Why I Watch Al Jazeera News

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

There's a piece floating around on Reddit today about AL Jazeera getting blocked out of the American TV market. HERE'S A LINK that's probably worth a read, in my opinion.

I watch and read Al Jazeera news first and foremost because it's precisely that: REAL NEWS.

Here's what's going on in the rest of the news media right now. The following are the header stories on top of each website:
-CNN.com: Golden Globe nominations, a radio show asking congress "Is It So hard to work a 5-day week?", and something about the Falcons winning their game this weekend.
-FoxNews.com: A piece on pro-gun rights, one on the senate "talking sense" into Obama, something that blows the flue "epidemic" way out of proportion (it's winter people, don't be an asshat), and the story on the BBC guy's sex assault.
-Al Jazeera English: An awareness piece on the potential "genocide" of India's daughters, a woman gets named to Saudi counsel, anti-gov protests in Iraq, something on Syrian rebels, and one on the Milain army. Oh, and one just popped up about Obama discusses end-war game plan in Afghanistan.

See the difference in news quality? CNN mostly focussing on entertainment; the one piece that isn't is OF COURSE bashing congress. Fox News has some news, but it's all hilariously stereotypical. Honestly, just read those headlines. If I hadn't told you they were from Fox News, I bet 9/10 of you could have guessed.

 

[Slyfox696]

I don't understand what the uproar is. I mean, was it not just a few months ago when we heard about the importance of the 1st Amendment, with regards to Obamacare "forcing" people to cover contraception? Have we (and by we, I primarily mean Fox News) forgotten that the 1st Amendment rights to free speech and the press is included in that 1st Amendment?

I have zero problem with Al Jazeera news. Free speech is not just getting to say what you want, but also allowing others to say what they want, even if you don't like it.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Do the media providers have the right to cancel networks in which Al Jazeera is provided? Yes, so far as I know, that's the right of the private business. Whether it be Comcast, DirecTV, or whoever, my knowledge is that they pretty much have the right to do whatever they want. Doesn't mean they're not impeding free speech with their rights as a private company. But that's kind of the rub when the news is owned and dictated by companies with a bottom line.

Also, I like Anderson Cooper, for what it's worth.