Al Jazeera English (TV) Blacked Out Across Most Of U.S.

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON - Canadian television viewers looking for the most thorough and in-depth coverage of the uprising in Egypt have the option of tuning into Al Jazeera English, whose on-the-ground coverage of the turmoil is unmatched by any other outlet. American viewers, meanwhile, have little choice but to wait until one of the U.S. cable-company-approved networks broadcasts footage from AJE, which the company makes publicly available. What they can't do is watch the network directly.

Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. - cable carriers do not give viewers the choice of watching Al Jazeera. That corporate censorship comes as American diplomats harshly criticize the Egyptian government for blocking Internet communication inside the country and as Egypt attempts to block Al Jazeera from broadcasting.

The result of the Al Jazeera English blackout in the United States has been a surge in traffic to the media outlet's website, where footage can be seen streaming live. The last 24 hours have seen a two-and-a-half thousand percent increase in web traffic, Tony Burman, head of North American strategies for Al Jazeera English, told HuffPost. Sixty percent of that traffic, he said, has come from the United States.

Al Jazeera English launched in the fall of 2006, opening a large bureau on K Street in downtown Washington, but has made little progress in persuading cable companies to offer the channel to its customers

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/30/al-jazeera-english-us_n_816030.html

[elleng]

1. Bologna! Been watching AlJ English since yesterday, here in D.C. area,

on Comcast, #275!

Also Baloney, B.S.!!!

[Lorien]

18. "Other than in a handful of pockets across the U.S. - including Ohio, Vermont and Washington, D.C. "

That's noted in the article.

[elleng]

19. Got it; MY knee jerk!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

45. "on Comcast, #275!"

Al Jazeera English is also available over the air in northern Virginia. It is broadcast by the MHz Networks from the tower in Merrifield, Virginia, on digital channel 30-5 and occasionally channel 30-4. Channel 30-4 is usually Russia Today. The transmission probably reaches DC and some of the Maryland suburbs. The tower is so tall that it can be viewed from the vicintiy of the U.S. Capital.

An old CRT analog TV, with a digital converter box and rabbit ears, brings it in just fine.

MHz is a great station. I get half its channels in Alexandria, the ones transmitted from the Merrifield antenna. I do not get the other five channels, which are broadcast from another, more distant, antenna.

[melm00se]

51. Direct TV carries Link TV

which has al Jazeera on in the early evenings.

remember, it's not all the cable company's fault. the network has to agree to be carried, you can't just pirate their signal and put it on your cable system.

cable systems will carry a network when there is a sufficient demand for it or is part of bundle of channels (take one, take 'em all).

There is only a finite amount of space on a cable system for a finite number of channels. somethings get dropped (or never added) based upon that finite digital real estate.

[M155Y_A1CH]

91. Dish network too,

has Link TV.

[No Elephants]

99. Dupe.

[No Elephants]

100. Any evidence Al-Jazeera would not render pirating moot by consenting?

"cable systems will carry a network when there is a sufficient demand for it or is part of bundle of channels (take one, take 'em all)."

Mighty big "or" in that semtence that negates most of the rest of your post.

[Heywood J]

119. As an aside, a cable system can be (practically) infinite.

Today's system works by sending every channel to you simultaneously and leaving your equipment to filter out the channel you want. It's perfectly plausible to design a cable box that requests a channel from the head-end (or further upstream) based on your selection, and for the head-end to forward only that channel and any others requested by other boxes in your house.

Streaming and IPTV already work this way. Generally, your player application stops one stream and requests that another start, instead of having all streams on this or every server sent to you simultaneously. Further increases in picture resolution (e.g. 4K) may necessitate going this way in the future (otherwise you'd go from 1000 channels down to 62). The benefit is that you could theoretically have a near-infinite number of channels without having to upgrade the coaxial line. Your cable provider, however, would have to develop a rather large server room and better network infrastructure.

[leftynyc]

2. Not crazy about the wording of this

When I see "blacked out", I assume the government is taking action. That is simply not the case. If more cable providers were getting requests from their customers for AJ, they would provide it. It's really that simple. What makes anyone here think there is some mass desire for AJ and it's not being heeded?

[elleng]

4. Correct; we don't see ANYTHING DIRECT, our cable providers have to do it.

[leftynyc]

23. Nothing stopping anyone

from streaming from their computers. It's not like the info is hard to get. Anyone who wants AJ can stream or get a satellite TV.

[elleng]

29. Yes, was streaming until I discovered could get it on TV,

which makes it easier to double-task!

[Kali]

52. slow dial up is stopping me

thanks so much to the dedicated DUers giving updates and keeping me informed

[leftynyc]

58. Have you contacted your cable provider

and asked them to add AJE?

[Kali]

67. hahhahaha

no cable provider here - I'm at the end of a two mile 60 + year old phone line - not talking modern technology here!

[leftynyc]

69. Ooops - sorry

I'm glad the internet is keeping on top of this for you.

[unkachuck]

88. "slow dial up is stopping me"

....same here....I too appreciate the dedicated DUers giving updates and keeping us informed....

[No Elephants]

101. Huh?

"What makes anyone here think there is some mass desire for AJ and it's not being heeded?"

At Reply # 2, what made YOU think anyone "here" was thinking that?

[Doctor_J]

116. I doubt it

If more cable providers were getting requests from their customers for AJ, they would provide it. It's really that simple.

Not really. The companies serve their billionaire right-wing stockholders, not their customers. If the people who own the US don't want the rabble to see what's happening in Egypt, we won't see it. Why do you think Canada gets it by default and we don't?

[meegbear]

3. It's been blocked by a majority of broadcasters since it went on the air ...

I wouldn't consider this late breaking news.

[emulatorloo]

10. It is a misleading headline for sure. Makes it sound like access was CUT OFF because of the crisis

in Egypt.

[leftynyc]

25. Not blocked - just not carried

If people wanted it added, the cable providers would provide. Do you see some kind of groundswell of support for getting AJ on any cable lineup?

[snooper2]

5. You know what, I can't say it any better than the top post

on the Huffingtonpost website...

"CabCurious 10 minutes ago (10:32 AM)

There is no "blackout" of Al Jazeera-En­glish in the USA.

This is the kind of headline we would see from the NY Post, Fox, or the National Enquirer.

There are many options to watch it, including http://eng­­lish.alja­z­eera.net­/w­atch_no­w/

Satellite TV and various other TV options provide AJ-E in the USA. Many cable services do have it.

There is no top-down conspiracy by the US govt or cable companies to exclude AJ-E (which has only been around for 3-4 years). Cable companies are businesses and if consumers demand AJ-E then they will get it.

Just because AJ-E isn't widespread right away on all cable services doesn't mean it is "blacked out" and that's a very misleading way to represent it. And for the record, I've had several posts deleted by HuffPo moderators for simply trying to correct this misleading headline and twisting of the truth. Shame on Ryan Grim. And yes, I will keep posting because this kind of headline discredits the entire HP community."

Just read these comments below and imagine how many people you've mislead. That's a shame and irresponsi­ble.

[elleng]

8. Quite right.

[Turborama]

12. Look at the history...

And see why it's been so hard for them to break into the US market: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6848728

[emulatorloo]

14. Yes - very misleading headline/article

[trud]

24. if consumers demand

Yes, that's why Faux News is fair and balanced.

[leftynyc]

27. More strawman nonsense

faux is very popular with a segment of our society and therefore is carried. AJ is not and isn't carried. Very simple.

[Turborama]

31. So, how come Faux and Al Jazeera English are both carried ALL OVER THE WORLD

Apart from America?

Seems like a logic fail to me.

[emulatorloo]

35. The bottom line for cable providers is profitability

They don't give a rats ass about the content.

That is the bottom line.

[Turborama]

37. Right, and keeping Americans in an information bubble helps their corporations' profitability

Simple as that.

[emulatorloo]

40. I don't get The Cooking Channel either

Obviously cable providers in some markets offer Al Jazeera.

[Turborama]

42. OK, you don't think Al Jazeera have had a problem ever since Bush bombed them

And Rumsfeld maligned them.

Fine.

/conversation.

[emulatorloo]

53. That has nothing to do with this conversation. Bush and Rumsfeld aren't in the cable business

as far as I know,

And mediacom etc have never bombed Al Jazeera as far as I know.

This conversation is about why some cable outlets carry AJ and some don't.

[Turborama]

63. You need to understand why Al Jazeera English have had so much difficulty getting on air in America

To do that you need to know the history: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6848728

Or carry on with your denial, if you won't.

[stockholmer]

48. in Sweden, we have banned the Cooking Channel :D Al Jazeera is carried

:smoke:

[boppers]

93. We were trying to ruin Swedish diets with corporate american foodstuffs.

So, there's that.

[stockholmer]

95. well, most USA foods products are not allowed, due to the GMO content

Sweden is very conservative in its diet, and includes a huge amount of fresh fruit and vegetables compared to the American diet. One thing I always find funny is that even at McDonalds, the condiment packets are labeled "Not for sale in the United States", as the ketchup, etc. here is non-GMO.

A typical 'fika' (kaffe snack) here will be a banana or apple, and/or one kanelbullar (spiced sweet roll) along with kaffe. Very little junk food.

We eat a large amount (percentage-wise) of breads, rice, sweets, and dairy, often high-fat, yet we do so in moderation of portion, and also without chemical processing. As a result, the level of obesity here is so much lower that the States. Another factor is that our culture is very physically active, and includes a lot of walking, as opposed to the petrol-fuel auto society. Another factor that separates us from the US is that the medical system here really focuses on prevention, not treatment with bio-pharma meds after one is already sick. There is no profit motive here to allow people to become sick or unhealthy, then treat with expensive medicines.

Culture truly plays a large part in diet, health, and weight, as does physiology. Swedes are very genetically adapted to our diet.

cheers

[Doctor_J]

117. Don't waste your breath, TR

there are some who still think AM radio is 99.9% hate talk because of market forces. The word clueless doesn't even begin to plumb the depths of their ignorance.

[leftynyc]

38. I could care less what happens elsewhere

faux is popular here and is carried, AJ is not popular here and is not carried. Is that simple enough for you?

[Turborama]

41. No, and that's the kind of attitude that isn't very endearing to the rest of the world

Faux is carried on the same providers who broadcast Al Jazeera English everywhere else in the world apart from America.

This means that an assumption is made that only Americans don't want to be educated about what's going on outside their own country.

Is that simple enough for you?

[leftynyc]

46. I have BBC World and Euro News

as well as the internet. I'm not missing anything not having AJE. Why should I care what people think I SHOULD be watching?

[Turborama]

64. Well, you've made your mind up you don't even want to give it a try

I don't know you, you don't know me. Let's keep it that way, yeah?

Have a nice life.

[leftynyc]

70. LOL - nonsense

The OP was misleading and I corrected the terminology. Because I don't agree with you I MUST be wrong. YOu think I have to be watching AJE to keep informed and I think that's bullshit. I'm missing nothing.

[Turborama]

74. I don't care, to be honest. Carry on thinking you're not missing anything for the rest of your life

It'll be no loss to me.

[leftynyc]

75. If only I got AJE!!!!

I'd me the mostest informed person evah!!! Pathetic.

[Turborama]

76. What sort of reaction was that?

Your continued recalcitrance is very boring.

Goodbye.

[leftynyc]

77. Apparently I wish to continue

in abject ignorance because I have no desire to fight to have AJE on my cable lineup. How will I go on? Don't bother answering - I'm bored with you.

[Turborama]

86. It doesn't work like that

I decide when I stop answering, not you. Carry on.

(PS your thread kicking is helping this news become more and more visible. I'm sure AJE are grateful.)

[sulphurdunn]

72. How can AJ be either popular

or unpopular if it hasn't ever been carried? Comcast has never asked me what I'd like to watch. I'd like a Spanish language station and fewer holy roller stations. I'd even settle for a Spanish language holy roller station. I suppose I could sign up for the whole enchilada package deal but even that wouldn't include AJ.

[leftynyc]

107. You could call them and

ask them to carry it. It's how I finally got the Travel Channel on Cablevision. If there was some groundswell of interest, the cable companies would carry it. People on this site assumes everyone has the same interest in what's going on in the world that they do - it's simply not true. Most people couldn't care less what goes on in Egypt.

[sabrina 1]

66. Well, it would be difficult for AJ to be popular when no one

in the U.S. knows it exists. Otoh as soon as people discover it, they see the value of its excellent reporting and programming and invaluable coverage of events happening in every part of the world. And we are not subjected to the opinions of tourists or the dissemination of talking points, the injection of scary words like 'BROTHERHOOOD, be scared'! into the reporting.

Almost everyone I know who have watched AJ's coverage of major events in the news, cannot tolerate CNN or any of the other MSM networds because the propaganda angle stands out even more once you get used to seeing real unfiltered news and reporters who ask tough questions unafraid of losing their jobs.

I have emailed our cable provider and asked for AJ to be added to the lineup. I'll pass it around, posted it here earlier and I hope they respond. The state of the U.S. News media is dismal. The rest of the world has access to far better news reporting and Americans are far, far behind now in what they know about world events.

Eg, Americans only discovered Wikileaks last summer, while the rest of the world was aware and supportive of their work long before that. Of course that made it easy to spread false propaganda about them here. Still, Americans are resilient and will find the facts once there is way to do so.

Fox is universally reviled around the world, a laughable excuse for 'news' and attracts only the far fringes of society who are fed their daily dose of what they WANT to hear, not how things actually are. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Murdoch Empired begin to fail as more and more New Media becomes more and more in demand.

When I think of Fox, which I rarely do, I think of an old, moldy, room where a lot of strange people are screaming about something, ranting and raving, but no one knows about what. Best to just shut the door and walk on by.

[leftynyc]

71. I agree that many do not know of AJE

but I do and have never felt compelled to contact my cable provider (Cablevision). Between the American cable news channels, BBC World and Euro News and the internet, I'm covered.

[sabrina 1]

78. Well, me too, but lots of people don't have access to the internet.

And many older people are not familiar with how to use it for information like this. I know eg, two people in their eighties who are very interested in what is going on but rely on TV for their news. They are smart but it's interesting to talk to them about current events. They remember when Mubarak took over Egypt, eg, but are not familiar with his oppression of the people and assumed he was an ally, which TV news keeps empasizing so they are puzzled by the outrage of the Egyptian people. They are like a barometer for me on how the MSM influences the thinking of those who rely on it.

Even intelligent people can be misled. Our media does not show the abuses of Mubarak, the real reasons for the outrage of his people. They talk about unemployment and high food prices, so Americans think 'hey, we have that here but we're not tearing the country apart over it.

[leftynyc]

79. I hope you can help them out

As far as being an "ally" and also horrendous for their people, I also give you Saudi Arabia (and others but that one makes me grind my teeth the most). I had my niece for a sleepover (she's 16) and I was thrilled at her interest in what's going on in Egypt. Asked some really good, probing questions. We're living in interesting times.

[sabrina 1]

80. I hate to say it, but many, many Americans do not know

that many of our 'allies' are the worst and most brutal dictators in the world. Saudi Arabia, as you say and check out Karamov in Uzbekistan, a truly nasty POS who has been allowed to pose on the world stage as an accepted member of society.

I was one of those who believed we only supported good guys for a long time too when I was less informed and a lot more naive. We just assume we are the good guys and would support only other good guys.

Good for your niece, she sounds intelligent and curious which is great.

I do help my elderly friends. They have a computer and I've been trying to get them to use it for news etc. Right now, they are supporting the people of Egypt :-)

[NeoConsSuck]

85. Yep,

you got the Anglo-Saxon viewpoints. You're covered :sarcasm:

[No Elephants]

102. You missed Al Jazeera coverage of 911, which was unique.

[Turborama]

122. Al Jazeera English was launched on November 15 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera_English#Launch_and_reach

[Turborama]

6. Two-and-a-half thousand percent increase & sixty percent of that from the United States

Wow! I was wondering what the massive rise in interest was going to be. Thanks for posting.

Related OP... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x309562">HuffPo: We Want Our Al Jazeera English *Now*

[fishwax]

92. what a spike

there feed has still been top quality, considering they're consistenly dealing with more than 20 times the amount of traffic they usually get

[Turborama]

96. And all done for free. I wonder what the actual numbers of hits are.

It'd be interesting to see how many stay with AJE after the Egypt thing, too.

[rocktivity]

7. Candidate for this year's "You Call This NEWS?" award

Hasn't it Al Jazeera English ALWAYS been blacked Out Across Most Of U.S?

:eyes:
rocktivity

[snooper2]

11. negative...watching it right now

[elleng]

13. Not 'blacked out,' offered as particular providers find apropos.

See earlier posts.

[rocktivity]

17. Corporate blackout, government blackout

Same difference -- especially now.

What providers don't find "apropos" about it is not that it may not be profitable or popular, but that Al Jazeera owns it.

:(
rocktivity

[Turborama]

21. Nailed it! n/t

[No Elephants]

103. A black out by providers is still a black out. Besides, ya just never know.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6848728

[Faryn Balyncd]

9. Has there ever been a clearer demonstration of the need for a free internet?

:kick:

[boppers]

94. Has there ever been a clearer proof of the existence of a free internet?

:kick:

[No Elephants]

105. Don't you usually post the opposite?

[boppers]

114. No, I'm for a free internet, and against government control of it.

Give the government a kill switch, content control, or any similar legal control over what ISP's can and cannot do... and you get Egypt and China.

That's why I'm in favor of the core ideological goals behind "Net Neutrality", but utterly reject giving governments any power to mandate or otherwise legally enforce it, because (as they've repeatedly shown), they have no idea what they're doing, and when they don't understand technology, they try to shut it down, or regulate it in impossible ways.

[Xenotime]

15. Goodbye freedom of the press.

[emulatorloo]

39. I don't get The Cooking Channel either n/t

[Turborama]

16. Anyone who doesn't think Al Jazeera have been shut out of American broadcasting on purpose....

Should read up on some history: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6848728

[brooklynite]

20. Unrec'd

"Blacked out" and "corporate implies an intentional choice to censor content, as opposed to a business decision as to whether or not a channel will be carried. Other than assertions by the person interviewed, I'm not seeing evidence of an intentional decision to blunt news from the Middle East.

Understand, I'm not saying it wouldn't be useful to have, but I suspect the average American cable subscriber isn't remotely interested in their content, any more than they're interested in the Arabic language stations that some systems carry. These are largely targeted towards own-language immigrant populations.

[Turborama]

26. Al Jazeera English is in ENGLISH and its news is from all over the world, not just the ME

It is not directed at a tiny minority, it is broadcast ALL over the world, apart from America.

Maybe you should learn even just a bit about the channel before making uneducated statements like that.

http://iwantaje.com/

http://english.aljazeera.net/

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now

Oh, and get a bit of history under your belt, too: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=6848728

[brooklynite]

32. I understand that...

...my point is that the average US cable subscriber (no the average politically active forum blogger) isn't interested in their content, in the same way that the average subscriber doesn't watch BBC News or the PBS NewHour. Cable companies have a finite set of channels they can carry, and they get (sadly) more response to QVC or Trinity Broadcasting or SoapNet than networks carrying news with a foreign perspective.

[Turborama]

36. Actually, rather than it being a "foreign perspective" it's a holistic non "America-centric" content

Do Americans living in America want to spend their whole lives living in an information bubble, or has it been engineered that way by the corporations?

I composed a post covering the answer to that very question here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9018714&mesg_id=9020555

[brooklynite]

44. Remember GWB?

For all his wealth and education, except for joining daddy on his jaunt to China, and sneaking across the border into Mexico for some tequila, he had never traveled abroad before becoming President. I think a lot of Americans are happy in the bubble.

[Turborama]

65. Yes, and that is THE problem. n/t

[EFerrari]

81. I think Rumsfeld bombing AJ twice looks pretty "intentional".

[brooklynite]

87. Last time I checked...

Rumsfeld wasn't Defense Secretary and Bush wasn't President.

[EFerrari]

89. Their cronies still own the cable companes, last time I checked. n/t

[EFerrari]

98. APTN cancels AJ sat bookings on day of Million Man March:

@fieldproducer Neal Mann
RT @willjordan APTN has just cancelled Al Jazeera's satellite TV booking to comply with an Egyptian government banning order #egypt #Jan25

[No Elephants]

106. I'm guessing you have no way of knowing for sure why providers don't offer Al Jazeera.

"but I suspect the average American cable subscriber isn't remotely interested in their content, any more than they're interested in the Arabic language stations that some systems carry. "

So? I'm not remotely interested in most content providers dump into my bundle.

[SteveG]

22. What puzzles me is that

in our area we have Mediacom (much better than Comcast) and it has CCTVNWS but not Al Jazeera. CCTVNWS is a 24/7 news broadcast from China and presents China's official line.

[bigworld]

28. You can get it over the air here in DC

on channel 30.5 from the excellent MHz Networks. And RT, and NHK World , and France 24.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

47. I posted before seeing your response.

I can't agree more with your assessment of MHz. It truly is excellent.

Best wishes.

[emulatorloo]

34. My guess is the rationale is that CCTVNWS is of interest to business viewers

[florida08]

30. check in if you have AJ

am in North Florida and am watching AJ (in between Democracy Now broadcasts) on Link TV via Direct tv. But I also get AJ at night on another channel.

[bigworld]

43. I get it free over the air in DC.

[hexola]

90. We get the Mhz Al Jazerra feed on ch 30-5 (free DTV) all the way up in rural South Central PA

Still on as others have noted.

[Adsos Letter]

61. Checking in! I get it on Link TV in Northern California. DISH network. n/t

[Xithras]

62. Yep. Dish Network has it available in all packages.

Of course, the availability of specific content varies as Link mixes news content from different sources around the planet. They also pre-empt the news feeds for some of the other shows they air, like Democracy Now!

But, overall, it's a great resource for news from an international perspective.

[EFerrari]

83. LINK is available, not Al Jazeera. n/t

[EFerrari]

82. We get 1 show that is re-aired via LINK, not the full programming.

LINK has been (wonderfully) airing more during this crisis.

[Turborama]

97. I get it with my satellite package but I'm in Indonesia

So my stat probably doesn't count.

[No Elephants]

108. Direct tv is not the issue in the OP. Neither is getting AJ indirectly.

[Renew Deal]

33. How is that "corporate censorship" or a "blackout?"

Not every channel is available by every cable provider. Any Cablevision customer can attest to that.

[Bluenorthwest]

49. Very important issue, very incorrect headline.

I have to wonder how many here had asked for AJ prior to the events in Cairo. Because as rotten as our media can be, you can not 'black out' that which was not there to begin with. They have not 'blacked out' that which they were previously airing. The term has a very specific meaning.
So basically, I do take ever so slight issue with using the term 'blacked out' for a commercial service most had previously never even bothered to ask their vendor to sell them. Blacked out means they took it away, and that too can and does happen, it has happened in fact, in Egypt this week, and that is shitty stuff indeed. But seeing the pasta you did not order at the next table looking so delicious is not the same as being refused that pasta. You have to at least ask for it in order to get it. We all knew AJ English existed. How many had requested it prior to these events?

[No Elephants]

109. Disagree with your interpretation of "black out."

black·out (blkout)
n.
1. A cutoff of electrical power, especially as a result of a shortage, a mechanical failure, or overuse by consumers.
2. The concealment or extinguishment of lights that might be visible to enemy aircraft during an air raid.
3.
a. The sudden extinguishment of all stage lights in a theater to indicate the passage of time or to mark the end of an act or scene.
b. A short, comic vaudeville skit that ends with lights off.
4. A temporary loss of memory or consciousness.
5.
a. A suppression, as of news, by censorship.
b. Restriction or prohibition of telecasting a sports event in order to ensure ticket sales.
Synonyms: blackout, faint, swoon, syncope
These nouns denote a temporary loss of consciousness: suffers blackouts at high altitudes; fell in a dead faint at the sight of the body; sank to the ground in a swoon; was taken to the clinic in a state of syncope.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

maybe you're thinking of "redact?"

Suppressing some news while allowing other news is analogous to carrying some networks, but not others. The real issue, IMO, is whether this is suppression/censorship or simply lack of demand.

[47of74]

50. Surprise, surprise

[totodeinhere]

54. I agree that more cable and satellite companies should carry Al Jazeera.

Yes, you can try to watch their Internet stream, but at least at my location it rebuffers a lot, and of course anyone on dialup is just out of luck.

There is another possibility. It is available on free to air on Galaxy 19 on the Ku band in DVB format. Yes, i realize that most people, myself included, don't have free to air equipment and it is expensive to install it. But if you happen to have it then it's an option.

[davepc]

55. Ahhh...so now I know why I don't get the NFL network on my provider

The NFL network started about the same time as Al Jazeera English....during the BUSH administration.

Bush was owner of the Texas Rangers BASEBALL team. Obviously this BLACKOUT of the NFL Network on my cable provider is a corporatist/Bush administration action to prevent me from seeing the NFL network to protect his baseball cronies. How else can you explain that I get the MLB network but NOT the NFL network!

These corpro/government BLACKOUTS of content on cable/satellite providers needs to STOP. Every channel should be carried by every provider NO MATTER WHAT!!

[No Elephants]

110. .I don't get many networks BUT I can order a slew if I agree to pay more.

Not so with Al Jazeera

[on point]

56. Bad title: Not Carried is far more accurate. Don't stoop to falsehoods to make your point

I agree it should be carried by all cable companies and that it is not is a form of censorship in the US. But it is NOT backed out (being carried and then temporarily suppressed).

We cannot fight the ignorance and proto fascism of the right without maintaining standards of accuracy and truth.

Don't get me wrong I know we have censorship in the USA. case in point, I happened to be in Europe when Bush the Liar invaded Iraq (war crime of aggression). It was amazing watching all the American stations (CNN, MSNBC, FAUX) on cable have simultaneous 'satellite' difficulties when there was something like part of a live press conference they didn't want the American public to see, but BBC, Al-Jazeera, DW, TF1 etc had no such difficulties all while broadcasting the same live press conference.

[No Elephants]

111. WOW! Read LBN rules about headlines/thread title before you call any DUer a liar, k?

Besides, what do you KNOW for a FACT about why most cable providers do not offer Al Jazeera, even if you are willing to pay extra for it?

[starzdust]

57. Link Channel 375 on Direct TV

This channel had a lot of reports and video coverage last night on Al Jzeera English. I don't know that their TV coverage is live but last nights coverage had voice reports from a few Egyptians on the ground in Cairo and other cities in Egypt. Does anyone know if the Al Jzeera coverage on Link TV is live?

StarzDust

[EFerrari]

84. LINK airs one (1) AJ program, and re-airs it iirc 1X a day.

Has been more during this situation but that's not LINK's usual programming.

[groundloop]

59. Unrec. Misleading Headline. merely "not carried" does not equal "blacked out"

[No Elephants]

112. Please see Replies 109 and 111. A widespread refusal to carry would be a blackout, so

what inside industry info do you have about this that makes you so certain that the OP is "misleading" that you would unrec the thread?

Besides, unreccing a thread is a highly ineffectual way of protesting how Huffpo writes headlines. I doubt kpete has anything to do with that.

[X_Digger]

60. unrec for huff'n'puff wrong headline. n/t

[No Elephants]

113. Do you really think Huffpo knows you're unreccing this thread?

If not, why punish kpete for Huffpo's headline? Besides, see Reply 112.

[X_Digger]

121. People should actually read & understand a story..

kpete could have included additional text stating that the headline was bogus.

[Turborama]

68. LOL at the unrec'ing because of the title even though LBN rules insist it has to be used as is.

Also, unrec'ing because of a title results in the actual story itself gets knocked down a notch on the Greatest Page. Whoopty-Doo!

I can't wait to see the back of that divisive function that only causes disharmony.

[jonnyblitz]

104. they must think it makes "Obama admin look bad" or something

:crazy: too late for that.

[goforit]

73. People will soon drop Cable and go satellite.

[Doctor_J]

118. You think DISH and DirecTV are less right-wing than Comcast?

Call for goforit on the clue phone.

[Catherina]

115. Rec'd n/t

[Prometheus Bound]

120. Accurate title. They tried to do the same thing in Canada. Freedom prevailed.

[Honeycombe8]

123. "Link" TV station (started by Gore, I think) carries it. DirecTV carries Link.

The AJ news comes on just an hour here and there, since Link broadcasts news and programs from around the world. Link broadcasts documentaries, as well as news.

[flintstrike]

124. not everything is a corporate or right-wing conspiracy. Al Jazeera is avaialble in Northern

Virginia, because NoVA has an extradorinarily diverse population including a very large number of residents from the ME. Thus, there is demand in NoVA for Comcast to carry the channel. It is simply a business decision on their part. You're not going to see a lot of Al Jazeera in the mid-west and other segments of America because the demand is simply not there for the cable Co's to carry the channel. BTW, anyone can get the channel if the order the right package from DirectTV or Dish network.

[EFerrari]

125. AJ English's net traffic increased 2.5 thousand per cent this week

per Amy Goodman's report this morning. 60% of that traffic was from the United States.

[flintstrike]

126. And I'm sure if that level of interest in Al Jazeera was sustained beyond the Egypt crisis, the

cable companies would begin carrying the network in more areas. But for those Americans that don't get it on their cable and are strictly relying on http://english.aljazeera.net, they can cancel their Comcast/Cox/FIOS service and switch to Dish or DirecTV.

[tavalon]

127. Am I missing something important by only getting Al Jezeera online?

I refuse to have cable or satellite, nor even rabbit ears when they worked. I don't want such stuff being sent into my home. I thought I was getting the same basic thing by going to the Al Jazeera website. Am I mistaken?