Soledad O’Brien on Al Jazeera America: ‘The Work That They’re Doing is Quality’

By Merrill Knox 

In Mediabistro’s latest “So What Do You Do?” interview, Soledad O’Brien opens up about the state of journalism, her former roles at CNN and NBC News, and her production company, Starfish Media. She also weighs in on Al Jazeera America, where she is a special correspondent:

I think every news organization can learn from another news organization that’s doing it well. We’ve been doing some pieces for Al Jazeera — I’m a special correspondent for their America Tonight show — and I think they’ve done a really good job of pushing for a more nuanced approach and storytelling through human beings. I’ve been impressed that they’ve wanted to focus on the story and digging into the truth.

My most recent one took a look at the money that filtered through Haitians having very different experiences trying to rebuild their lives. I think that’s the way to tell those stories, not through Congress people who will be yelling back and forth when they do a hearing on Haiti in a month and a half. So I think Al Jazeera TV has to grow an audience and get carriage, but I think the work that they’re doing is quality.

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