Why can't people in US watch Al Jazeera?

[ajays]

Every time Al Jazeera is brought up, people claim that it is anti-semitic, racist, anti-US, etc.

But to that I say: so what? Do you think Americans are that stupid that they won't see antisemitism? Do you think we're little children who can't think for ourselves?

As the old adage goes, "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". If Al Jazeera is indeed "the enemy", then all the more reason to make Al Jazeera widely available!

Plus: when Al Jazeera started, the staff was almost entirely made up of BBC MiddleEast service people. So while they worked for BBC, they were unbiased; but the moment they started working for AJ, they became biased and completely untrustworthy!!

IMHO, this opposition to Al Jazeera comes from the fact that they (AJ) don't tow the 'company line'. There's a carefully crafted story around which news is reported in the US ("US = good; Middle-Easterners = uneducated religious bigots; Israelis = poor victims who can't do no wrong; etc." ) ; unfortunately for AJ, they refuse to follow this line and hence piss off powerful people here.

And before someone starts putting words in my mouth: I support Israeli people, and want them to live secure, peaceful, happy lives in Israel. In other words: I support the Israeli people, but not necessarily the actions of their government.

[mambodog]

As I mentioned below, I find it disingenuous that people often use the term 'anti-semitic' when they mean 'anti-Israel', as if any judgement on the actions of the state of Israel automatically implies hate of Jewish people.

[gaius]

while they worked for BBC, they were unbiased; but the moment they started working for AJ

The BBC is generally regarded as being anti-Israel: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/bbc-fights-to-sup...

When people say a news source is "unbiased" they really mean "agrees with me".

[endtime]

I agree with the thrust of your comment in general; however, you're mistaken on one point:

>the staff was almost entirely made up of BBC MiddleEast service people. So while they worked for BBC, they were unbiased; but the moment they started working for AJ, they became biased and completely untrustworthy!!

The BBC is well-known for anti-Israel bias, and there have been investigations to that effect. Here's an article about a long-running legal battle to get the BBC to disclose a report on its ME coverage: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/feb/11/balen-report-bbc...; here's some background info on said report: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balen_Report.

Edit: I honestly don't care about my HN karma, but I am curious to know why this was downvoted. I provided relevant information in a civil manner. I'd really feel better if someone could provide an explanation other than that people are using HN downvotes like reddit downvotes now. :/

[jacobmg]

>Do you think Americans are that stupid that they won't see antisemitism? Do you think we're little children who can't think for ourselves?

Well that's the thing, perhaps those who have had the opportunity to carry Al Jazeera decided not to on the prediction that it would not be watched, and decided to avoid any financial loss by not taking the risk.

>Plus: when Al Jazeera started, the staff was almost entirely made up of BBC MiddleEast service people. So while they worked for BBC, they were unbiased; but the moment they started working for AJ, they became biased and completely untrustworthy!!

No one ever said the BBC was immune from being biased. You're right, it's unlikely that the same people automatically went from being non-biased to biased, so if Al-Jazeera is biased, that just means the BBC had been biased all along.

[detokaal]

"Do you think Americans are that stupid that they won;t see antisemitism" Do you think we're little children who can't think for ourselves."

Yes.

To imply that the media has no influence on the general mass of population is ignorant at best. There is a reason most governments censor the media, seed the media with favorable information or outright ban them: they move people to action.

[tkahn6]

> when Al Jazeera started, the staff was almost entirely made up of BBC MiddleEast service people.

And many people believe that the BBC is biased when it comes to covering Israel.

For example: http://honestreporting.com/bbc-responds-to-flotilla-inquiry-...

[r11t]

For Linux users wanting to watching without using browser + flash, using mplayer + rtmpdump:

  rtmpdump -v -r rtmp://livestfslivefs.fplive.net/livestfslive-live/ -y "aljazeera_en_veryhigh?videoId=747084146001&lineUpId=&pubId=665003303001&playerId=751182905001&affiliateId=" -W "http://admin.brightcove.com/viewer/us1.24.04.08.2011-01-14072625/federatedVideoUI/BrightcovePlayer.swf -p "http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/ -a "aljazeeraflashlive-live?videoId=747084146001&lineUpId=&pubId=665003303001&playerId=751182905001&affiliateId=" | mplayer -

[landslidepurist]

^ Works with vlc too.

[borism]

just pulled rtmpdump from macports (I already have mplayer, of course) and I can confirm it works on mac too... except their rtmp provider seems to be getting killed right now.

I would recommend switching to Livestation, quality isn't as good, but at least it works (on Linux too).

[_b8r0]

The reason people in the US can't watch Al Jazeera on TV is because it doesn't fit into the US MSM model. Modern US news isn't about news, it's about opinion and entertainment.

I don't know many Americans that watch Fox, but of those that I do know, they wouldn't watch Al Jazeera partly because it's not American (and therefore not trustworthy - with the exception of the BBC) but mainly because of the long form nature of the stories and focus on the news rather than building an emotionally charged narrative.

[gcb]

exactly. just like the history channel wouldn't date to show long feature history instead of opinions and repetition of a non-fact theory.

or the discovery showing something scientific, and not red neck soap opera while they chop bikes or trees.

[araneae]

They can. http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[spot]

You are reading the title too literally. They just left off "on TV" because it's obvious from context.

[InclinedPlane]

Indeed, this is the 21st century, where 2/3 of adult Americans have a broadband internet connection at home.

[spooneybarger]

Whenever I try, it barely works and usually crashes. Right now, barely works would be a kind description.

The stations I get via cable/sat tv etc don't have scaling problems of this sort. They might have crap coverage and you could argue that is a scaling issue of some sort but.. at least I can manage to watch.

[knowledgesale]

Also, to watch things on demand, there is a youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/AlJazeeraEnglish

[getsat]

There is a large subset of the US population that would distrust any information from an Arabic source.

BBC, Reuters, and Al Jazeera are amazing compared to CNN/MSNBC/FOX.

[locopati]

One could probably make a case that there's a large subset of the US population that would distrust CNN, MSNBC, and/or Fox.

[jacobmg]

PBS is a better fit to be compared to BBC. You can find low-brow entertainment based news in the UK and every other country with a free media. It's not like you can't access quality news in the US and Al Jazeera has to swoop in and save the day.

[berntb]

>>There is a large subset of the US population that would distrust any information from an Arabic source.

There are reasons for that.

For example, the state controlled/censored media in the muslim world are infamous for antisemitic hate mongering. (State sanctioned racism... what does that remind you of?)

A second problem is that I have no idea about the spin in Al Jazeera (except for their host country). Does anyone? I can make good guesses on what to not trust in e.g. my local media and NY Times (mainly big advertisers).

Note: I'm not arguing that all (or even most) media in the US are more dependable than e.g. Bild zeitung.

Edit: I thought I should add a reference about antisemitic content in Arab media, so I checked Wikipedia and found a reference -- to Al Jazeera! (That isn't that heavily censored by any state. But fun enough that I added a separate comment with the quote.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_antisemitism#Yusuf_al...

[borism]

does Reuters have their own TV channel?

[noonespecial]

Interesting. I have cox cable in DC, we get Al Jazeera, and it has been most useful. When the gulf oil spill was happening and we wanted to find out what was going on, I turned to CNN only to get 20 minutes on Katy Perry's freakin wardrobe controversy. Al Jazeera to the rescue.

[smhinsey]

By pure coincidence I have it on in the background right now in Arlington. I have FiOS but I assume Comcast has a similarly wide array of news channels. I chalked it up to the area. I've certainly never had it anywhere else I've lived, up and down the East Coast.

[eli]

I get it on Comcast in DC too.

[CountSessine]

It's surprising just how good a new source Al Jazeera is.

I wish my cable operator let me subscribe to Al Jazeera in lieu of CNN.

[nodata]

In all seriousness, they could generate the news on CNN with an algorithm and it would be immensely better than what they pump out now.

[arethuza]

You could probably get it from a "free to air" satellite broadcast.

[eschulte]

then call your cable provider and ask that Al Jazeera be added to the lineup, if they get enough of these requests they will act on them, the only question is how much is enough

[rospaya]

Note that CNN International is a class better than CNN that you watch in the US. They carry less opinion and showbiz and more news and business, although go in-depth only in rare shows.

I used to switch between CNN and BBC in the 90s because of the great correspondent network they both had.

[maqr]

I don't get CNN International or BBC News on Comcast, but I do think it's amusing that every time CNN needs real reporting (like when the Egypt story broke), they just cut to CNN International, where at least some level of real reporting is happening.

[sad_hacker]

I'm not an American and I watch International version of CNN and I don't have any bad word against them.. I also watch Al Jazeera and BBC.

[defroost]

Their website is excellent. The recently acquired leaked documents, The Palestinian Papers, are fascinating reading.

http://english.aljazeera.net/palestinepapers/2011/01/2011122...

And I just saw an interview with PJ Crowley about Egypt. There is no US reporter that would ever ask such tough questions as the Aljazeera interviewer. No way.

http://www.commondreams.org/video/2011/01/27-1

[mmaunder]

There is an opportunity for Al Jazeera in the USA because the signal to garbage ratio on our local networks has become intolerable.

Most thinkers in this country get their news from the web, but live TV still has it's merits and there is a cavernous gap in the market for quality international news coverage right now.

If Al Jazeera manage to capture some of that market, they could attract a more educated (and wealthier) demographic than CNN, CNBC and Fox. i.e. a more lucrative market for advertisers.

Because they're streaming online, there really is very little standing in their way. If I was a major US network, I'd sit up and take notice.

Al Jazeera reaches over 100 million homes:

http://english.aljazeera.net/aboutus/2007/10/200852518483043...

It wouldn't take much to become the most popular international network in the country.

Prime time viewers over the age of 2:

Fox News: 2.1 million

MSNBC: 950k

CNN: 483k

CNBC: 303k

HLN: 462k

Source: Nielsen, Jan 28, 2011.

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/28/cable-news-ratin...

[jat850]

In Canada, at least two cable operators that I know of offer Al Jazeera as a subscription channel.

[linhir]

The article reminded me of this quotation from JFK: "We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."

[Isofarro]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English -- lists loads of options for watching, from online, to terrestrial, cable, to satellite, to Internet TV.

[seiha]

Al Jazeera is freely available over FTA through GlobeCast worldtv. http://www.globecastwtv.com/America/WhatsOnWTV/FreeToAirOnly...

[kingkawn]

I've had the website on for two days straight, it has hardly even staggered. The coverage is amazing.

[mmaunder]

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[zackb]

Hey Guys, check out our startup Frequency. You can see quite a bit of al jazeera. http://www.frequency.com/aljazeera

[kennywinker]

more importantly, why can't people OUTSIDE the US watch hulu?