Bush administration officials have branded the network's airing of messages from Osama bin Laden as an incitement to terrorism and criticized its often graphic coverage of bloodshed in Iraq.
Al-Jazeera says the messages and images are newsworthy. It has promoted its broadcasts to U.S. officials as the ideal venue to address the Muslim world.
Still, the station is burdened with a reputation among Americans as anti-U.S. - an image Al-Jazeera insists is unfair. Its staffers argue that while the station has an Arab viewpoint, its coverage is balanced.
At least for now, most Americans will have no chance to see Al-Jazeera to judge for themselves. Al-Jazeera's list of U.S. carriers included none of the major U.S. cable TV providers: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications or Cablevision. Neither of the two major satellite TV providers in the U.S. - Dish Network and DirecTV - are carrying the network.
Some U.S. cable carriers are adopting a "show-me" policy, waiting to see what sort of reaction the station generates before agreeing to carry it, said Michael Holtzman, a spokesman for the network.
Al-Jazeera English will be available to American customers of GlobeCast, the subsidiary of a French company that offers satellite TV service.
A funny story that Bill Beniett told this morning in America about A food fight at Williams Collge and a certian Freshman who turned him in to the dean named Dave Marash. Here is an article on why he joined the Al-Jazeera (propaganda machine).
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