By Seema Sirohi, FirstPost.com, August 21, 2012

[....] Yesterday, I happened to watch a discussion on Al Jazeera about the flight of North Eastern Indians from various cities after the link helpfully came along on my Twitter feed. It was a mouth-wide-open experience –- not because of new insights but because of the easy ignorance of a certain “expert commentator” and his brazen misuse of television time.

I am no longer a fan but in the past I have appreciated Al Jazeera’s tendency to do stories the other networks won’t touch from parts of the world they won’t go. While living in Jerusalem for two years, I watched Al Jazeera regularly for its perceptive coverage of the Palestinian issue. Its coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza, its reports from the frontlines and stories about the general helplessness of the Palestinians was good journalism. When I moved to Washington two years ago I made sure I had Al Jazeera on cable.

Let’s just say my views have evolved over time, especially in relation to its coverage of India and more so after occasionally checking its website. Al Jazeera appears to try really hard to tell a certain kind of story even when there isn’t one – [....]