[EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

Wed Oct 29 11:53:09 PDT 2014

If this is so straightforward and objective, and the network and its owners are simply acting on a desire to expand the ability of people to vote, please point out al Jazeera pieces on the complete disenfranchisement of 2 million Qataris.  That would seem to be an obvious issue deserving attention from an internationally respected news source.

I wasn’t put off by his exercise of the First Amendment, btw.  I was put off by the rhetoric.  I fully support any author’s First Amendment right to be unpersuasive.

From: George Korbel [mailto:korbellaw at hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:29 AM
To: Bill Maurer
Cc: Greg P. Magarian; Jeff Hauser; John W. Farrell; law-election at uci.edu
Subject: Re: [EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

Dr Maurer

Well the article of which complai was written by a professor at the Hamline University law school in Minneapolis. I cannot conceive of something that is more Apple pie than a professor at a Midwestern mid American twin cities law school. The author is a member of this board and the fact that he expressed his views in an op ed in an internationally respected news source hardly associates his views with a middle eastern royal family.   The middle west is not the Middle East.

And as far as you being off put by his exercise of the first amendment--that is the beauty of the concept of our founding fathers.  That pesky first amendment sometimes puts us all off.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:23 PM, Bill Maurer <wmaurer at ij.org<mailto:wmaurer at ij.org>> wrote:
I also read the story.  I found it interesting but was put off by its editorial rhetoric.

As for the independence of the stories the network runs, the Guardian reported on this issue recently.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/sep/30/al-jazeera-independence-questioned-qatar

From: Greg P. Magarian [mailto:gpmagarian at wulaw.wustl.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 9:58 AM
To: Jeff Hauser; Bill Maurer
Cc: John W. Farrell; law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: RE: [EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

You’re ascribing a news story, wholesale, to the news outlet’s owners.  The byline on the story credits Greg Palast, a U.S.-born journalist who primarily works in the U.K.  Palast is not a member of the Qatari monarchy.

At a structural level, concerns about media ownership are, IMHO, quite valid.  If we’re talking about a particular story, written by a respected, widely-published member of a profession that prizes operational independence, questions based on ownership might still be valid.  But a question and a sweeping dismissal, entirely free of substantive analysis, are two different things.

If you think the story is wrong on its merits, say why.  If you have a basis for arguing that the owners of al Jazeera exercise stifling editorial control over news stories, share it.  For that matter, you might explain why, even if we ascribe Palast’s story to the Qatari monarchy, an entity that doesn’t practice democracy can’t offer a useful critique of democratic practices.

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Jeff Hauser
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:44 AM
To: Bill Maurer
Cc: John W. Farrell; law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: Re: [EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2011/07/11/saudi-investor-alwaleed-news-corps-news-of-the-world-was-a-rotten-apple/

On Wed, Oct 29, 2014 at 12:38 PM, Bill Maurer <wmaurer at ij.org<mailto:wmaurer at ij.org>> wrote:
The Unification Church is not a country.  The more proper analogy would be whether I found articles from them about theology persuasive.

I would think that anybody would find it laughable to be lectured on the narrowness of our franchise by a media outlet owned by a royal family that does not permit any elections (at least as far as I can tell).  Regardless of where one stands on voter ID, I can’t take criticism by absolute monarchs on how we conduct elections seriously.

From: John W. Farrell [mailto:jfarrell at mccandlishlawyers.com<mailto:jfarrell at mccandlishlawyers.com>]
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 9:25 AM
To: Bill Maurer
Cc: Schultz, David A.; law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: Re: [EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

Do you ask the same question about stories in the Washington Times?

John W. Farrell
Attorney at Law

[McCandlish & Lillard]<http://mccandlishlawyers.com/>

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On Oct 29, 2014, at 12:18 PM, Bill Maurer wrote:

A story on voting rights from a media outlet owned by the royal family of Qatar raises the question of how broad was the franchise that voted them into office?

Bill

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Schultz, David A.
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2014 6:10 AM
To: law-election at uci.edu<mailto:law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: [EL] Al Jazeera America article on voter suppression

A good article today in  Al Jazeera America on voter suppression along with  my accompanying op-ed on the topic.

http://projects.aljazeera.com/2014/double-voters/index.html

http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/10/2014-midterm-electionsgopvotersuppressiondemocrats.html
--
David Schultz, Professor
Editor, Journal of Public Affairs Education (JPAE)
Hamline University
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