# Al-Jazeera to launch an English language channel - are you tuning in? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 2, 2004, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848 "2004-09-02T22:17:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2004, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/21 "2004-09-05T02:32:28Z")
I don’t have a TV right now, so the answer is no unless they do internet broadcasts. If I can actually see it then I’d like to watch some of it, although not on a daily basis. Let’s face the facts. The American news media does not report all angles of the story in Iraq, nor would they report all angles on future Middle East stories. Starting shortly after the invasion, there were plenty of interviews with Iraqi citizens very unhappy with the occupation, but none were aired on American television to my knowledge because they were still trying to convince us that the Iraqi people were universally happy to see us. ---
**Author:** ![MikeCollins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbce88/32.png) [@MikeCollins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeCollins)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/22 "2004-09-06T01:07:26Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Or, you could find out what they _ctually_ broadcast before you decide to dismiss them. I doubt that they will appear as overly friendly to Israel, but they tend to get fairly good marks for their actual reporting. When they have been bashed by the current U.S. administration, it has always been for opinion pieces (the Arab equivalent of O’Reilly and Hannity). I somehow doubt it would change his mind. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/23 "2004-09-06T01:45:01Z")
I hope Adelphia carries it in Southern California. There are enough Muslims around here to make it worth their while, and I would like the opportunity to see what other people are saying about the world. That is why I watch BBC World News. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/24 "2004-09-06T02:02:58Z")
I’d be surprised if it were carried in the U.S. It’s up to the cable companies to determine what content they’ll carry. Cable companies run on money. If they carry Al-Jazeera, they will be pilloried. Conservative talk shows will point out that [cable company name] are a pack of un-American traitors. Subscribers will cancel their accounts in protest. The cable companies know this, and I doubt they’ll risk it. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/25 "2004-09-06T05:36:53Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’d be surprised if it were carried in the U.S. It’s up to the cable companies to determine what content they’ll carry. Cable companies run on money. If they carry Al-Jazeera, they will be pilloried. Conservative talk shows will point out that [cable company name] are a pack of un-American traitors. Subscribers will cancel their accounts in protest. The cable companies know this, and I doubt they’ll risk it. Which, in turn, will lend further weight to the perception within the Arab world that the US is an imperialist culture which has zero tolerance for any culture or viewpoint other than her own. Which, in turn, will only exacerbate the giant gulf which already exists between the US and the Arab world. It’s an almost humourous Catch-22 when you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/26 "2004-09-06T10:56:59Z")
**Collounsbury** often compared Al-Jazeera to FOX news, and I believe the similarities are telling. Both rarely tell outright _untruths_, they merely skew their broadcasts in order to pander to the nationalistic preconceptions of its target audience. (Indeed, their target markets could almost be _defined_ as “the people with nationalistic preconceptions”!) It would behoove the well-informed intellectual to watch _both_ FOX an Al Jazeera in order to understand the mindset of both sides. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2004, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/27 "2004-09-06T12:51:24Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’d be surprised if it were carried in the U.S. It’s up to the cable companies to determine what content they’ll carry. Cable companies run on money. If they carry Al-Jazeera, they will be pilloried. Conservative talk shows will point out that [cable company name] are a pack of un-American traitors. Subscribers will cancel their accounts in protest. The cable companies know this, and I doubt they’ll risk it. They could carry it pretty selectively. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if our cable company offered it in Dearborn. You wouldn’t have to be splashy about it, inviting a lot of press scrutiny. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2004, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/28 "2004-09-07T05:52:40Z")
I hit their website three or four times a week at least-i’d certainly watch their feed over any ofthe current cable news shows withthe possible exception of bloomberg. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/29 "2004-09-08T02:05:39Z")
I’d like to watch it, but I doubt Comcast will add it to their analog cable lineup. I refuse to pay more for the ad-laden digital cable, which means I don’t get BBC either. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/30 "2004-09-08T02:51:32Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > I’ If they carry Al-Jazeera, they will be pilloried. You can subscribe to it with Dish Network, and they seem to still be in business. [http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/channels/indexpackage.asp?NetwID=50433](http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/channels/indexpackage.asp?NetwID=50433) I hope it’s free to air. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/31 "2004-09-08T12:43:12Z")
> [@](#): > > You can subscribe to it with Dish Network, and they seem to still be in business. It’s a start. Being low on coffee at the moment, I can’t think of examples; but I know there have been many boycotts and protests because people disagreed with a product, and that companies have bowed to public pressure. Count me surprised. > [@](#): > > I refuse to pay more for the ad-laden digital cable, which means I don’t get BBC either. I have BBC America. Not a lot of bin Laden. It seems to be mostly home improvement and antiques shows. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848/32 "2004-09-08T14:38:39Z")
I’d watch it if I get it for free (or with my Japanese channel I pay $40 a month for). If it’s not free, I won’t bother. I currently watch about 30 minutes a week of TV (or less). If Aljazeera was available I might watch some more just to check it out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/al-jazeera-to-launch-an-english-language-channel-are-you-tuning-in/262848.md?page=1)