{"id":3300,"date":"2008-09-25T17:31:58","date_gmt":"2008-09-25T21:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/wideangle\/?p=3300"},"modified":"2009-03-09T17:43:16","modified_gmt":"2009-03-09T21:43:16","slug":"al-jazeeras-witness-to-air-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wnet\/wideangle\/uncategorized\/al-jazeeras-witness-to-air-in-the-u-s\/3300\/","title":{"rendered":"Al Jazeera’s “Witness” to Air in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

After two years of struggling to get its news programming to American living rooms, Al Jazeera English\u2019s program Witness<\/a><\/em> will now be available to 30 million households in the U.S. via Link TV<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Created in 1996, the original Arabic-language Al Jazeera garnered global attention following the 9\/11 attacks for broadcasting Osama bin Laden\u2019s video taped messages, prompting former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to dub the station the “mouthpiece of Al-Qaeda<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

When Al Jazeera English launched in 2006, none of the major cable companies would carry the controversial station. By the end of its first year<\/a>, Al Jazeera English reached nearly 90 million viewers around the world, but in the U.S., it could only be seen in northern Ohio and Burlington, Vermont.<\/p>\n

In May 2008, the city-owned telecom company<\/a> in Burlington decided to pull Al Jazeera<\/a> following a flood of viewer complaints. This sparked a heated debate<\/a>, with some citizens calling Al Jazeera anti-American<\/a>, and others insisting that removing the channel would amount to censorship<\/a>. Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss demanded that the channel not be pulled until the city\u2019s residents had a chance to express their views. After two oversight committees were formed and citizens were asked for their input, the committees unanimously recommended that the city maintain Al Jazeera English.<\/p>\n

Link TV\u2019s vice president Lorraine Hess said she\u2019s eager to include Al Jazeera in their lineup<\/a>. \u201cAt Link TV we believe in airing programs that provide a unique perspective on international news, current events and cultures while presenting issues that are not often covered in the U.S. media,\u201d Hess said.<\/p>\n

Witness<\/em>, Al Jazeera\u2019s 30-minute, Emmy-nominated international documentary program, highlights the lives of ordinary people living in extraordinary circumstances.<\/p>\n

Link TV is available on cable in select cities, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, and via satellite on DirecTV and Dish Network.<\/p>\n

The show will air weekly starting Oct. 6 at 11 p.m.<\/p>\n

In 2003, WIDE ANGLE\u2019s film Exclusive to Al Jazeera<\/a> went behind the scenes to Al Jazeera\u2019s Arabic-broadcast headquarters in Qatar during its nonstop coverage of the war in Iraq. Exclusive to Al Jazeera shows the network\u2019s similarities to its Western media counterparts \u2014 and the differences.
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After two years of struggling to get its news programming to American living rooms, Al Jazeera English\u2019s program Witness will now be available to 30 million households in the U.S. via Link TV. 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