Salon.com > Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera different than Fox?

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Qatari network Al Jazeera’s purchase of Al Gore’s Current news channel, revealed yesterday, has already hit a snag: Time Warner Cable promptly dropped Current, denying the forthcoming Al Jazeera America access to Time Warner subscribers.

Though the Time Warner decision had reportedly been threatened due to Current’s low ratings, there’s no denying that at least some segment of the U.S. viewing public has long harbored antipathy toward Al Jazeera. An editorial published today by Fox News runs through the talking points about the network it calls “anti-American terror mouthpiece Al Jazeera.” Among them: “Al Jazeera, known as the network of the Arab Street, is also known for taking anti-American, anti-Israel and pro-terror positions.”

Indian women segregated on public transportation

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:08:00 +0000

Safety while traveling in cities has been an especially stubborn obstacle for women in India, as an increasing number of them join the workforce and are out later at night.

But the brutal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi on Dec. 16 has now thrown the issue of women's safety in India into sharp relief.

The victim, who passed away Saturday from injuries sustained during the assault, had boarded a privately operated bus with a mansaid to be her fiance.

The BBC had reported the vehicle was a "white line" bus, one of several services run by private operators to supplement the city's public bus network.

Time Warner drops Current after Al Jazeera deal

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:57:00 +0000

Al Jazeera this week purchased Al Gore's cable network Current TV in what the New York Times' Brian Stelter called "a coming of age moment" for the Qatar-funded network in the United States. By buying Current, Al Jazeera seemed set to establish itself in the U.S. after struggling for years to gain purchase in unreceptive markets outside of New York and Washington.

However, hours after the estimated $500 million deal was made, Time Warner Cable announced that it would no longer carry the Current channel, and thus Al Jazeera's new channel Al Jazeera America would not be distributed by the cable provider. Although the Current deal will still bring Al Jazeera into around 40 million American homes, the Time Warner move constituted a considerable blow for the globally respected network -- Time Warner Cable reaches 12 million homes.

As HuffPo's Michael Calderone reported: