Burgess COMMENTARY
I am delighted to see another tentacle of the AlJazeera News Network get launched.

It is becoming increasingly apparent to me that the indormation dimension of our global society is the key to a global future worth a damn. Looking at the world around me, I am 'blown away' by the ignorance of most everyone, not only with respect to global affairs, but also a whole lot of issues that have a huge impact of people's daily living and their quality of life.

The Americans have talked about 'indoctrination' in the communist Soviet Union and 'brainwashing' in communist China ... but something equally insidious has been going on in the USA and Western democracies. The elite, it seems has been able to create a very dumb class of consumers that have easily been seduced by advertising from Madison Avenue to buy all sorts of 'stuff' that have high prices and almost no value.

The Western news industry and journalism used to be an honorable profession ... funded by people and organizations that really believed in the role that media played in a health democracy. But not really any more. The money ran out, and in a system where only money profit is given any weight in the metrics of progress and performance, honorable journalism had to go.

AlJazeera ... with financial backing from Quatar ... is continuing the old and honorable profession of journalism ... but more important is bringing this journalism to places around the world that really deserve what journalism has to offer.

I am an accountant committed to transparency. I know something about 'following the money' ... but that can be pretty boring when presented as a financial report. In its own way, AlJazeera is 'doing transparency' but in a way more interesting way than an accountant will ever achieve.

AJE has not yet broken into TV in the United States ... which is not surprise ... but arguably 'who cares?'. The people who matter in the United States and elsewhere around the world have moved on from TV some years ago. Putting AJE onto mobile devices gloabally was more important ... and now into the iPad format.

My work is being facilitated by what AJE is doing. Well done ... and keep it up.
Peter Burgess

Al Jazeera English launches digital magazine ... The monthly magazine will provide iPad users with comprehensive analysis, interactive graphics and video footage.

Al Jazeera has launched a groundbreaking monthly digital magazine for its English-speaking audience.

Following in the footsteps of Al Jazeera's successful mobile applications and Arabic language digital magazines, the launch of the English magazine will provide iPad users with a free and full-featured facility for Al Jazeera English.

Each edition will include comprehensive analysis, interactive graphics and video footage.

Al Jazeera was established in November 1996 as the first independent Arabic news channel in the world dedicated to providing honest and balanced news and debate.

With the creation of new channels and services, Al Jazeera established itself as an international media corporation and in March 2006 was formally named the Al Jazeera Network.

The Al Jazeera Network now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Satellite (Arabic) channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Balkans, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, AlJazeera.net (the English and Arabic websites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), and Al Jazeera Mobile.

All of the subsidiaries of the Al Jazeera Network follow the spirit and legacy of the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic channel. The network provides a global audience with an alternative voice; putting eye-witness reporting at the heart of the news agenda and giving a voice to the voiceless.

With more than 70 bureaus across the world, Al Jazeera Network is among the world's leading media corporations - broadcasting to more than 260 million households across 130 countries.

Source: Al Jazeera