Assorted Afflatuses

Nearly a month ago, Qatar-based Aljazeera launched its English-language news channel, after many years of planning. But much to my dismay Aljazeera's English channel is virtually impossible to receive or even watch in the United States. None of the major - or for that matter, minor - cable or satellite television companies in the United States have agreed to carry the new network, doubtlessly out of fear that Washington politicians will deprive them of their special treatment. The Internet too, is an Aljazeera-free zone, at least for Americans. Both RealNetworks and JumpTV stream Aljazeera to subscribers, just not those located in the United States.

I would like to have Aljazeera's English-lanugage channel available to me, either on my television or through broadband video. This afternoon, I watched a low-quality Real stream of Aljazeera. And, true to their word, they put many stories on-air that other news channels do not. For instance, I learned a great deal about the breakdown of Mexico's police force. Apparently, Mexico's law enforcement operation has allowed a few small pockets of crime to spread. Now, rampant crime has penetrated all but the most isolated parts of Mexico. I have yet to see a similar report on CNN, MSNBC, BBC World, France 24, or Fox News.

Aljazeera also airs a fantastic program, called the "Listening Post," which spent the first seven minutes of its Sunday program deriding Fox News' attacks aimed at NBC's decision to call the Iraq situation a civil war. The program's content really made me think.

But, sadly, I doubt that Americans will have easy access to Aljazeera, at least in the short term. Most of the public knows Aljazeera as only the radical network, which broadcasts Osama bin Laden's communiqués. And, as a number of media analysts have noted, so-called "influential people" comprise the bulk of Aljazeera English's viewers. In other words, Aljazeera does not have much appeal to the broader public.