In a rather amusing account, award-winning journalist Robert Fisk waxes and wanes about his recent visit to Al Jazeera, including the moment that a fly lands on his nose while he’s on air, prompting him to smack his own nose.

Only after does he realize viewers at home haven’t seen the fly. 

One excerpt:

But the great thing is that on al-Jazeera English, you can say what you want, tell the truth in other words – and thank God nothing much actually happens in Qatar, home of al-Jazeera, because I somehow doubt that the Emir, who funds this extraordinary shooting match, would be subjected to quite the same serious interrogation by its titans of journalism.

But then again, both the English and the Arabic versions of al-Jazeera are, in their less than odd way, a state project, part of the nation’s diplomacy, an extension of Qatar’s foreign policy, an institution that helps Qatar (I hate these British clichés because they remind me of William Hague) to “punch above its weight”.

Read the full article here.