International Inaugural Coverage Hits and Misses

While the world seemed to breathe in a moment of awe with America, the world also exhaled with the question “Now what?”

In comparing British Broadcasting Corp. and Al-Jazeera coverage of Inauguration Day, it was obvious the focus of the world was fixed and critical. By 8 p.m. on Tuesday, there were 111 pages of comments on the BBC web site and 17 pages on the Al-Jazeera web site. Coverage comparisons started on Monday evening and continued Tuesday.

The BBC had a separate web page for Inauguration Day coverage with live streaming of the inaugural speech online. I found inaugural schedules, concert re-caps and a story entitled “Choosing the First Puppy.” The features included a story entitled “How Grandfather Changed America,” a story about the Little Rock Nine.

It seemed BBC coverage charged at the topic of race like the proverbial bull in a china shop, even having an editorial entitled “Is Obama Black?” by Kimberly McClain DaCosta of Harvard University, arguing the definition of race.

The BBC covered President Obama’s father’s hometown of Kogelo, Kenya and “Obamania” in Japan. I found BBC coverage to be more internationally focused than American coverage, with reactions from people around the world reflected in “BBC Correspondents: World Hopes on Obama.” Blogs were set up and comments varied, but seemed to echo the need to scrutinize.

Al-Jazeera’s bloggers were vocal about what President Obama should do in the Israeli/ Palestinian Conflict. Al-Jazeera’s web site on Monday was fixated on the “War in Gaza” with multi-story coverage. The web site included a story on Bush’s legacy and a story entitled “Lebanese Protest Targets U.S. Embassy.” The only allusion to the inauguration included a picture of the protest, with visuals depicting former President Bush and President Obama with blood dripping from their mouths.

Early Tuesday morning coverage included the protest picture from the web site, a story entitled “U.S. Prepares for Obama Inauguration,” an event guide and a story entitled “Obama is ‘no MLK,’” by Glen Ford, executive editor of the Black Agenda Report.

Al-Jazeera offered live updates from www.twitter.com, but no live streaming from the web site of the inauguration ceremony or speech. Later morning coverage included stories “From Gaza to Obama” and the same article posted about the inauguration as earlier, with a small update of the crowd size and pictures. The inauguration story was surrounded by a sea of stories related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Right after the inauguration ceremony, the story headline changed to “U.S. Challenges” with a picture caption stating, “Obama acknowledged in his inauguration speech that the U.S. faces challenges at home and abroad.” Around 8 p.m., the web site included links to pictures with “emotive” scenes and a story posted entitled “World Leaders Congratulate Obama.”

I applaud Al-Jazeera for being focused on issues in their coverage on the Middle East, but it seems they left out the story this time: the first African-American president.