. Know that not all of what you say — or most, even — will be heard by the public. Be wary of leading questions or even an agenda.
Just approach it like a CNN interview.
El Paso.
Do it. Wear a big cowboy hat and a stars & stripes shirt, and speak the truth. As a patriot you should do nothing less.
De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est.
Of the dead, nothing is said unless it is good.
I’m not familiar with Al Jezeera’s broadcast operation, but their online news site has a very good reputation.
@SLLTTAC,
Right. When speaking of the dead, don’t gloat, smirk, sound happy, talk trash, or pat yourself on the back about how you were right — even if you hated their guts. It makes you look like an obese douchbag….er, I mean Michael Moore.
I’ll let you worry about the larger implications, Robert, but you might encounter a little weasel named Avi Lewis who was groomed at Canada’s public broadcaster. Please tell him to eat shit and die. Thanks.
Wikipedia says, “willingness to broadcast dissenting views”
Has Al Jezeera ever presented a pro-Israel point of view?
I’d do it. The audience is probably very curious as to how a major company from the major country folds up and dies.
This is not the Palestine-Israel horror show, so don’t pay attention to those with that ax to grind. There’s a lot of “arabia” which is not related to that story.
Mosaic TV gets a lot of arabic translated, so if you have Dish, record some of it…very interesting.
A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Romanian TV concerning photo stoplights. The world is now small and flat, so we can’t really say “over there” anymore.
JT- Lately…with all the “big news” occurring in such rapid-fire motion…Pete has been publishing his “Wednesday” articles on Monday.
His “Monday June 01, 2009″ article again…is about himself.
Never mind the 14 plant closures, never mind the impact this will have on hundreds of thousands of individuals, suppliers, local communities….nope.
Fuck it. Today is about Pete.
Gotta love it!!!
>>>>Speaking of “No Fly Lists”…PLEASE don’t let them scan your body and genitalia at the airport. If you have to …have a homosexual pat you down…at least you will not be digitized in a database somewhere.
Depends.
Generous Mother is now known as Government Motors.
Is your tax return in good shape? Are you prepared to have the IRS crawl through your shorts?
Oh and have fun on the No Fly List…..
If you can handle that then let ‘er Rip!
If it is in fact Al Jazeera English, go for it. (But I certainly wouldn’t blame you for watching your phrasing more closely than usual.) If it’s the main Al Jazeera — and I’m not sure why they’d specifically be calling — then I’d be hesitant.
Go for it – TTAC can always use some more eyeballs, and with new readers we could be in for some interesting capsule reviews we wouldn’t see otherwise.
And if you’ve got one of those GM pins that gives a target market percentage, say, 29, wear it.
Just get Schmitty to write your copy for you first!! :D
I haven’t been watching them lately, but I was a subscriber to their internet broadcasting (a duplicate of their cable TV feed) for over a year when they first went live. They were very even-handed. Much more so than any of the US commercial networks. Go on!
I’m inclined to say you should go for it, with one caveat (which applies not only to Al Jazira, but to any media outlet):
You should consider requiring that the media outlet allow you to independently record the interview. That way, if the interview is edited in such a way as to materially change the meaning of your comments, you have documentation of what really transpired.
Speak the truth, and the truth will set you free. Play on Robert, I loved your podcasts, and this seems like a good way to get the message out.
AJ is about as neutral as one can get, like any major network from Asia or Europe, far better then our MSM.
When did the phrase ‘Government Motors’ first appear? Was it here at TTAC and when? The CBC has picked up on it and was using the phrase tonight.
Al Jezeera has been reaching out to all kinds of different talking heads recently about the American economic crises. They hunted down (at his home, no less!) one of the drive-time guys from KFI-AM, John & Ken to talk about the mess here in California.
I’d say do it. And let us know when you’re on so we can…er…not see it (friggin Cox cable)
Go for it. I’m sure you can handle AJ. They probably recognize they can get an unvarnished opinion on the subject from you versus other automotive writers. Your viewpoint hasn’t changed since you started writing your Death Watch series, in contrast to all the other polyannish media types who denied the truth until this morning’s C11 filing. So, congratulations…you are now an internationally recognized authority!
When I was in Iraq, we had an al Jazeera news crew come through to do some interviews with the top brass. As it was explained to me by my C.O. and Public Affairs Officer, there are essentially two “al Jazeeras.” One is fair and balanced (not quite in the Fox News way!), while the other allows the more extremist view points. The latter is the one that is demonized here in America for what amounts to their hate-speech against the U.S. The former is often overlooked.
When it came time to take my four-day pass, I was flown to Doha, Qatar, where (according to Wiki) al Jazeera is based. That city is about as westernized as any in America, except for the men wear robes and the women wear head scarves and robes. And not all of them covered their faces under the scarves. Their shopping malls were the same (they wear western clothes under their robes… and the women could be seen with eye shadow and mascara, too), they had some “suburban” developments that mirror our own and the downtown Doha skyline looks much like Miami with all of the cranes and such.
I got to wear civvies and walk among them at the malls and market tours. Sure, I didn’t relax my guard completely, but it was a world of difference compared to the ways that some of the Iraqis would look at me or my team.
I guess my verdict is go for it. The very fact that they have asked you is probably proof enough that they do actually value your opinion. I’m guessing that it’s the “good” al Jazeera that will be doing the interviewing, and they’ll give you an honest shake.
Absolutely positively not.
There is a principle in property common law that goes back deep into English history, and remains in full force today in America, with the agreeably antique name of the Slayer Rule.
In short, you cannot benefit financially from killing someone.
While the American justice system has not been able to enforce the Slayer Rule against Osama bin Laden yet, you Robert Farago personally have a moral and a patriotic duty to not hurt our efforts by helping those who flout the moral principle underlying this rule.
One of the key incentives for mass murder terrorism is that it brings attention to its perpetrators’ insane beliefs. Remember Al Jazeera didn’t just air Osama’s propaganda tapes once in a single lapse of judgment, and which is bad enough, but airs them regularly and eagerly as heavily promoted “exclusives.” Which they are since Al Queda leaks the tapes directly to Al Jazeera’s people. It also gives airtime to others those who defend the mass murder of Americans, though not engaging in it themselves.
I don’t think Al Jazeera’s management actually agrees with bin Laden. But they are happy to promote him and give him tens of millions of dollars worth of free and sometimes even positive publicity in an effort to make a buck. Any association with this network for these reasons is in my opinion immoral.
In this sense Al Jazeera’s management reminds me of Fox News, which produced and recorded a gory and detailed “fictional” confession with OJ Simpson and then promoted it as a two-part special that was sure to be a ratings blockbuster.
Unlike Al Jazeera, Fox had the good sense to cancel the airing of the interview, though only after many local stations said they would not air it, and a boycott campaign was organized with help from the Goldman family. It took an economic boycott threat to knock sense into the greedy cretins who run Fox. Al Jazeera has already pulled the trigger and participated in the PR campaign of murderer, and it must be boycotted.
If you want PR, you might call up some local non-murderer-broadcasting media outlets, and let them know you turned down an Al Jazeera airtime, and see if they might let you make up for it.
“Ronnie Schreiber :
Wikipedia says, “willingness to broadcast dissenting views”
Has Al Jezeera ever presented a pro-Israel point of view?”
You mean like interviewing members of the Israeli Knesset or American neo-cons like Richard Armitage and The Prince of Darkness Richard Perle?
Does that not qualify?
Ridiculous question Robert – do the interview! Ghida Fakhry is a Lebanese hottie – get her autograph for me.
Everyone seems to be concerned with the politics of the station. I don’t care about their politics.
I’m just afraid that the normal viewers will link your opinions to the image ‘generic white American guy’ and then mistakenly believe that I or any other generic white American guy thinks the same way.
Basically, I’m not so keen on you representing me — or America as a whole — on a popular, influential international forum.
(And please, white knights, spare me the opinion that this is a popular, influential international forum.)
Go ahead and do it. Lots of people call you “The Great Satan” now, so what difference would an Al Jazeera appearance make?