Will the recent visibility of Al Jazeera English in the wake of the Egyptian revolution translate into more American viewers?
Two communication researchers at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, William Youmans and Katie Brown, tested how receptive Americans might be to the channel if it was carried by their local cable provider. On average, viewers saw a news clip as less biased when it was presented with the CNN International logo that when it contained the original Al Jazeera English logo. While the information was the same, and produced by Al Jazeera English in both cases, it was assumed to be more objective when it was branded as made by and for Americans.
On the whole, watching the Al Jazeera English-branded video slightly improved perceptions of the station’s objectivity, but it didn’t change feelings toward Arab-Americans or reduce the idea that the station “represents an Arab outlook on the news”. So watching the station might make people trust its content more, but it isn’t a magic tonic for smoothing things over between Arab and American interests. Nor will it convince viewers that the station is anything but a cultural-specific view of events.
So what does this mean for American cable companies who might be thinking about carrying Al Jazeera English? Study participants were relatively neutral about whether they wanted to have the channel available on cable in the first place. It seems unlikely that big carriers like Comcast will be rushing to offer a politically-complicated new station that people aren’t actively clamoring for. But, as the authors point out, Al Jazeera English has content available online, and this will continue to be a way for interested Americans to view their content.
Two big questions about the importance of having access to diverse news sources rest at the heart of this paper. Would the wider TV-watching audience benefit from having access to alternative views that are already available online to those who take the time to seek them out? And, should cable carriers act in the best interest of society by carrying controversial stations? Al Jazeera English might be the newest outlet that poses these questions, but, as the authors suggest with their extensive discussion about the politics of this station, these are issues that need to be addressed in thinking about news distribution in our information society.
