Al Jazeera Said to Be Acquiring Current TV

[Khaotic]

72. Sadly This Will Fail on an Epic Scale

When people hear or read about Al-Jazeera they think of Baghdad Bob or Chemical Ali and how Al-Jazeera continued to air Bob's crazy rants even after it became clearer and clearer it was propaganda ... not just slight or skewed, but down right fiction.

That's Al-Jazeera's legacy in this country and that's how people think of them ... at least those who know what Al-Jazeera is in the first place.

I don't watch Faux News, but I can only imagine that they're re-enforcing those perceptions by showing file footage of Baghdad Bob and Chemical Ali with the Al-Jazeera logo at the bottom of the screen.

It would take an epic marketing campaign in this country to change people's perception on this, and while Al-Jazeera has $500 million to acquire Current TV, it doesn't have enough $$$ to mount such a campaign.

If Al-Jazeera remade themselves like RT TV did, RT standing for Russia Today, then Americans might digest it with a lot less bias, but there's been no such effort. RT is available all over the 'Net and is also available on Dish Network here in the U.S.

Since they're doing an immediate switch to Al-Jazeera America look for almost every outlet that carried Current TV to drop them. Those that don't do so right away will receive a huge outcry from every swath of this country. It won't just come from the right, it will come from everywhere.

Dish Network might hold out for a little while, but don't look for them to hold out long. They carry The Blaze (the rightwing version of Current TV) and because they know rabid rightwingers will pay more to see it, it's only available on the top tier. Look for Dish to drop Al-Jazeera America and for them to put The Blaze on the next lower tier making it available to an even larger audience.

What will all this mean to us?

Current TV is effectively dead now, which sucks. Al-Jazeera America will fail ... just the way it is.

I recommend watching MSNBC, Link TV, Free Speech TV, and RT TV for your progressive news fix. Other than that listen to what you can over the 'Net.

If you have a smartphone download TuneIn radio or iHeart Radio and you'll have a good array of progressive programs to choose from.

TuneIn radio includes podcasts, so you can also access programs such as Best of the Left that uses content from all over the progressive spectrum.