"Control Room" Documentary

             As I’ve watched the documentary Control Room it opened my mind through a lot of possibilities. Possibilities that what had happened to the United States and Iraq might have happened to us in the near future. But then the story doesn’t concentrate there, it’s more than that. It is a question on who’s fair and balanced? Most especially,  when it comes to giving the information through the public. The documentary revolves on how The Al Jazeera delivers the news to the people and their ways on communicating through the whole world. It is all about what are they rooting for and what is their dignity as a news program.  I can describe this documentary in one word and it is “Propaganda”.

          Al Jazeera, the largest Arab news network has took a very big responsibility during the war in Iraq. It also became an issue on how they present their news to the public and a question whether there is a propaganda they want to show behind their footage or images that we see whenever they’re delivering their news about the war in Iraq and United States. As an audience who watched the documentary I felt that Al Jazeera is not bias by on delivering their news because what they show was really happening. Some of the Americans where questioning the news program because of what they want to portray the Americans are doing. There’s this one incident in the documentary wherein some of the shots are most likely to strengthen the issues about them being stereotypical. Some of the incidents were in the headquarters in Quatar, Muslims headgear are undercontrol, always watch when President Bush gives a word to Sadamm Hussein. All these shots will eventually lead to war. On the other hand when the network’s senior producer Samir Khader talks about what’s his plan about the network, their openness as a country suddenly there are stereotypical images that shows the “Arab Streets” begin to fall down. There was this guy whom they interviewed that says “Al Jazeera has its own way on delivering news to people, example of this was they will interview a kid who is really victimized by the bombing of the United States and make them show that it is because of the war that’s going on.” So the result here was the blame is on them why the people are continuing to get mad on the war. Al Ja zeera is also observed that they love to show bloody , brutally killed, dead bodies in their shots and they are called “Osama Bin Laden’s mouthpeace” which is for me a bit unfair for them because I believe that in both ways they are still doing their job correctly.

            In school we are thought that if we give information and especially big news to people it is important that you are balance when it comes to criticizing or analyzing the issue because at some point you may be insensitive for what you’re saying and you might offend people in some ways. It is not new to us that in the field that we are in now we are prown to give comments and to take our sides on an issue but what’s important on this is that you have your own stand on something and when you say or write an article about a certain issue you should be able to defend it and you should be able to stand up for it whether it will be controversial or not. Misinformation can cause you a lot of trouble and that’s one of the biggest lessons that I’ve learn on watching the documentary “Control Room”. I give credits to the reporters who are in Al Ja Zeera and also on their Senior Producer who really stand up for their news program and defended it all throughout. I also salute the director of this documentary that finally opened our minds to the war between Iraq and United states and as a future media practioner    this will help me more about my ethics. Being journalist who’s trustworthy, passionate and dedicated to her work no matter what happens.