Al Jazeera Seeks US Voice Where Gore Failed

The Al Jazeera network will acquire millions of new US viewers with its purchase of Current TV, founded by Al Gore, former vice president, and a business partner less than a decade ago, reports Brian Stelter for the New York Times. Current TV struggled with low ratings and distribution rules that limited online content. Al Jazeera newscasts will come from New York and Doha. “A decade ago, Al Jazeera’s flagship Arabic-language channel was reviled by American politicians for showing videotapes from Al Qaeda members and sympathizers,” Stelter reports, adding that the network convinced Current owners “that it has the journalistic muscle and the money to compete head-to-head with CNN and other news channels in the United States.” One major distributor, Time Warner Cable, already announced it will not engage in a relationship with the new buyer. While some Americans refuse to watch foreign programs, many others turned to Al Jazeera’s online live streaming during the Arab Spring and the 2011 series of uprisings in northern Africa and the Middle East. – YaleGlobal