Demand Al Jazeera in the US • Hacker News Board

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#51

Post by idiopathic » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 2:56 PM UTC

saidulislam wrote: post #42

Demand is too strong of a word here. America is the land of free thinking and tolerance. People here, for the most part, appreciate and respect the differences in opinions. If Al Jazeera wants to establish presence here, no one would tell them to get out. In reality, this would be the best place for any news organization.

They already have a presence in Washington, DC, and have invested heavily in their newsdesk there. The problem is that no cable network will carry them, even though plenty of people would want them carried.

From my time, I would say that America is a land of free thinking and tolerant people, but not the land, and sadly not the land I had wanted it to be. (Am an Arab who had long admired the USA.)

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#52

Post by tvon » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 2:59 PM UTC

raganwald wrote: post #6

tshtf wrote: post #3

There's no need to demand AJE in the US, because AJE is handling new media intelligently and is widely available. I can watch AJE on my PS3, computer, or even my iPhone. They're one of the few networks in the world that supports free and unlimited streaming options to all.

A perfect example of the Internet treating censorship as damage and routing around it.

Well, the internet treats "things people don't want" as damage and routes around it, censorship is just one of those things people don't want.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#53

Post by pavel_lishin » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:13 PM UTC

gigawatt wrote: post #12

danssig wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You bring up good points but there still is a need. There are plenty of people who wont even consider news that isn't on TV. Having a mainstream channel that disagrees with Fox and CNN would be a great thing IMO.

It wouldn't be considered mainstream by the people that would benefit most from an expanded world view, it would just be considered terrorist.

Give it time. I'd love to know how many racists reconsidered their world beliefs as a result of their children dating someone outside their race - simply having to deal with something on a regular basis can acclimate you to it and make you think a little more critically about it.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#54

Post by arepb » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:14 PM UTC

tshtf wrote: post #3

There's no need to demand AJE in the US, because AJE is handling new media intelligently and is widely available. I can watch AJE on my PS3, computer, or even my iPhone. They're one of the few networks in the world that supports free and unlimited streaming options to all.

Roku, too.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#55

Post by yummyfajitas » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:34 PM UTC

retube wrote: post #47

nhebb wrote: post #43

I didn't get the sense that Al Jazeera was an unbiased news source after reading David Marash's interview in the Columbia Journalism Review [1]. All news sources have bias, but the way that Al Jazeera is being upheld as a beacon of truth and light is a little disingenuous. I admit my own bias against them for acting as the mouthpiece of bin Laden by airing his tapes. I know there are those that feel this is a journal…

> acting as the mouthpiece of bin Laden by airing his tapes Why is airing his tapes acting as his mouthpiece? Every others station on planet earth aired them to. It's the sodding news, and given that Bin Laden is world enemy number 1 why on earth wouldn't they air his tapes?

The common argument is that by airing the viewpoints of terrorists after successful attacks, you give extremists an incentive to perform terrorist attacks. I.e., if you pay for something (with money or airtime), you get more of it. Thus, journalists have a responsibility not to do so.

I haven't thought this through enough to form an opinion, just thought the argument is worth stating.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#56

Post by baltcode » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:37 PM UTC

nir wrote: post #22

raganwald wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A perfect example of the Internet treating censorship as damage and routing around it.

atdhetv.net is an example of the net routing around censorship. Aljazeera.com just demonstrates that when you are funded by an oil rich emirate you can easily afford to provide "free and unlimited streaming options to all". If Oman bought CNN tomorrow, you'd probably get that for free online as well. (In fact, considering AJ's success and western media's woes, maybe Oman buying CNN isn't so outlandish)

From what I know, Oman isn't that rich, just a little more well off than most of the developing world. GDP per capita US = 46k, Singapore = 36.5k, Qatar = 70k, Oman = 16k.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#57

Post by dman » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:37 PM UTC

nir wrote: post #22

raganwald wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A perfect example of the Internet treating censorship as damage and routing around it.

atdhetv.net is an example of the net routing around censorship. Aljazeera.com just demonstrates that when you are funded by an oil rich emirate you can easily afford to provide "free and unlimited streaming options to all". If Oman bought CNN tomorrow, you'd probably get that for free online as well. (In fact, considering AJ's success and western media's woes, maybe Oman buying CNN isn't so outlandish)

Won't YouTube, live stream etc gladly take on the distribution part of the equation if CNN etc were to consider going towards unlimited streaming?

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#58

Post by baltcode » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:39 PM UTC

nhebb wrote: post #43

I didn't get the sense that Al Jazeera was an unbiased news source after reading David Marash's interview in the Columbia Journalism Review [1]. All news sources have bias, but the way that Al Jazeera is being upheld as a beacon of truth and light is a little disingenuous. I admit my own bias against them for acting as the mouthpiece of bin Laden by airing his tapes. I know there are those that feel this is a journal…

The point isn't that AJE is free of all biases, but that it sometimes presents news and opinions that are otherwise not present, and are at most only as biased as what's already available on MSM.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#59

Post by yummyfajitas » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:39 PM UTC

bryanlarsen wrote: post #25

JimmyMiller wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CNN is right of center?

Only Americans think that CNN isn't right of center. Many think the BBC is fairly unbiased, and CNN is definitely well to the right of the BBC. Another data point: the Democratic party would be considered a centre-right party in most countries.

CNN international is also very different from CNN USA.

CNN international seems to be reading AP press releases. CNN USA is mostly just anchors reading twitter, with the occasional story about how racist and violent the tea party is.

Re: Demand Al Jazeera in the US

#60

Post by baltcode » Tue, Mar 22, 2011, 3:42 PM UTC

I have no idea how but I am somehow catching them with my puny little 10$ indoor antenna. I think some station in Fairfax, VA is broadcasting them along with NHK (Japanese), Russia Today, DW, and may be a Chinese language channel.