6A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2009
Q&A
Al Jazeera chief discusses U.S. media perspective
BY ADAM SAMSON asamson@kansan.com
The Kansan sat down for a Q&A with Will Stebbins, Bureau Chief for the Americas of Al Jazeera English.
AlhazeeraEnglish is a global news organization that focuses on covering underrepresented regions of the world along with major world events.
Stebbins said one of the main
Stebbens
goals of the Al Jazeera Network was to rehabilitate many of the basic principles of journalism, which are to
challenge the question of power and to offer a platform for the voiceless
A:
Q: How would you describe the difference between traditional U.S. media coverage and Al Jazeera coverage?
A: I think traditional U.S. media coverage is very much focused on U.S. concerns and led by what are considered to be U.S. popular appetites and celebrity gossip, which tends to not only dominate the news, but it also led to a reformulation of what news is.
You'll now find out who was the champion on the latest reality game show, which is now news and makes
the headlines. Al Jazeera isn't driven by those kinds of concerns, and takes an international perspective on global events.
Q: How is Al Jazeera in America going?
A:
A: We've certainly had some recognition here, which we appreciate. Rachel Maddow on MSNBC basically endorsed us. We certainly see a recognition and I think there's a better understanding of what Al Jazeera is doing.
With the War on Gaza, many people realized there was another story to be told and that you really had to go to Al jazeera to get the other side of the story.
Q: What is a story you have gotten a lot of criticism for lately?
O:
A:
A: For Al Jazeera English, during the election, we received a fair amount of criticism for a story we did at the end of a Sarah Palin political rally as we spoke to a number of people who expressed ideas that I don't think people were used to hearing in U.S. media.
It created shockwaves. People were expressing openly racist sentiments and hostility.
There were some that criticized us saying that we were attempting to show the U.S. in some type of bad light. We gave people the
opportunity to speak and we put their unvarnished statements on the air.
Q: How valuable is the Al Jazeera news to the U.S.?
A:
I think the news were producing from overseas is very valuable to a U.S. audience because the U.S. is very much engaged overseas and it's critical for people in the U.S. to have access to a credible source of international news, so they can understand the effect of policies and decisions being taken in their name. It's an opportunity to view U.S. foreign policy through the eyes of those on the sharp end of the policy.
Elise Higgins, Topeka junior and president of the Commission on the Status of Women, welcomes everyone who attended the Women's Recognition program. More than 100 people attended the event held in the Kansas Union Tuesday evening.
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Q: Do you think news here in the U.S. is sanitized?
I think here a great effort is made to ensure that pictures from Iraq and Afghanistan were sanitized and wouldn't be too disturbing. Al Jazeera will always have an international perspective, but we won't be overly polite to our audience. We won't restrain ourselves because we're worried about offending someone. We'll make sure that we tell the truth as we see it. In order to tell the true stories of war, you have to show the pictures that illustrate it. We certainly don't sanitize war.
A:
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Edited by Chris Horn
Hall of Fame inducts five, including Sebelius
BY KAYLA REGAN
kregan@kansan.com
The University of Kansas Women's Hall of Fame inducted five new members Tuesday evening. The five women were: Gov Kathleen Sebelius; Jacqueline Snyder, chancellor of Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City, Mo; Maria Carlson, professor of Slavic languages and literatures; Bozenna Pasik-Duncan, professor of mathematics; and Joey Sprague, professor of sociology.
The Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center celebrated its selections and unveiled the first physical display of the hall of fame on the fifth floor of the Kansas Union.
Students can read about the women featured in the hall of fame and their accomplishments on a Web site displayed at an adjoining kiosk. Currently, the Web site is available only at the kiosk, but it should be public on the center's Web site soon, director Kathy Rose-Mockry said. The Web site will also feature a program that allows students looking for mentoring to get in touch with
hall of fame inductees through the Internet instead of by filling out a contact form.
The induction ceremony was part of the annual Women's Recognition Program. Following the ceremony, the program honored 39 women, including 25 students, who influence the university community through their contributions to the University.
Ashley Byrd, Memphis, Tenn., junior and award recipient, said she helped freshmen acclimate to university life and also organized events such as cookie decorating to help students relieve stress during finals week. Her coworkers noticed her efforts and nominated her for the award.
"It's a great honor," Byrd said. "I felt like I've done a lot of work and it's nice to be recognized for it."
The program, sponsored by The Commission on the Status of Women and the Emily Taylor Women's Resource Center, began in the mid 1960s and inducted its first members in 1970. Rose-Mockry said it was just as relevant today.
"It's still 78 cents on a dollar in terms of women's versus men's salaries." Rose-Mockry said. "Women are still under represented and there are big issues with women's belief in the their own ability to succeed."
Ryan Campbell, Olathe senior and resource center outreach coordinator, helped organize the event
"Issues of equality are a mindset that affects both men and women and something both sexes have to be cognizant of", Campbell said.
and said it was important for men to take an interest in problems facing women.
- Edited by Chris Hickerson
Hall of Fame
inductees
Maria Carson
Bozenna Pasik-
Duncan
Kathleen Sebelius
Jacqueline Nysley
Joey Sprague
Outstanding Woman Staff Member Mary Ryan
Outstanding Woman Educators
Kelley Massoni
Kathleen McCluskey-
Fawcett
Leslie Tuttle
Women Mentoring
Women
Mary Klayder
Outstanding
Woman Student in
Leadership
Erin Lewis
Outstanding Woman Student in Community Service Molly S. Sailors
Outstanding Woman Student in Partnership Jodi Gentry
Ethel Bohning Single Mother Shylo Ann Bundy Melissa Halder
Sally Mason
Outstanding Woman
Student in Science
Stephanie Hill
Outstanding Woman Student in Athletics Hannah E. McMacken
Outstanding International Woman Student Mary Oriene Mba
Leslie Tuttle Heather Lunk
Outstanding Woman educator Alma Poehler Brook Laura Dalton Brianna Fenn Ashley Martin Kelissa Massoni
On-Campus Housing and Sororities
Kelsey Andrews
Julia Barnard
Elizabeth Bartkoski
Charlotte Berry
Rachel Burchfield
Ashley Byrd
Leslie Chang
Amy Eastin
Mary Emerson
Laine Johnson
Elizabeth Kane
Whitney Kimball
Andrea Long
Ennie Ndoro
Sally Strnad
Amanda Taylor
Erin Whipkey
Joanne Zhou
To see past winners and award descriptions, visit http://www.
etwrc.ku.edu/~etwrc/
recognition/award/
index.html
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
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Sun. April 26th * 1pm - 4pm
• Moccasin Games @ The Rec Center
Mon. April 27th * 11am - 3pm
• Hookah & Fafalef on the Hill
Stauffer Flint Lawn
Tues. April 28th * 7pm
• Yom Hazikaron Service
@ Woodcraft Auditorium
Wed. April 29th * 7pm - 9pm
• Chabad presents: Israel Unleashed
@ 1203 West 19th St.
Thurs. April 30th * 3pm - 4pm
• Tea Time
@ 4th floor Kansas Union lobby
Fri. May 1st * 6pm
• Hillet presents: Israel Shabbat
@ Kansas Union in the Jayhawk Room
Sat. May 2nd * 8:30pm
• Strong Black Coffee performs
@ The Granada Theatre
* 1024 Massachusetts St.
Free for KU Students. $5 for others
Supported by : KU Hall • Chabad on Campus • Aloja Epica Hall
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