159. Name: Mireya Isabel Murgueytio Jarrín Title: Farewell to Al Jazeera as an Alternative Media to the Dominance of the Western Press: Analysis of the Coverage of the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria Institution: Facultad Latino-Americana de Ciencias Sociales Country: Ecuador Date: 2014 Language: Spanish Abstract: This research aims to contribute to understanding how Al Jazeera functions. It presents an overview of the history and development of the channel in a complex regional context. The study also challenges the discourse of Al Jazeera being different from other mainstream news networks. Beyond the financial dependence of Al Jazeera on the Qatari government funding and the possible influence of this relationship on its editorial independence, there are other issues that need taking into account when trying to understand Al Jazeera as a global media player. There ae structural factors that, on the one hand, prevent the channel from being thought of as separate from the influence of the host country, and on the other hand, its operation is implicitly from within the logic of the Qatar geopolitical approach. These factors cast serious doubts on the idea that Al Jazeera is an alternative media. As long as crises in the Middle East persist, Al Jazeera will always be constrained to reflect the Qatari position. This view does not necessarily hold regarding the channel’s coverage of other issues where Qatar is not involved.
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