Al-Jazeera America launched on Tuesday. AFP reports:
On Facebook, Al-Jazeera America called itself “the new American TV news channel that connects you to the human stories at the heart of the news.”
The channel reaches more than 40 million households and vastly expands the footprint of Al-Jazeera despite questions about how it will be received by American viewers. …
Americans will be able to get 14 hours of news, documentary and discussion programming daily, and updates at the top of every hour 24 hours each day. But the selling point will be long-form reporting of stories overlooked by other news organizations.
Yet it is likely to face a tough sell to US audiences because of its history in the Middle East, where it was the outlet for videos distributed by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Some conservatives claim it is still anti-Western. …
We will reserve judgment but we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this latest and perhaps most controversial expansion of Al-Jazeera into your living rooms.
