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Soledad O'Brien Joins Al Jazeera
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/01/1220302/-Soledad-O-Brien-Joins-Al-JazeeraUnfortunately, O'Brien's last turn on the anchor chair didn't get enough viewers and she was eventually given the boot. She might also have been perceived by network executives as being too controversial and partisan -- something that they don't want for their straight news/tainment shows, preferring instead milquetoast conservatives like Erin Burnett and show-bizzers like Piers Morgan to sit in front of the cameras for this type of show.
Al Jazeera America is an interesting choice for O'Brien. English news programming on the network has attracted some of the biggest names in UK journalism, but they have struggled to draw American headliners, perhaps because of the stigma of participating in a news operation based in the Arab world.
At the same time, English-language programming on Al Jazeera has been hailed by media watchers and many journalists themselves as fair, credible and intellectually much more serious than what the standard U.S. cable news channels offer.
It will be interesting to see if O'Brien move brings more top names to the channel, which might help it combat the sluggish or resistant adoption rates it's getting from U.S. cable providers, several of whom have succumbed to anti-Muslim and anti-Arab pressure and have refused to carry Al Jazeera America at all.
Al Jazeera America is an interesting choice for O'Brien. English news programming on the network has attracted some of the biggest names in UK journalism, but they have struggled to draw American headliners, perhaps because of the stigma of participating in a news operation based in the Arab world.
At the same time, English-language programming on Al Jazeera has been hailed by media watchers and many journalists themselves as fair, credible and intellectually much more serious than what the standard U.S. cable news channels offer.
It will be interesting to see if O'Brien move brings more top names to the channel, which might help it combat the sluggish or resistant adoption rates it's getting from U.S. cable providers, several of whom have succumbed to anti-Muslim and anti-Arab pressure and have refused to carry Al Jazeera America at all.
