Syria

For my assignment I have decided to compare and contrast the CNN coverage of the terrorist acts in Syria with Al Jazeera English’s coverage. In the CNN coverage the name of the article was “Syrian Residents say they’re bracing for full-blown war.” The article begins by talking about Syrian activists who spoke out against their struggle with the Assad regime. The article speaks of the “fear and horror that have overtaken the residents who have snipers preventing them from moving.” The Al Jazeera article is called “Bombardment of Syrian city continues.” Now to compare, both articles are speaking of the horrific incidents that are happening, the killing of over 7000 civilians, and the fear of Syrian people. But while CNN states that they are bracing themselves for war which seems to mean that there are two parts fighting over something, the Al Jazeera coverage suggest that the Free Syrian Army is desperately trying to defend its civilians and has warned of the serious consequences if the international community fails to act which means that it is more of a one-sided event. CNN is focusing on the attacks and the deaths, talking about how 49 people were killed in such places as Idlib, Homs, Daraa and Aleppo. I feel as though this article focuses more on the people of Syria, making it known that the reporters have spoken to the residents and are covering these stories from inside Syria as best they could. They state that the “Villagers have tried to gather medical supplies and blood to move them into these hard-hit areas and for days has been unable to do so". This from Arwa Damon a reporter covering the story from a safe house in Syria. In these articles I feel as though there is a political bias in the Al Jazeera article because they are focusing more on the politics of regime change and speaks little of the residents. It seems to be all about the Politicians and Army. The government is blaming some of the attacks on al-Queda stating that they are trying to protect the people. The article is suggesting that the Free Syrian Army has denied that its has foreign fighters within its ranks. Saying that Iraq interior minister said that Jihadists are moving from Iraq to Syria and arms are also being smuggled across the border. Then the article goes on to state that a deputy commander of the Syrian Army told Al Jazeera that this is not true and went on to say, “Al-Qaeda is not accepted by Syrian society and it will never live in Syria. According to our information no al-Qaeda element is hidden in our territory because Syrians hate al-Qaeda”. Isn’t the murder of over 7000 people simply a governmental squashing of opposition, just like what happened in other Arab nations? Since CNN cannot independently confirm details of the events in Syria because the government has severely limited the access of international journalists, most of the information is coming from bloggers or those who post videos to YouTube. Each blogger or person who posts to Youtube has a personal agenda or message that they are trying to send. For CNN the personal agenda is more of an American agenda. It is supposed to give an unbiased view of what is happening, but I am sure that there are things that they will or will not share with the world. An interesting difference in the two sources is their disclaimers. On the blog it says “Content on this website is for general information purposes only. Your comments are provided by your own free will and you take sole responsibility for any direct or indirect liability. You hereby provide us with an irrevocable, unlimited, and global license for no consideration to use, reuse, delete or publish comments, in accordance with Community Rules & Guidelines and Terms and Conditions” There are similarities in these articles because both blame Al-Qaeda involvement for these incidents. The Al Jazeera is only focusing on hearsay while CNN discusses issues such as the U.N General Assembly draft resolution that would condemn Syrian human right violations and the attempt of France to help the people of Syria while the nations of Russia and China, block that help. The article states “The draft resolution calls on Syria to end human rights violations and attacks against civilians immediately, and condemns "all violence, irrespective of where it comes from." There is also no denying that many people are dying everyday and that both sides are heavily armed. There is also no denying that both sides are condemning what is happening, they just give different reason for it happening. They are both trying to justify their actions to the world.