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Golden mayor on Al Jazeera English broadcasting
Contributed by: YourHub.com on 8/20/2008

I know there are lots of questions and concerns about Al Jazeera broadcasting from Golden next week while the Democratic National Convention is in Denver.

This is what's happened:?? Despite some news stories that suggested otherwise, Al Jazeera English approached our city staff to let them know of their plans to broadcast from Golden.

They didn't ask for permission.

City staff treated them professionally and respectfully as they would any news agency.

The city didn't invite them, nor did the city spend any money encouraging them. Al Jazeera English worked out a deal directly with the Buffalo Rose to broadcast from their back deck at various times during the week.??Why Golden?

My understanding is that they picked Golden because we are a small town near Denver with lots of residents that care about politics and have opinions about the Presidential election and about the democratic process.

I am also told they really like the views of South Table Mountain.??I believe their goal is to give their viewers - 120 million people in 80 countries - a "slice of life" picture of a small American community engaged in the democratic process.

For this reason, they also asked for help finding a home in which to host a BBQ and broadcast one day next week. The city manager believed by holding the BBQ at his home he would be able to help make sure that they get a representative group of Golden citizens and that we'd stand a better chance of their coverage fairly capturing Golden, its diverse political views, and our collective commitment to democracy and the democratic process. No city funds are being used.

Also, incidentally, the Al Jazeera English correspondent who is doing the interviews is a 14-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and many of their correspondents are Brits who used to be BBC reporters.??I've never seen an Al Jazeera English broadcast, nor have I seen any of the Arab-language Al Jazeera.

I've spent some time on their web site in the past week and have found materials I disagree with. I'm also offended by their high-profile broadcasting of violence and violent speeches against Americans. I don't agree with everything I see on the U.S.-based news networks, either, and at times I find their perspectives and reporting offensive as well. But the First Amendment protects the right of everyone in the U.S. to believe as they wish and to express those beliefs, and the right of the press to report news without government interference.

The City of Golden doesn't have the right to restrict or prohibit them from broadcasting whether we approve of their coverage or not, whether we share their perspectives or not, whether we find their coverage offensive or not.??In addition, the 120 million people who may watch this broadcast are extremely diverse.

Their audience includes large numbers of viewers in Arab countries that are U.S. allies. Countries like Saudi Arabia have been key allies in the first Gulf War, the invasion of Iraq, and now the War on Terror. We think - and hope - that large numbers of Iraqis are at least somewhat supportive of the U.S. effort to help establish a functioning democracy.

Clearly there are Arabs intent on doing us harm, and harming other civilians, and engaging in other deeply offensive activities, and we are intolerant of the violence and violent intentions. But as President Bush has said many times, these views aren't universal, and some reasonable coverage of American citizens engaged in the democratic process might help change attitudes in Arab countries about the U.S. and about Americans. As one person who emailed a few days ago wrote:??"I would hope that Golden amply rises to the occasion of presenting what an average US town looks like - that we are concerned for our neighborhood, for our country, and for the world (no doubt just as Middle Eastern viewers are).

Unless Middle Eastern viewers are able to see this through such broadcasts, how are they to know that we are not so different, that the crazy snippets of movies and propaganda don't represent the 'usual' US citizen, that the American Dream doesn't reflect Rambo or "Desperate Housewives."

?I don't have any idea if these broadcasts will make any difference at all, but they might, and either way they have the right to broadcast from Golden if they wish.

My pledge is to be as sensitive as possible to the many Golden residents who have served, who have loved ones serving now, or who have lost loved ones, while also honoring my oath to uphold the Constitution and protect everyone's First Amendment rights.??There are rumors of folks attending the City Council meeting tomorrow night to protest that the city isn't banning Al Jazeera English from Golden.
Mayor Jacob Smith


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Showing 1-6 of 6 comments
Submitted By: GV Ranch
posted on 11/2/2008 @ 12:24:15 PM
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The mayor makes excellent points. But why does he even need to provide an explanation--that is the question. Because I've traveled extensively in many countries of the world and Al Jazeera offers, in my opinion, excellent news coverage. They have reporters on the ground all over the world. They are broadcast in over 50 countries, adding more all the time. There is absolutely no reasonable explanation why, in my country which prides itself on freedom of speech, that we can have all kinds of shopping channels and celebrity gossip for news yet Al Jazeera is banned. People should be able to see for themselves whether they want to watch this news channel. As the mayor suggested, their reporters are excellent and experienced. From what I've seen, their coverage is unbiased. It's time for our airwaves to offer a broader perspective, and allow this agency to broadcast on our television stations.
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Submitted By: Stewart Podolsky
posted on 8/23/2008 @ 1:25:30 PM
Rated Story
Based on Judy's latest posting, perhaps the "screening" process was not as condescending as the Denver Post article described. It is possible that the Post spun the details in a manner that created more interesting reading. However, at this point I am assuming the quote I copied below, attributed to Gary Wink, is accurate and gives insight into the perspective that the Post was able to grab and run with. I feel that quote and the flavor of that article was insulting to many of the residents and visitors of our town. If we wish to portray a better picture of America we ought not to be saying things disparaging people based on their personal preferences, habits, or points of view. In hindsight (which is 20/20) when informed of Al Jazeera's intent to broadcast from Golden, the City probably should have replied "Welcome to Golden. We hope you enjoy your visit to our fine city."
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Submitted By: Judy Denison
posted on 8/21/2008 @ 10:30:25 PM
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Reply to Karen Petrie's inquiry as to who is invited to the BBQ: I am active in Golden environmental and cultural issues, and I put out the Golden Newsletter (to >500 email addresses every week), and so I have been asked (by the Washington DC headquarters of al Jazeera) to help them find a BALANCED selection of a few persons to interview at their broadcasts at the BBQ (and at the Buffalo Rose). I don't know as any of the interviewees are Mike Bestor's personal friends; he may not even know some of them. (And who knows, Mike's friends might be Republicans!) This is a "business" BBQ, not a "personal" BBQ. Also: FOX NEWS has not selected Golden to be its featured town - but if they had, no doubt a similar BBQ would have been set up for them. Golden is a wonderful participatory town and I do think we present a better picture of America for the world than do the movies and TV.
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Submitted By: Karen Petrie
posted on 8/21/2008 @ 3:43:28 PM
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I apologize to Judy Dennison for posting that she too had posted the "Rambo and Deperate Housewives" comment, it was Katheen Jones that wrote that comment in her "talk back" posting.
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Submitted By: Karen Petrie
posted on 8/21/2008 @ 3:22:53 PM
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If you really wanted the people of the world to see that we aren't what you and Judy Dennison think of us "Rambo and Desperate Housewives". You wouldn't be sequlching the voices of the citizens of Golden by having your private little BBQ at Mike Bester's place if you actually wanted true diversity. I'd like to know, have you invited any republicans, conservatives, libertains or even FOX NEWS? Probably not would be my quess. After all I only invite my friends (like-minded individuals) to break bread with me. See you tonight.
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Submitted By: Stewart Podolsky
posted on 8/21/2008 @ 3:06:57 PM
Rated Story
Golden is apparently presenting a carefully orchestrated facade. Excerpt from the Denver Post article: Participants carefully picked Bestor arranged the event when Ingle suggested it as a way to give the broadcast a true American flavor. Wink said the interviewees are "very upbeat people who believe in Golden. The clientele at the Buffalo Rose gets a little different."
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Showing 1-6 of 6 comments
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