Al-Jazeera starts to take root in American media



(Photo Courtesy of Media Matters)

When the world first heard of Josh Rushing, some American media referred to him as a traitor.  

Rushing is a former Marine turned journalist who works for Al Jazeera English. Rushing played an integral role in the documentary ‘Control Room,’ which looked at Al Jazeera Arabic, the original network in the middle of the Iraq War.

At that time, the United States, Osama Bin Laden and Middle Eastern countries flung negative accusations towards Al Jazeera. The new organization based out of Qatar did not make any friends in the first years of being a network.   

"My friend told me....to understand (Al Jazeera), if in America, they showed hardcore pornography on ABC at primetime,” said Rushing to a packed crowd at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.  “Everyone was offended at what they saw from Al Jazeera and everyone was watching,”  

Control Room Trailer

Control Room is a documentary featuring Al Jazeera's news coverage during the Iraq War in 2003. The main focus of the documentary was on an Al Jazeera journalist, television producer, and an American solider.  Josh Rushing, a United States Marine had no idea the filmakers were creating a documentary at the time. He believed that they were working on a student project. 

-Charlie Tritschler

(Edited by Catherine Barclay)

Fault Lines: Juarez, Mexico

Josh Rushing hosts a show titled Fault Lines which explores various issues around the world.  This is a clip from an episode about Juarez, Mexico, which is the most dangerous city in the world.  Daniel Putman, a University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire student said he went to the Josh Rushing Forum on Wednesday because he saw this episode of Fault Lines and found it 'fascinating.'  The full episode can be viewed here. 

-Charlie Tritschler

(Edited by Catherine Barclay)