Al Jazeera buys Current TV, stakes U.S. claim

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera logo

Al Gore, meet Al Jazeera. The Als now have a lot in common.
Poor Al Gore. Not only did his TV network fail, it was bought by an international news organization that may be a tougher sell to some Americans than Gore himself was. Al Jazeera, the very legitimate news network based in Qatar, will take over Current TV’s spot on your screen (channel 107 on Comcast’s digital preferred lineup in Denver). This marks a huge expansion for the 16-year-old network. It also represents a huge challenge to CNN at a time when that international news network has been fumbling.
The switch to Al Jazeera will occur this year. From the release:

The Network has won numerous U.S. and international awards for its journalism and with more than 70 bureaus across the globe it has one of the largest bureau footprints and newsgathering forces of any news network in the world.
The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera’s expansion will double the network’s U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.

If you haven’t checked out the professional, globally oriented content on the channel, and the extended investigative series and documentaries, you may be surprised. It’s a fine resource, no more biased than Fox News or MSNBC. For now it’s still available via live streaming at the Al Jazeera English site.


More...