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Al Jazeera America to Shut Down by April

Actually, the last time I was in Montreal & Quebec City I enjoyed the news coverage aqnd other programming, but have no idea what it was. It was a long time ago (20 years!), and I watched all Canadian programming out of interest. Much of it was more laid-back than American TV, and I liked it. Also, much less commercial interruptions!

A fair amount was French Quebecois stuff, especially in Quebec City, which I got through with my H.S. French.

Perhaps it wasn't representative of Canada as a whole, but I hope it hasn't changed too much.

We have a few national networks here in Canada and we get a far less ideological and dogmatic approach to the news - we're far more "polite" in our approach. The American networks we get are far less professional, in my view, but I like newsy news although I love the politics on the American networks
 
This is an interesting development since the bust over Peyton Manning and the banned substance story. I had hoped that the network would be more than RT, but I never got that impression from what I was reading, so I'm not at all surprised.

Sounds like the whole HGH garbage was a manufactured attempt at ratings increase and nothing else.
 
Al Gore is a moron for selling them Current TV.

Um, he sells a minor network for 1/2 billion dollars to a company that shuts it down a few years later (walking away) and you conclude Al Gore is moron for making this transaction? Do tell, I just have to hear the logic on this one....
 
Sounds like the whole HGH garbage was a manufactured attempt at ratings increase and nothing else.

more likely an attempt to impress whomever pays the bills.

And it worked in reverse.
 
Not surprising. They never had any credibility to start with because of thier prior reputation and then blowing that HGH story was the nail in the coffin that they could never gain any in the US

LOL! So you'll continue watching American based infotainment "news" stations that have demonstrated much greater credibility?
 
Sounds like the whole HGH garbage was a manufactured attempt at ratings increase and nothing else.

Yeah, I thought there was something funny about it from the beginning, and I think you're exactly right.
 
AJA was pretty good, but not surprised it failed. Not enough advertising and the "super serious," news has a niche market. Their coverage was pretty fair, though I probably wouldn't have taken their word on ME politics (imo, that's where their bias shows).

As for Gore, he was smart to bail when he did, high budget, well known MSNBC struggled to get the left wing Fox thing working, Current probably ends up shutting down like AJA if it stayed.
 
We have a few national networks here in Canada and we get a far less ideological and dogmatic approach to the news - we're far more "polite" in our approach. The American networks we get are far less professional, in my view, but I like newsy news although I love the politics on the American networks

Absolutely. There once was a Canadian based news channel on Directv here in the U.S. I can't remember the name. I don't believe that it was an existing network in Canada. We thought they were outstanding. Straight news, no flashing logos or emotional music. When they expressed opinion they would state it as such. Unfortunately it didn't make it. I suspect it tanked because the American audience doesn't really want and can't handle straight news. Americans want to be entertained. News "personalities" who often become the news are preferred in the U.S.

About 6 months ago I began watching Al Jazeera. I like it. Pretty much straight news. I'm not surprised that it is going to stop broadcasting in the U.S.
 
Absolutely. There once was a Canadian based news channel on Directv here in the U.S. I can't remember the name. I don't believe that it was an existing network in Canada. We thought they were outstanding. Straight news, no flashing logos or emotional music. When they expressed opinion they would state it as such. Unfortunately it didn't make it. I suspect it tanked because the American audience doesn't really want and can't handle straight news. Americans want to be entertained. News "personalities" who often become the news are preferred in the U.S.

About 6 months ago I began watching Al Jazeera. I like it. Pretty much straight news. I'm not surprised that it is going to stop broadcasting in the U.S.

The American networks are always stealing our on air talent - they like how we talk, I guess.

But hey, almost everything in America is a big production, bigger than life, so I can understand how a viewing audience wants a lot of entertainment to keep them hooked.
 
The American networks are always stealing our on air talent - they like how we talk, I guess.

But hey, almost everything in America is a big production, bigger than life, so I can understand how a viewing audience wants a lot of entertainment to keep them hooked.

Tart up - it's what we do.
 
It is a real shame that Al Jazeera America is closing down............It is/was the only TV/cable news source which practiced real journalism............seemingly a type of news reporting well beyond the understanding/appreciation of most Americans..........
 
Saying you won't watch a channel or trust someone because they're arabic is a symptom of racism, and the definition of bigotry.

Do you not know racism has to have something to do with race and no other identifying characteristic?

Do you know what a race is?

Words have meaning.
 
Do you not understand you can be (and are) a bigot without physically attacking someone? Please, fix your ignorance.

It seems everybody is ignorant but you, even if they know much more about a subject than you do.

How is that?
 
"The cable news channel Al Jazeera America, which debuted in 2013 to great fanfare when it promised to cover American news soberly and seriously, is shutting down by the end of April. The move was announced at a companywide meeting on Wednesday.

In a memo to the staff, Al Jazeera America’s chief executive, Al Anstey, said the “decision by Al Jazeera America’s board is driven by the fact that our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace.”"


Source: NYT: Al Jazeera America to Shut Down by April

I tuned-in a few times, and found I enjoyed it. The news seemed to be presented in that serious, calm, factual, 'no drama' style I often prefer, similar to BBC/BBC America or NPR. It very much seemed to be the antithesis of MSNBC/FOX, and I find that refreshing (though I do admit to enjoy a bit of FOX/MSNBC boisterous partisanship on occasion, too!).

My observations concerning AJA seem to be in concert with their self-proclaimed mission statement:

"Al Jazeera America went on the air in August 2013 after it bought Al Gore’s Current TV for $500 million. It promised to be thoughtful and smart, free of the shouting arguments that have defined cable news in the United States over the last decade. "

But here's the problem I had: As much as I felt comfortable with the content I was receiving, I had sublime doubts and suspicions due to the Arab nature of the channel. No matter what I viewed & enjoyed, I had a hesitation of possible mistrust. Consequently, I only tuned in on occasion, and never used it as a primary source, while taking their information with a grain of salt. In essence, I treated it like the RT Channel (Russian Television).

Their viewership numbers were disastrous: "But meaningful viewership never came, with prime-time ratings sometimes struggling to exceed 30,000 viewers."

Those numbers may be low because America seems to not have much interest in serious non-partisan cable news as of late. But I can't help but wonder if many like me, felt they had a hard time trusting AJA as a primary source, and only a few of us chose to use it as an alternative non-western source. I saw little evidence AJA provided a slanted view. Perhaps that's the problem. If they had promoted the Arab causes, they may have had more of us tuning-in to see their POV, in much the same way I watch FOX to catch a glimpse of how the Right & the GOP are interpreting an event, even though I'm often-enough sided on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Opinions?

I've been reading Al Jazeera for years. News, I don't read commentary from anyone. Al Jazeera is a very good news source. I've never seen anything like promoting a slant, national or religious or ethnic or otherwise. Actually, I found their reporters to be very earnest and determined and making a wide perimeter around that kind of controversy.
Too bad they couldn't get enough sponsorship but the news market in the US is pretty saturated.
 
"The cable news channel Al Jazeera America, which debuted in 2013 to great fanfare when it promised to cover American news soberly and seriously, is shutting down by the end of April. The move was announced at a companywide meeting on Wednesday.

In a memo to the staff, Al Jazeera America’s chief executive, Al Anstey, said the “decision by Al Jazeera America’s board is driven by the fact that our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace.”"


Source: NYT: Al Jazeera America to Shut Down by April

I tuned-in a few times, and found I enjoyed it. The news seemed to be presented in that serious, calm, factual, 'no drama' style I often prefer, similar to BBC/BBC America or NPR. It very much seemed to be the antithesis of MSNBC/FOX, and I find that refreshing (though I do admit to enjoy a bit of FOX/MSNBC boisterous partisanship on occasion, too!).

My observations concerning AJA seem to be in concert with their self-proclaimed mission statement:

"Al Jazeera America went on the air in August 2013 after it bought Al Gore’s Current TV for $500 million. It promised to be thoughtful and smart, free of the shouting arguments that have defined cable news in the United States over the last decade. "

But here's the problem I had: As much as I felt comfortable with the content I was receiving, I had sublime doubts and suspicions due to the Arab nature of the channel. No matter what I viewed & enjoyed, I had a hesitation of possible mistrust. Consequently, I only tuned in on occasion, and never used it as a primary source, while taking their information with a grain of salt. In essence, I treated it like the RT Channel (Russian Television).

Their viewership numbers were disastrous: "But meaningful viewership never came, with prime-time ratings sometimes struggling to exceed 30,000 viewers."

Those numbers may be low because America seems to not have much interest in serious non-partisan cable news as of late. But I can't help but wonder if many like me, felt they had a hard time trusting AJA as a primary source, and only a few of us chose to use it as an alternative non-western source. I saw little evidence AJA provided a slanted view. Perhaps that's the problem. If they had promoted the Arab causes, they may have had more of us tuning-in to see their POV, in much the same way I watch FOX to catch a glimpse of how the Right & the GOP are interpreting an event, even though I'm often-enough sided on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Opinions?

 
I've been reading Al Jazeera for years. News, I don't read commentary from anyone. Al Jazeera is a very good news source. I've never seen anything like promoting a slant, national or religious or ethnic or otherwise. Actually, I found their reporters to be very earnest and determined and making a wide perimeter around that kind of controversy.
Too bad they couldn't get enough sponsorship but the news market in the US is pretty saturated.
Your the second person that recently highly recommended reading AJ; I'm going to give them a try.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Al Jazeera sounds like a shady ass news thing to me.

*cue in the "YOUR RACIST" babyrage*

Yes, its arab name is exactly why I found it to be shady as a source of news. GOD HAVE MERCY ON MY SOUL! Whatever...

Yeah, whatever.
Everyone draws the limits of their world. You put Arabic names outside your boundaries, fine. You never need to know about Omar Khayyam or Jalal al-din Rumi. Careful, though, where your limits come from, that you're not letting others make your world smaller.
 
It is a real shame that Al Jazeera America is closing down............It is/was the only TV/cable news source which practiced real journalism............seemingly a type of news reporting well beyond the understanding/appreciation of most Americans..........

I can see how you would lament the closing of Al Jazeera. ;)
 
Your the second person that recently highly recommended reading AJ; I'm going to give them a try.

Thanks for the reply.

Al Jazeera English is great for world news coverage. They also have great documentaries (there was one we enjoyed about a Loan Shark Grandma in Thailand, another about a couple in Taiwan that was celebrating their 50th anniversary but absolutely hated each other) .
 
I tuned-in a few times, and found I enjoyed it. The news seemed to be presented in that serious, calm, factual, 'no drama' style I often prefer, similar to BBC/BBC America or NPR. It very much seemed to be the antithesis of MSNBC/FOX, and I find that refreshing (though I do admit to enjoy a bit of FOX/MSNBC boisterous partisanship on occasion, too!).

My observations concerning AJA seem to be in concert with their self-proclaimed mission statement:

"Al Jazeera America went on the air in August 2013 after it bought Al Gore’s Current TV for $500 million. It promised to be thoughtful and smart, free of the shouting arguments that have defined cable news in the United States over the last decade. "

But here's the problem I had: As much as I felt comfortable with the content I was receiving, I had sublime doubts and suspicions due to the Arab nature of the channel. No matter what I viewed & enjoyed, I had a hesitation of possible mistrust. Consequently, I only tuned in on occasion, and never used it as a primary source, while taking their information with a grain of salt. In essence, I treated it like the RT Channel (Russian Television).

Their viewership numbers were disastrous: "But meaningful viewership never came, with prime-time ratings sometimes struggling to exceed 30,000 viewers."

Those numbers may be low because America seems to not have much interest in serious non-partisan cable news as of late. But I can't help but wonder if many like me, felt they had a hard time trusting AJA as a primary source, and only a few of us chose to use it as an alternative non-western source. I saw little evidence AJA provided a slanted view. Perhaps that's the problem. If they had promoted the Arab causes, they may have had more of us tuning-in to see their POV, in much the same way I watch FOX to catch a glimpse of how the Right & the GOP are interpreting an event, even though I'm often-enough sided on the opposite end of the political spectrum.

Opinions?

Washington Post did an article on it..

Al Jazeera failed for many reasons. One of them it was late to the US tv lineups in the digital age and like all new channels you either become a hit or you don't (Current TV was failing when it was bought). BBC America does okay because it doesn't do news (BBC World Wide News) but TV shows but has slipped with Top Gear gone. They also limit the British shows on the channel.
 
Your the second person that recently highly recommended reading AJ; I'm going to give them a try.

Thanks for the reply.

They are very good. Even better then British news.
 
Al Jazeera English is great for world news coverage. They also have great documentaries (there was one we enjoyed about a Loan Shark Grandma in Thailand, another about a couple in Taiwan that was celebrating their 50th anniversary but absolutely hated each other) .

Depending on your interests, they really do have some fantastic documentaries. Lots of world news coverage that our local news channels don't cover too.
 
Washington Post did an article on it..

Al Jazeera failed for many reasons. One of them it was late to the US tv lineups in the digital age and like all new channels you either become a hit or you don't (Current TV was failing when it was bought). BBC America does okay because it doesn't do news (BBC World Wide News) but TV shows but has slipped with Top Gear gone. They also limit the British shows on the channel.

I remember reading near the time this was announced that there was no hope no matter how well they did it, and that just about everyone knew this, but not Al Jazeera's benefactor the Al Thani family (Qatar) . And this was before much of anyone was thinking that Americans would cut the cord as we have. In the next few weeks someone will do a major story on this ending, and they will talk about whether it ever had a chance or not. And depending upon who writes it there will probably be a lot of words pondering the question " does this mean that America sucks?".
 
I remember reading near the time this was announced that there was no hope no matter how well they did it, and that just about everyone knew this, but not Al Jazeera's benefactor the Al Thani family (Qatar) . And this was before much of anyone was thinking that Americans would cut the cord as we have. In the next few weeks someone will do a major story on this ending, and they will talk about whether it ever had a chance or not. And depending upon who writes it there will probably be a lot of words pondering the question " does this mean that America sucks?".

Can you show us an example?
 
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