Al Jazeera English Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S.
Jeanwah
Posts: 6,363
1/30/11
WASHINGTON - Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company-approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly.
Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting.
The result of the Al Jazeera English blackout in the United States has been a surge in traffic to the media outlet's website, where footage can be seen streaming live. The last 24 hours have seen a two-and-a-half thousand percent increase in web traffic, Tony Burman, head of North American strategies for Al Jazeera English, told HuffPost. Sixty percent of that traffic, he said, has come from the United States.
Al Jazeera English launched in the fall of 2006, opening a large bureau on K Street in downtown Washington, but has made little progress in persuading cable companies to offer the channel to its customers.
The objections from the cable companies have come for both political and commercial reasons, said Burman, the former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "In 2006, pre-Obama, the experience was a challenging one. Essentially this was a period when a lot of negative stereotypes were associated with Al Jazeera. The effort was a difficult one," he said, citing the Bush administration's public hostility to the network.
"There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that's changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to Al Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem," Burman said.
Cable companies are also worried, said Burman, that they will lose more subscribers than they will gain by granting access to Al Jazeera. The Canadian experience, he said, should put those fears to rest. In Canada, national regulators can require cable companies to provide certain channels and Al Jazeera ran a successful campaign to encourage Canadians to push the government to intervene. There has been extremely little negative reaction over the past year as Canadians have been able to view the channel and decide for themselves. "We had a completely different process and result here in Canada -- a grassroots campaign that was overwhelmingly successful," said Avi Lewis, the former host of Al Jazeera's Frontline USA. (He now freelances for Al Jazeera while working on a documentary project with his wife, Naomi Klein.)
Media critics have begun to push for Al Jazeera's inclusion. "It is downright un-American to still refuse to carry it," wrote Jeff Jarvis on Sunday. "Vital, world-changing news is occurring in the Middle East and no one-not the xenophobic or celebrity-obsessed or cut-to-the-bone American media-can bring the perspective, insight, and on-the-scene reporting Al Jazeera English can."
Al Jazeera follows a public broadcasting model similar to the BBC, CBC and NPR and is largely funded by the government of Qatar, which Burman said takes a completely hands-off approach to content. Al Jazeera is the scourge of authoritarian governments around the Middle East, which attempt to block it. The network, however, covers much more than the Middle East, and now has more bureaus in Latin America than CNN and the BBC, said Burman. "As proud as we are of our Middle Eastern coverage, we are in other places in the world that are never, never seen on television in American homes," he said.
Burman said that he will use the experience with the Tunisia and Egyptian uprisings in upcoming meetings with cable providers as the network continues its push. Comcast did not respond to requests for comment.
"Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important, why it's not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand," Burman said.
--
UPDATE I: A reader emails to say that Al Jazeera programming is also being carried by the satellite channel LinkTV, which can be found on channel 9410 on Dish Network and 375 on DirecTV.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/3 ... 16030.html
WASHINGTON - Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company-approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly.
Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting.
The result of the Al Jazeera English blackout in the United States has been a surge in traffic to the media outlet's website, where footage can be seen streaming live. The last 24 hours have seen a two-and-a-half thousand percent increase in web traffic, Tony Burman, head of North American strategies for Al Jazeera English, told HuffPost. Sixty percent of that traffic, he said, has come from the United States.
Al Jazeera English launched in the fall of 2006, opening a large bureau on K Street in downtown Washington, but has made little progress in persuading cable companies to offer the channel to its customers.
The objections from the cable companies have come for both political and commercial reasons, said Burman, the former editor-in-chief of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "In 2006, pre-Obama, the experience was a challenging one. Essentially this was a period when a lot of negative stereotypes were associated with Al Jazeera. The effort was a difficult one," he said, citing the Bush administration's public hostility to the network.
"There was reluctance from these companies to embark in a direction that would perhaps be opposed by the Bush administration. I think that's changed. I think if anything the Obama administration has indicated to Al Jazeera that it sees us as part of the solution, not part of the problem," Burman said.
Cable companies are also worried, said Burman, that they will lose more subscribers than they will gain by granting access to Al Jazeera. The Canadian experience, he said, should put those fears to rest. In Canada, national regulators can require cable companies to provide certain channels and Al Jazeera ran a successful campaign to encourage Canadians to push the government to intervene. There has been extremely little negative reaction over the past year as Canadians have been able to view the channel and decide for themselves. "We had a completely different process and result here in Canada -- a grassroots campaign that was overwhelmingly successful," said Avi Lewis, the former host of Al Jazeera's Frontline USA. (He now freelances for Al Jazeera while working on a documentary project with his wife, Naomi Klein.)
Media critics have begun to push for Al Jazeera's inclusion. "It is downright un-American to still refuse to carry it," wrote Jeff Jarvis on Sunday. "Vital, world-changing news is occurring in the Middle East and no one-not the xenophobic or celebrity-obsessed or cut-to-the-bone American media-can bring the perspective, insight, and on-the-scene reporting Al Jazeera English can."
Al Jazeera follows a public broadcasting model similar to the BBC, CBC and NPR and is largely funded by the government of Qatar, which Burman said takes a completely hands-off approach to content. Al Jazeera is the scourge of authoritarian governments around the Middle East, which attempt to block it. The network, however, covers much more than the Middle East, and now has more bureaus in Latin America than CNN and the BBC, said Burman. "As proud as we are of our Middle Eastern coverage, we are in other places in the world that are never, never seen on television in American homes," he said.
Burman said that he will use the experience with the Tunisia and Egyptian uprisings in upcoming meetings with cable providers as the network continues its push. Comcast did not respond to requests for comment.
"Why in the most vibrant democracy in the world, where engagement and knowledge of the world is probably the most important, why it's not available is one of these things that would take a PhD scholar to understand," Burman said.
--
UPDATE I: A reader emails to say that Al Jazeera programming is also being carried by the satellite channel LinkTV, which can be found on channel 9410 on Dish Network and 375 on DirecTV.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/3 ... 16030.html
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
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For those who don't follow Al Jazerra or don't know much about this media outlet, it's news that comes closest to public opinion, rather than running by agenda, much like American mainstream media. There's a reason it's barred from U.S. viewing.
http://www.iwantaje.net/ Click this link to demand Al Jazerra English in your region.
Myths about Al Jazerra. http://www.iwantaje.net/hm0 -
wait for it ...0
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waaaaiiit…"If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit." - Mitch Hedberg0
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they cant block the internet stream.. i was watching this afternoon.2003: 7/14 NJ ... 2006: 6/1 NJ, 6/3 NJ ... 2007: 8/5 IL ... 2008: 6/24 NY, 6/25 NY, 8/7 EV NJ ... 2009: 10/27 PA, 10/28 PA, 10/30 PA, 10/31 PA
2010: 5/20 NY, 5/21 NY ... 2011: 6/21 EV NY, 9/3 WI, 9/4 WI ... 2012: 9/2 PA, 9/22 GA ... 2013: 10/18 NY, 10/19 NY, 10/21 PA, 10/22 PA, 10/27 MD
2015: 9/23 NY, 9/26 NY ... 2016: 4/28 PA, 4/29 PA, 5/1 NY, 5/2 NY, 6/11 TN, 8/7 MA, 11/4 TOTD PA, 11/5 TOTD PA ... 2018: 8/10 WA
2022: 9/14 NJ ... 2024: 5/28 WA, 9/7 PA, 9/9 PA ---- http://imgur.com/a/nk0s70 -
I'm guessing from the lack of posts that people ONLY watch American mainstream garbage news?
That's just sad, man.
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unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487Jeanwah wrote:I'm guessing from the lack of posts that people ONLY watch American mainstream garbage news?
That's just sad, man.
I only watch Californication, Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, and Mets baseball.
TV is a waste of time.0 -
Could you give me examples of a non-mainstream news services that provide both local and world coverage for Americans?Jeanwah wrote:Be Excellent To Each OtherParty On, Dudes!0 -
If it wasn't for sports, I could live without. Actually, I have pulled the plug a few times but I found it more expensive to have to travel to the bar to get my NFL and college basketball fix. But it's nice having educational channels like DIY, Nat Geo, Discovery, etc. It's not all bad.unsung wrote:Jeanwah wrote:I'm guessing from the lack of posts that people ONLY watch American mainstream garbage news?
That's just sad, man.
I only watch Californication, Entourage, Boardwalk Empire, and Mets baseball.
TV is a waste of time.Be Excellent To Each OtherParty On, Dudes!0 -
I know that no one seems to care, but the station is back up and running in the U.S.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Does no one truly care about what's going on over in Egypt? :shock:0 -
Jeanwah wrote:I know that no one seems to care, but the station is back up and running in the U.S.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Does no one truly care about what's going on over in Egypt? :shock:
i think it's similar to the amount of news related to the cyclone in australia ... global issues will never be a major concern for many unless it involves them directly ... what we are seeing in tunisia and egypt and jordan for that matter should be putting everyone in defcon 2 as far as i'm concerned but so should global warming ...
so ... to answer your question ... there are people who care but most do not ...0 -
polaris_x wrote:Jeanwah wrote:I know that no one seems to care, but the station is back up and running in the U.S.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Does no one truly care about what's going on over in Egypt? :shock:
i think it's similar to the amount of news related to the cyclone in australia ... global issues will never be a major concern for many unless it involves them directly ... .
When the price of oil increases to a point that it hurts their pockets, they will 'care'.
Most Americans won't really care about what is happening there (people rioting in a bit of a backward country). They should - this can/will have huge impact in the Middle East - maybe not to America's liking.0 -
The events in the Middle East have been getting priority coverage by the mainstream American news outlets since Wednesday of last week (the first few days of protest did not garner top priority). For the last week, the protests have been the leading story on the Today Show each morning as I leave for work. It has remained one of the top stories on Yahoo News, Fox New, and ABC and just about every news website that I check out. I take it that both of you are living outside of the States?polaris_x wrote:Jeanwah wrote:I know that no one seems to care, but the station is back up and running in the U.S.
http://english.aljazeera.net/
Does no one truly care about what's going on over in Egypt? :shock:
i think it's similar to the amount of news related to the cyclone in australia ... global issues will never be a major concern for many unless it involves them directly ... what we are seeing in tunisia and egypt and jordan for that matter should be putting everyone in defcon 2 as far as i'm concerned but so should global warming ...
so ... to answer your question ... there are people who care but most do not ...
As for global warming, blame the politicians, far-right conservatives, and liberal radicals who have used the issue to further their careers, pet projects, and power. It's too bad as it's impossible to have a civilized debate on the issue. You can't sort the bear shit from the barley.Be Excellent To Each OtherParty On, Dudes!0 -
Jason P wrote:The events in the Middle East have been getting priority coverage by the mainstream American news outlets since Wednesday of last week (the first few days of protest did not garner top priority). For the last week, the protests have been the leading story on the Today Show each morning as I leave for work. It has remained one of the top stories on Yahoo News, Fox New, and ABC and just about every news website that I check out. I take it that both of you are living outside of the States?
As for global warming, blame the politicians, far-right conservatives, and liberal radicals who have used the issue to further their careers, pet projects, and power. It's too bad as it's impossible to have a civilized debate on the issue. You can't sort the bear shit from the barley.
i think she (and I) is referring to the people here ...
i'll refrain from dragging this thread into another GW thread but let's just say i disagree ...
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What, you don't want to have another thread full of thoughtful and considerate thoughts on GW??? :shock:polaris_x wrote:Jason P wrote:The events in the Middle East have been getting priority coverage by the mainstream American news outlets since Wednesday of last week (the first few days of protest did not garner top priority). For the last week, the protests have been the leading story on the Today Show each morning as I leave for work. It has remained one of the top stories on Yahoo News, Fox New, and ABC and just about every news website that I check out. I take it that both of you are living outside of the States?
As for global warming, blame the politicians, far-right conservatives, and liberal radicals who have used the issue to further their careers, pet projects, and power. It's too bad as it's impossible to have a civilized debate on the issue. You can't sort the bear shit from the barley.
i think she (and I) is referring to the people here ...
i'll refrain from dragging this thread into another GW thread but let's just say i disagree ...
I don't know about everyone else here, but I've found the Egypt crisis to be fascinating. I do think that the Tunisia uprising flew under the radar but Tunisia was a relatively unknown nation prior to 2011 and it was viewed as an isolated incident. I'm pretty good with world geography and I even had to study the map to find out exactly where it was. Sorta like Botswana. Out of sight, out of mind.
Egypt is at an awkward cross-roads. If Mubarak does step down, does a new group try to gain power? Does the military disband? If an anti-American group takes over, will US aid stop? Will mass starvation take place? Kinda scary.
The second part of this story: How far does this spread? I'm sure the leaders of Iran, Jordan, Yemen (I'm assuming they have leaders and government) and other impoverished nations are sweating this out.
My analysis: The best thing that Mubarak could have done is announced he was resigning in one month and that new elections would be held on March 1st. As it stands now, I think we are headed for a Mexican standoff.Be Excellent To Each OtherParty On, Dudes!0 -
Jason P wrote:What, you don't want to have another thread full of thoughtful and considerate thoughts on GW??? :shock:
I don't know about everyone else here, but I've found the Egypt crisis to be fascinating. I do think that the Tunisia uprising flew under the radar but Tunisia was a relatively unknown nation prior to 2011 and it was viewed as an isolated incident. I'm pretty good with world geography and I even had to study the map to find out exactly where it was. Sorta like Botswana. Out of sight, out of mind.
Egypt is at an awkward cross-roads. If Mubarak does step down, does a new group try to gain power? Does the military disband? If an anti-American group takes over, will US aid stop? Will mass starvation take place? Kinda scary.
The second part of this story: How far does this spread? I'm sure the leaders of Iran, Jordan, Yemen (I'm assuming they have leaders and government) and other impoverished nations are sweating this out.
My analysis: The best thing that Mubarak could have done is announced he was resigning in one month and that new elections would be held on March 1st. As it stands now, I think we are headed for a Mexican standoff.
it is fascinating ... part of me feels like those uprisings should be happening here ... although my ideology would like to see open and transparent democracy take its place - i fear that, similar to iran, the fundamentalists will take over and we are trading one regime for another ... i am hoping tunisia will be different from egypt and that of jordan ...0 -
Agreed. It's incredibly fascinating, mildly (so far) frightening, and it's all over the MSM in the US. Some people may not like the specifics of the coverage that it's getting, but people are clueless who claim that MSM in the US is ignoring what's going on in Egypt. Admittedly, as Jason P already noted, Tunisia definitely slipped under the radar.Jason P wrote:The events in the Middle East have been getting priority coverage by the mainstream American news outlets since Wednesday of last week (the first few days of protest did not garner top priority). For the last week, the protests have been the leading story on the Today Show each morning as I leave for work. It has remained one of the top stories on Yahoo News, Fox New, and ABC and just about every news website that I check out. I take it that both of you are living outside of the States?
That said, frankly I've been disappointed by how little coverage it's gotten on my main source of news, NPR(adio). Could be that they happen to be covering the topic when I'm not listening of course.
Either way, as much as I ignore American MSM, I can't understand why people think any other large, financed news group is any more worthy, whether it be BBC, Al Jazeera, or whathaveyou.0 -
good god......... You guys go all up in arms when someone generalizes (race, poor, welfare, etc) that you don't agree with, yet this entire thread (most on here actually) is generalizing all americans as not caring about the world, only if it effects them, or only caring about oil, etc... you guys are pathetic. If you hate america so much, get off of this American band (PJ) board...0
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