Al Jazeera is leveraging the crisis in Egypt (and their coverage of it) to campaign for broadcasting rights throughout the US. They say they are not available in most of the 50 states in the US, but want the right to be.
In an opinion article on their website, Al Jazeera’s Director General Wadah Khanfar said their broadcasting has been unfairly blocked in the past:
Elsewhere, in the United States, Al Jazeera faces a different kind of blackout, based largely on misinformed views about our content and journalism. Some of the largest American cable and satellite providers have instituted corporate obstacles against Al Jazeera English.
So the company is taking matters into its own hands with a campaign to “demand Al Jazeera on your TV.” The campaign includes February 10 Meetup gatherings to tell satellite and cable providers how much Al Jazeera is wanted.
The demands are overshadowed, though, by Al Jazeera’s reputation for bias. In his manifesto about the campaign, Khanfer himself alludes to the approach their reporters take.
…our journalists exist in the right places and are given the space and resources to get the job done. Most importantly, they have editorial freedom.
According to the Meetup website, the February 10 event is planned in 345 communities, including New York.
