Al Jazeera America A Valuable Addition To Cable News

A new cable news channel has been added to the choices offered to Americans: Al Jazeera America, which replaces Current TV, the channel owned by, and then sold by, former Vice President Al Gore.

Some would criticize the idea that a cable news channel is owned by an Arab news source, but the indications are, so far, that the channel is very straight forward in its coverage of the news worldwide, does not distort the news, and has had the good sense to hire former journalists who previously were at CNN, HLN, and other cable news networks.

At a time when print journalism is sadly in decline, having another cable news channel is a good thing, and it informs and educates the American people on issues that might not be covered otherwise, so all the best of luck to Al Jazeera America!

15 comments on “Al Jazeera America A Valuable Addition To Cable News

  1. Engineer Of Knowledge August 29, 2013 9:36 am

    Hello Professor,
    I would love to do a side by side compaison between the Al Jazeera network and Faux (pretend) News when the topic is the Middle East.

  2. Ronald August 29, 2013 9:52 am

    HAHA, YES! That would be a delight! LOL

  3. Rustbelt Democrat August 29, 2013 10:43 am

    I would like to see that too!

  4. Princess Leia August 29, 2013 1:21 pm

    Speaking of the Middle East, I hear that the military intervention in Syria has been delayed due to opposition in Europe. From what I hear, the evidence of the chemical attack points to Syrian government forces, but it’s not a “slam-dunk” case. I say, “good”, because we don’t want another Iraq on our hands.

  5. Rustbelt Democrat August 29, 2013 3:14 pm

    You can obviously tell from reading the reviews of the channel which ones are Faux News sheeple. For instance, one review was saying coverage on the channel about poor Bangladeshi working conditions in factories that made clothes for Old Navy was anti-American.

    Here’s a review that did a comparison with Faux News: http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/review-al-jazeera-radically-out-touch-america-good-way-112701

    Here’s a highlight from that article I loved:

    At one moment Wednesday night, that really was the choice: On Al Jazeera’s “Consider This,” we heard a plea from a Syrian opposition spokesman who said his people were dying of apathy.

    “American resistance is killing us. The silence of our friends is killing us. The betrayal of the international community is killing us,” said George Sabra, of the Syrian National Council.

    Meanwhile, on Fox News, a Republican fretted that the Obama Administration may have covered up politically motivated efforts to shake down Tea Partiers.

    It occurred to me: They’re worried about dying, and we’re worried about money. Of course it would be wrong for the IRS to antagonize political opponents. But Al Jazeera gave me some perspective on how wrong it was, in the grand scheme of wrongs.

  6. Ronald August 29, 2013 3:41 pm

    Thanks for this, Rustbelt Democrat!

  7. Jane Doe August 29, 2013 3:42 pm

    There are definitely several anchors I recognize from the more sensible cable news channels. For instance, from CNN – Tony Harris, Joie Chen, Ali Velshi. From NBC/MSNBC – David Shuster.

  8. Princess Leia August 29, 2013 3:45 pm

    I’ve heard that the more sensible politicians, such as Hilary Clinton, have praised Al Jazeera’s networks.

  9. D August 29, 2013 4:00 pm

    I checked out Al Jazeera America as it debuted last week on Tuesday [08.20.2013]. I won’t weight in much with an opinion specifically about its content. I need more time for that. But my only objection, for the time being, is in response to people who attempt to censor others’ viewing by contacting cable-television operators and issuing an ultimatum: “If you carry Al Jazeera America, I will cancel service and go to a competitor.” Cable-television programming lineups are not a structure designed for just one viewer, or for just one household, and I will never abide let alone respect anyone who performs this despicable and ignorant tactic. When a person thinks he is in some position to tell a company that message, he is also indirectly telling me that he will attempt to exert control over what I am allowed to experience.

  10. Jane Doe August 29, 2013 4:03 pm

    Soledad O’Brien, from CNN, is on there too.

  11. Ronald August 29, 2013 6:37 pm

    D, you are, again, absolutely correct, as we should be exposed to all kinds of views, even those we do not agree with. Certainly, Fox News Channel often has objectionable material, but we all have the right to listen to who we wish to, and then decide their validity and accuracy! No one should promote censorship!

  12. Jane Doe August 29, 2013 8:34 pm

    @Princess Leia

    One of the local Teapublicans in my state was interviewed on local news about Syria. He’s against the attack. Afterwards, it got me to wondering if he was ok with Bush invading Iraq. If so, he’s hypocritical.

  13. Rustbelt Democrat August 29, 2013 8:44 pm

    What are you thoughts on the matter of Syria, Professor?

  14. Ronald August 29, 2013 8:55 pm

    I plan to write on this soon.

    It IS hypocritical to have supported Bush, and yet be against Obama. In my mind, Syria is much more serious than Iraq, as chemical warfare is a very serious matter, and if Assad is proven to have authorized this, and gets away with this, what kind of message does it send?

    I think we could have a Kosovo type situation as with Clinton in 1999, air warfare without ground troops. And a major difference is that Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld were not trustworthy, while I feel Obama, Biden, Kerry and Hagel, based on their records and views over many years, ARE trustworthy!

    It would be tragic if the lies and deception of the Bush Administration undermined the Obama Administration, and we ended up with a back handed endorsement of a war crime rarely done in world history!

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