As revolutions ripple through the Middle East, Al Jazeera has kept its cameras rolling. Few American cable networks offer Al Jazeera English, but it has nevertheless received more and more praise here, as so many of us have depended on its online livestream to follow the events unfolding overseas. Journalism.co.uk reports that the AJE website “claims to have seen a 2500 percent increase in visitors” since its Egypt protest coverage—and that’s even despite the Egyptian government’s move to shut down its Cairo bureau and revoke its broadcast license.
Today we see hints of a future for Al Jazeera English on American cable providers, as well; the network’s first meeting is with Comcast in New York. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time.
If you’ve been watching Al Jazeera English throughout the past several weeks, what do you like about it, and what don’t you like? How does the coverage there compare to other Western cable news, like CNN, MSNBC, or Fox? What about PBS? Finally, what do you predict for AJE’s future within the American media landscape?
The Editors are the staffers of the Columbia Journalism Review.