Will ye be watching American Al-jazera tv?

[iris lilies]

Because it does offer "unbiased, fact-based, in-depth stories of U.S. and international news" you know.

http://america.aljazeera.com/

[redfox]

I'm going to check it out.

[puglogic]

Should be interesting to see if it's any more "fair and balanced" than Fox or MSNBC...

[lhamo]

Al Jazeera's correspondent in Beijing was so good the Chinese refused to renew her visa -- she published some really great stories and wasn't afraid to push the limits in terms of getting interviews, etc.

One of Seattle's top anchors quit his job at the NBC affiliate to take a job with them. He's quite good, and I admire him for being willing to try something new.

I like getting news from a lot of different perspectives. Regularly watch the BBC here in China, and sometimes NHK or the German news channel. I even watch Chinese news from time to time -- the local stuff is pretty mind-numbing but they have some good current events shows that offer an interesting perspective (as long as it doesn't involve sensitive local political topics which are strictly party line blabber only).

[razz]

Why not? Each channel offers a chance for a different perspective on issues which is helpful in finding one's own viewpoint unless it is already so rigid that there is only one way, the absolute right way, of thinking.

[IshbelRobertson]

I watch al Jazeera here in the UK, have done so for a long time. I watch BBC news and Channel4 news. Don't bother with any other news channels. We take 2 daily newspapers, too.

[Florence]

No. I have a limited number of life hours and choose not to spend them on "news". Same goes for NBC, ABC, CBS, & Fox. It helps that I don't have television cable or satellite. Bah humbug!

[SteveinMN]

We likely don't have "enough" cable to be able to watch. But if I could, I would. American news, in general, is pretty poor, whether one is a Fox or MSNBC or "happy news" fan. it's interesting/educational to watch BBC news, France24, Deutsche Welle, NHK, or even the Taiwanese news. Maybe their news is considered really deficient by viewers in those countries, but I don't see them wasting precious minutes on promoting their primetime shows or watching their reporters/anchors rappel down buildings in team-building exercises.

[iris lilies]

No. I have a limited number of life hours and choose not to spend them on "news". Same goes for NBC, ABC, CBS, & Fox. It helps that I don't have television cable or satellite. Bah humbug!

I don't have access to it, either having no cable.

[ApatheticNoMore]

News from outside what my government wants to promote? I don't think Al-jazara will be unbiased, perhaps less censored than American news though. But RT is clearly not unbiased, and sometimes they report something worth knowing. But then I rarely watch television news.

[Tiam]

I would only be able to get it by buying a larger cable package, but if I had it, I would. Now, keep in mind I don't have a clear history of Al Jazeera in my head, but I always thought they were considered an reputable new source.

[rodeosweetheart]

Iris, we don't pay for cable but we have Netflix and a roku box. This was the only coverage we could get of the presidential election.

Very, very bizarre.

[bae]

No. I have a limited number of life hours and choose not to spend them on "news". Same goes for NBC, ABC, CBS, & Fox. It helps that I don't have television cable or satellite. Bah humbug!

+1. "News" is of very little interest to my family.

[Gregg]

I am another of the group that might check them out if they were to start broadcasting, but I don't see hooking the cable back up just to watch.

[peggy]

Not exactly the reaction you were expecting, was it Iris. I guess those folks who actually don't watch/listen to Fox and Rush Limbaugh don't realize they are supposed to be outraged!:D

[JaneV2.0]

Once I got over my outrage that Stephanie Miller was going away ;) (she's still on radio, and soon to be back on TV), I decided it would be a good thing to have a news outlet that was actually about news. I'm hoping it will be like CNN was when it started out, only better. None of that "happy talk" crap and giddy commentary on the Kardashians.

[Alan]

I'm hoping it will be like CNN was when it started out, only better. None of that "happy talk" crap and giddy commentary on the Kardashians.
I'm not sure that anyone can run a 24 hour news station (assuming that to be the case) and be limited to strictly news. The need to fill air time and keep viewers from turning the dial almost certainly requires a mix of stories that entertain.

At least one of the existing news channels, MSNBC, even admits that they don't do news. They're in the business of commentary, which is why I find it so entertaining. I'm sure that Al-Jazeera network will be tempted to do the same. The question is, will it have an ideological slant such as MSNBC or Fox? It's fine with me if they do as I believe that most everyone recognizes the skew when they see it and then can decide to take it or leave it.

I'll give it a shot if it's available to me and see for myself whether it informs, entertains or disgusts me (or some combination of them all). I do love straight news and truly enjoy commentary from all sides. I only wish everyone could tell the difference between the two.

[JaneV2.0]

They're going to have a lot of time to fill; they're having only six minutes of advertising an hour or something. I don't care if they repeat their stories--just spare me the fluff and filler.

I like MSNBC also. They don't pretend to be anything other than commentary and Rachel Maddow, for one, does a lot of in-depth stories other networks don't bother with.

[Kestrel]

I'm not sure if we get it ... I haven't checked. But I will. We have DISH. Generally speaking we don't watch much "news", except local. But a friend of ours in fire management will be on local news at 10:00 tonight re the massive fires in Idaho, and we'll watch her. Occasionally we just happen upon something of interest. You never know.

[iris lily]

Al-jazeera came on NPR yesterday with a big ad. I was amused by that, one network promoting itself on another (I know, one is tv and one is radio) but still, it was funny.

[Spartana]

I get AJZ news on pbs channels - along with a host of other foreign news channels like BBC, Deusch World (German),, France 24, NKW (Japan), Reuters, a russian one,' democracy now, etc.- lots more. Been getting them for years without cable. I do like to watch all of them.

[JaneV2.0]

So far, I'm pleasantly surprised. Adult news, excellent documentaries. I've seen one on the unintentional consequences of China's one child policy (whole villages full of bachelors) and another on dioxin in Viet Nam (epigenetic mutations). I've added to the rotation.

[Elishi]

When I was in the UK I watched Al-Jazeera and was quite surprised to see how good it was. Glad it's made it's way across the water.