Brief Research Assignment: The White House Project and the Al Jazeera Website (página 2)

Even though Hillary Clinton did not eventually become the
president of the United States, her influence on American
politics is evident and it has become clearer than ever that it
is possible for a woman not only to participate in politics, but
also to become the next president of the United States of
America.

Part II

Question 1

The purpose of this website is to reveal
untold stories, promoting debates and challenging established
perceptions from an impartial and objective perspective. With
broadcasting centers worldwide, including London, Washington DC
and the Middle East, Al Jazeera English can reach a global
audience of English speakers in the world. This channel
broadcasts news but also documentaries, debates, entertainment,
business and sports.

Al Jazeera English aims to offer an
impartial perspective of the facts that is not necessarily
accepted by the prevailing current of thought or mainstream. They
challenge those perceptions. [6]

Question 2

Obama should speak to Al Jazeera
[7]

This release is about an interview that Al
Jazeera did with Richard Grennel, who was appointed by President
George W. Bush as the Director of Communications and Public
Diplomacy for the United States Permanent Representative to the
United Nations. He unsuccessfully tried to get George Bush to
speak to Al Jazeera. In a CBS article written by Richard Grennel
and published on November 14, 2009, Grennel advised Barack Obama
to speak to the Arab world through Al Jazeera, and he said that
Obama"s administration is "missing an important opportunity to
change hearts and minds in the Arab world." [8] He
believes that Al Jazeera is the ideal channel that the president
of the United States should use to communicate his goals to the
Arabs.

According to Richard Grennel, even though
it is usual for the United States ambassadors to the United
Nations to speak to Al Jazeera at one time or another, people
will pay more attention to somebody who has the title of
secretary of state or president of the United States.

Grennel considers that disagreement with
the editorial decisions of a network like MSNBC, Fox, CNN or Al
Jazeera is not an acceptable excuse to deny interviews with any
of these television stations. Independent and free press should
be promoted by the American governments. Accordingly, the
president is supposed to be open to speak to a diversity of
communication networks and television stations, not only to those
with editorial opinions favoring the president"s decisions or
ideology.

Frequent conversations are essential in
order to solve many of the problems and disagreements between the
United States and the Arab countries. Grennel believes that Al
Jazeera is the right channel to have these conversations because
it is a trusted network in the Arab world and it can directly
reach this audience. Nevertheless, Barack Obama certainly has
specific plans that he considers convenient regarding
international policy, and time will reveal whether or not he
decides to speak to Al Jazeera in the future.

Assuming that Grennel"s advice could be
beneficial, it is important to realize that it does not mean that
the Arabs will agree with Barack Obama"s policies and ideas. If
they do not believe in what he says, it does not matter if
President Obama speaks to Al Jazeera or to any other network, a
hostile relationship will prevail.

References

• [1] The White House
  Project. About Us. Mission. Retrieved November 25,
  2009, from

• [2] The White House
  Project. Press Release. Local Teen Girls Learn How to
  Become U.S. President. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  
  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/newsroom/releases/2009/20090209MsPresident.php

• [3] The White House
  Project. Culture & Media, Research and Polls. Why
  Women Matter Summit. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  
  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/culture/researchandpolls/WhyWomenMatterSummit2003.php

• [4] The White House
  Project. Newsroom. In the News. How has Hillary Clinton
  impacted women in politics? Retrieved November 25, 2009,
  from
  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/newsroom/inthenews/2008/august/20080805-DenverWomensExaminer.php

• [5] The White House
  Project. About Us. Staff. The White House Project Staff
  Bios. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  http://www.thewhitehouseproject.org/about/staff/staffbios.php#winter

• [6] Al Jazeera English.
  About Us. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  http://english.aljazeera.net/aboutus/2006/11/2008525185555444449.html

• [7] Al Jazeera English.
  Focus: Interview. Obama should speak to Al Jazeera.
  Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111694237666478.html

• [8] CBS Corporation.
  CBS News. Opinion. Time For Obama To Talk With
  Al-Jazeera. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from
  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/14/opinion/main5647410.shtml

Autor:

Jaime Montoya

www.jaimemontoya.com

December 3, 2009

Huntsville, Alabama, USA

PSC 101, Fall 2009, Class 4

Professor John Pottenger

November 30, 2009