Bastet June 12, 2014 Share June 12, 2014 The Nation ran an article earlier this year on Al Jazeera America's strengths and limitations. My satellite provider (Dish) announced it as a new addition to my programming package not long after the network premiered, but it was months before it actually showed up. I'm so glad it did, because America Tonight quickly became a nightly tradition. I usually wind up watching the repeat broadcast, as it unfortunately airs at the same time as my old standby, PBS Newshour. I hope it sticks around. 1 Link to comment
Saint TV June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 I have it on Direct TV and have since the day it debuted. I enjoy the international coverage even though it makes me want to jump off a bridge. Link to comment
aradia22 June 24, 2014 Share June 24, 2014 I should really check if I still have Al Jazeera. I always enjoy the news so much more when I'm traveling and getting the stations that broadcast in English but which aren't native to America. I can't deal with the regular cable news stuff (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN). I just feel like I'm constantly being lied to and getting way more opinion than news. I catch some of the local news from time to time but other than NY1, it's mainly depressing or useless information. Just subsisting on a diet of local news I could tell you nothing about what's happening in the world, or even in American politics, but I can tell you a ton about newborn kittens and bears in people's backyards. Get it together, local news. The Daily Show/Colbert Report helps a little but they don't cover too many stories and of course the focus is more on humor than news. Gone are the days when I'd ever want to sit down to read the newspaper. I don't find the writing enjoyable and so it just feels like a waste to read an article that imparts a paragraph's worth of information. For those who do watch, are they particular anchors you like or times of the day when you like to tune in? Link to comment
Bastet June 24, 2014 Author Share June 24, 2014 For those who do watch, are they particular anchors you like or times of the day when you like to tune in? America Tonight is my favorite hour of news, but I've yet to tune in to any coverage I disliked, especially with respect to international news; unlike many other cable news networks, Al Jazeera America lives up to its motto: Fact-Based, In-Depth News. I've never calculated the average length of a story, but it's probably about five minutes. And the network has produced some wonderful one-hour specials. Ali Velshi's financial show does perhaps the best job I've seen of exploring the real-world effects of economic policies and developments. 1 Link to comment
candall May 9, 2015 Share May 9, 2015 Well, I'm dragging this topic forward a year so maybe someone else will see it and give AJA a shot. They have some of the best documentaries going. Not a one turns out to be ill-conceived or disappointing. 1 Link to comment
Bastet May 9, 2015 Author Share May 9, 2015 I agree; this network is such an oasis. This was plainly evident on the day it was announced the Germanwings co-pilot had crashed the plane (and that’s all we knew at the time). To amuse/horrify myself that evening, I flipped back and forth between Al Jazeera’s prime-time news hour and that of CNN. On the former, the story was covered via a few minutes of straightforward recounting of what the data had revealed. The latter? So far as I could tell, the entire hour was devoted to computer animation and wild speculation from experts (or “experts”) in aviation, psychology, terrorism, etc. 2 Link to comment
junemeatcleaver May 20, 2015 Share May 20, 2015 How Al Jazeera America Went From a Home for Idealists to a Sexist Mess There's been news trickling out about AJAM being a mess for awhile (the Jezebel piece references a NY Times article about AJAM's problems). Hopefully they can get it together, but I'll be watching BBC World News until I hear AJAM is doing better. 1 Link to comment
Bastet May 20, 2015 Author Share May 20, 2015 What a mess. What I'm seeing on the air is still great, so I'm thankful for that, but how long can people hang on? Yes, a lot of this is typical (as horrifying as that is), but come on. 1 Link to comment
junemeatcleaver January 13, 2016 Share January 13, 2016 Al Jazeera America to shut down April 30 I guess they tried. I hope Directv picks up CNN International to replace Al Jazeera. 2 Link to comment
candall January 14, 2016 Share January 14, 2016 Well, crap. Why can't I have nice things? Thanks for the head's up. I wonder if they considered trying a name change. Al-anything is a pretty hard sell in my neck of the woods. Oh, who am I kidding? If Rush Limbaugh became a FOX News anchor, my neighbors would think they were in heaven, earlier than expected. 2 Link to comment
stormy January 14, 2016 Share January 14, 2016 Direct TV will probably give us another shopping channel to replace it. Seems 99% of the channels are that. 1 Link to comment
Constantinople January 14, 2016 Share January 14, 2016 Well, crap. Why can't I have nice things? Thanks for the head's up. I wonder if they considered trying a name change. Al-anything is a pretty hard sell in my neck of the woods. Al-Roker? 4 Link to comment
candall January 15, 2016 Share January 15, 2016 Al-Roker? Ixnay. And ditto Al-Gore, but Tipper's okay since she came out against music. 1 Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 16, 2016 Share January 16, 2016 I wonder if they considered trying a name change. Al-anything is a pretty hard sell in my neck of the woods.I believe I heard on NPR that the shut-down was because of the low price of oil. The government of Qatar can't afford it anymore. 2 Link to comment
candall January 16, 2016 Share January 16, 2016 Yes, I went exploring yesterday and read same in the NYT. (Qatar's suffering from the tumble of oil and natural gas prices.) I guess I'm harking back to when Al Gore's station, Current, was purchased for $500M--because, really?--and I wondered whether the name would prejudice people against giving it a chance. Ye olde NYT mentioned that it was much more popular in Europe, where people were more accustomed to receiving news from Arabic sources. Going lint-picky philosophical for a moment, there are sooo many fundamental differences between people who are born in giant land mass countries and people who grow up surrounded by entirely different cultures just right over there. 2 Link to comment
Bastet January 16, 2016 Author Share January 16, 2016 The fact Qatar no longer has an endless supply of money to toss after it is the underlying reason, yes, but the ratings have been dismal all along. I think that's what the "I wonder if they considered ..." musings are directed at; things they might have done to increase viewership. (Of course it's a moot point now, which is a shame.) 2 Link to comment
junemeatcleaver January 17, 2016 Share January 17, 2016 It's a fair question to wonder if Al Jazeera was getting even MSNBC numbers and turning a small profit would the Qatari government have pulled the plug. Who knows. Al Jazeera was doomed to fail in the US. Not only because of the name, but because of their dense "real" news content many people don't seem to have the patience for. 5 Link to comment
SmithW6079 January 21, 2016 Share January 21, 2016 Al Jazeera was doomed to fail in the US. Not only because of the name, but because of their dense "real" news content many people don't seem to have the patience for.I think you're being generous to attribute the failure to people's lack of patience. This is America in the 21st century -- the age of willful ignorance. 1 Link to comment
Bastet January 21, 2016 Author Share January 21, 2016 I think both things are factors; there are topics people just don't care about, but this is also the era of the 140-character attention span. 2 Link to comment
junemeatcleaver April 10, 2016 Share April 10, 2016 (edited) AJA is shutting down April 12 instead of April 30th as originally reported. If you want to catch AJA before it shuts down, now is your very last chance. On the network’s final day of production, April 12, Al Jazeera America will air a three-hour live farewell, beginning at 6 p.m. ET (and repeated at 9 p.m. ET) including contributions from Al Jazeera America journalists who worked with the channel since its launch in 2013, and the subjects of many of the network’s reports. source Edited April 10, 2016 by junemeatcleaver Link to comment
candall April 10, 2016 Share April 10, 2016 AJA is shutting down April 12 instead of April 30th as originally reported. If you want to catch AJA before it shuts down, now is your very last chance. source Thanks. Got it on "Record." Link to comment
Bastet April 12, 2016 Author Share April 12, 2016 On the network’s final day of production, April 12, Al Jazeera America will air a three-hour live farewell, I'm watching it right now, and getting so depressed that this network is going away. Thanks for 2-1/2 years of authentic journalism, AJA. 1 Link to comment
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