"She refers to me as her ‘first husband’. Because I told her once she’s going to live to be 120 and have time for plenty more.”- President Bill Clinton speaking about his wife Hillary Clinton
from msnbc
TV News, San Diego Radio, Politics and News, Sewing--The Sewing Herald Tribune....we need contributors, Travel.... Agree or Disagree....Please feel free to comment.....all comments appreciated and thank you for your time..... and food,dogs and cats...... let's sit down at this cafe, have a cup of coffee and talk about politics.
Jan 17, 2013
I've Been A Hillary Girl Forever!
"She refers to me as her ‘first husband’. Because I told her once she’s going to live to be 120 and have time for plenty more.”- President Bill Clinton speaking about his wife Hillary Clinton
from msnbc
Jan 15, 2013
Huell Howser--My Interview Hero
Kimber Kneeland · IT Helpdesk Support at Driscoll's
RIP Huell Howser...may all your sunsets be California perfect!
Hope
you don't mind--putting your nice comment in my blog--the ronnie
republic--I think I have seen every one of Huell's shows. I have been
to several of his recommendations--I love a road trip in sunny southern
California and discovering an interesting place--I can usually bring my
dog. it's not too crowded and I learn new information. I will really
miss Huell's interesting shows and friendly style. He really had the
interview knack of mirroring the statement back to the person and the
art of the pause down to a science. The best thing about his interview
skills was conveying sincerity and enthusiasm with very few words. If
one notices his interview he strategically directs the conversation to
reveal the true meaning of the place as told by the citizens or the
docents who actually work at the site. He is low-key and inspirational
at the same time--one of the most talented interviewers on
television....cl
"Salute" to Huell Howser to be Held at Griffith Observatory on Tuesday
Howser, who devoted his life to chronicling people and places in California, died Jan. 6
advertisement
A public salute to Huell Howser, the
affable host of public broadcasting’s long-running “California’s Gold”
series, will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Griffith Observatory,
hosted by City Councilman Tom La Bonge.
Howser, an intensely private man
whose chronicles of California locales earned him a warm spot in the
hearts of many in the state, died Jan. 6 after a two-year battle with
cancer.
He had told friends he did not want a memorial or funeral service.
LaBonge’s event will conclude with what the councilman is calling a “sunset salute” to Howser at 5:07 p.m.
A note on LaBonge’s website invited
the public to gather at 3:30 p.m. on the steps of the observatory. A
shuttle will be provided from the Greek Theater for those who prefer to
park there.
"Huell had a tremendous enthusiasm
for California landmarks like the Griffith Observatory," LaBonge, said
in the online invitation. "And now we must say goodbye to our own
California landmark, Huell Howser."
Howser was 67 when he died.
copied from:
Del Mar Council Urges Gun Show Ban
Del Mar Council Urges Gun Show Ban
SoCal city's council wants to ban "Crossroads of the West" gun show
In
a strongly-worded resolution passed with unanimous support, the Del Mar
City Council has urged the banning of a popular gun show on the city's
fairgrounds. NBC 7's Catherine Garcia reports.
advertisement
In a strongly worded resolution
passed with unanimous support, the Del Mar City Council has urged the
banning of a popular gun show at the city's fairgrounds.
For the last 22 years, "Crossroads of
the West" has held its show in Del Mar, an ocean-side city of about
4,500 residents located 20 miles north of San Diego. The group promotes
60 shows a year throughout the west coast.
Gun shows like "Crossroads" have recently been criticized for their gun registration policies, especially in the wake of the Newtown massacre.
On Monday, the council cited the
tragedy, in addition to the rising number of Americans killed with guns,
as reason to ban the show from the fairgrounds.
"Hosting gun shows in Del Mar and
calling them 'the Del Mar Gun Show' implies tacit approval of the gun
shows by the citizens of Del Mar," according to the resolution.
The resolution urged the District
Agricultural Association, which hosts the gun shows, to not renew its
contract with Crossroads of the West or any other gun show sponsor.
"My response, relative to the school
shootings is that when you have a gun-free zone, it is an invitation to
people to come in and do what they want to do," said Dexter Haight,
president of the NRA Members Council of Greater San Diego. "That's where
people who want to do bad things are going to go to."
Haight said although he was urged to
direct gun control questions to NRA headquarters, he felt there was too
much misinformation at the meeting to remain quiet.
The council's action is not the first
showing of support for such a ban. One local resident collected a
petition with more than 750 signatures to ban the gun shows from Del
Mar.
Organizers maintain that the show poses no danger to the community, though.
The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors met to hear what residents and members of the public thought about a potential ban last week.
"As a public entity we have to be
cognizant of the fact that we cannot discriminate against who can or
cannot use our facility," Board of Directors President Adam Day said earlier this month. "These shows are operated under the most strict rules and regulations."
Some supporters of gun shows say the
responsibility lies with the owner of the weapon, while opponents say
it is time for local officials to step in.
Day said that unless a board member challenges the gun show, it is unlikely it will be canceled.
Jan 10, 2013
Cooking With Alia--The Best Show on You-Tube+++Cuisiner avec Alia - Le meilleur spectacle sur You-Tube
Here is a really good show on You-Tube--Cooking With Alia
Voici un très bon spectacle sur You-Tube - Cuisiner avec Alia
File under: bringing the world together with food and fabric.
Fichier sous: rassembler le monde avec de la nourriture et fabric.
I copied this information for the Cooking With Alia Facebook page--she is actually one of my heroes--I am always talking about bringing the world together with food and fabric but Alia is actually doing it...
If you just search "Cooking With Alia" on you-tube there are plenty of really good, interesting and easy to prepare dishes--she taught me how to make Lemon souffle. It is pretty easy to follow her directions--that is one of the reasons I always go back to her.....cl
Voici un très bon spectacle sur You-Tube - Cuisiner avec Alia
File under: bringing the world together with food and fabric.
Fichier sous: rassembler le monde avec de la nourriture et fabric.
In
Marrakech!!! Starting to videotape cooking videos tomorrow in...
ARABIC! Yes, awesome news to start year 2013 - I will have another
cooking channel in Arabic for all the people who have been asking me for
one! :-)
- You and 221 others like this.
If you just search "Cooking With Alia" on you-tube there are plenty of really good, interesting and easy to prepare dishes--she taught me how to make Lemon souffle. It is pretty easy to follow her directions--that is one of the reasons I always go back to her.....cl
Why I Love Malala--by Chloe Louise Langendorf Louis
Malala, others on front lines in fight for women
updated 8:37 AM EST, Thu January 10, 2013
Malala Yousafzai leaves a hospital Friday in Birmingham, England. She was treated there after the Taliban shot her in the head.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Gayle Lemmon: Taliban failed to stop education advocate Malala Yousafzai by shooting her
- Lemmon: Similar attacks on other women and girls trying to reach their goals were fatal
- Attacks are efforts to stamp out women's progress, rights and potential, she says
- She says potential of half the population will not be realized if violence is tolerated
Editor's note: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
is a fellow and deputy director of the Women and Foreign Policy Program
at the Council of Foreign Relations. She wrote "The Dressmaker of Khair
Khana," a book that tells the story of an Afghan girl whose business
created jobs and hope during the Taliban years.
(CNN) -- The girl the Taliban wanted dead has not
only survived but was able to walk out of the hospital last week. But
other highly publicized, vicious attacks on women and girls have not had
such triumphant outcomes.
Malala Yousafzai's ordeal
is not over yet: Doctors say the 15-year-old campaigner for girls'
education, whom gunmen shot in the head as she rode a school bus in
Pakistan, will be readmitted in late January or early February for more
cranial reconstructive surgery.
She left the hospital
just days after gunmen attacked a van in Pakistan's Swabi District, less
than an hour from the capital, and killed six women and one man who worked at a children's community center.
Five of the dead were teachers; two were health care workers. The
center, a charity, offered a school for girls and vaccinations for
polio, among other diseases, along with maternal health treatment.
Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
Yet another attack
unfolded around the time of Malala's release. India is reeling from the
death of a woman who dreamed of becoming a doctor. Brutally gang raped,
mutilated and thrown from a bus, the physiotherapy student later died in
a Singapore hospital. Her name was not made public in India, but her
cause electrified the nation. Her father, who sold family land to move
his family to Delhi from rural India to help his daughter realize her
education dreams, is left heartbroken.
"She wanted to be a
doctor and said it was only a matter of a few years and that when she
was a doctor (all our suffering), it will end,'" her father told the BBC. "I remember asking her once, 'Who are all your friends?' She replied, 'Dad, it's only my books I am friends with.'"
Malala's next phase of recovery
Malala Yousafzai walks from hospital
Gang-rape case unleashes fury in India
Discrimination begins in the womb
What all of these attacks
have in common, along with their brutality, is that they are attempts
at extinguishing the talent and potential of women -- or half of the
population. In a world that needs every doctor it can find, every
educator and politician who is willing to tackle the status quo, these
young women offered a glimpse at a brighter future in which all can
contribute.
No less than investment
oracle Warren Buffett made that very case recently, referring to the
United States, which has seen its share of less brutal attempts to hold
women back.
"What a waste of human
talent; 50% of the talent of the country we pushed off in a corner for
almost 200 years," he said in an interview with Melinda Gates. "It is
one of the things that makes me optimistic about the future -- we are
getting to the point we are starting to realize we need to use 100% of
our talent -- it makes me very optimistic, but we still have a way to
go."
His words echoed those of the World Economic Forum in its annual Gender Gap Report.
"The key for the future
of any country and any institution is the capability to develop, retain
and attract the best talent," the report said. "Empowering and educating
girls and women and leveraging their talent and leadership fully in the
global economy, politics and society are thus fundamental elements of
succeeding and prospering in an ever more competitive world."
Until now these horrific
attacks on women and girls, attacks I have written about concerning
Afghanistan, have been seen as shameful and isolated incidents. But they
are a shared loss in a globalized world.
These young women and
their legacies -- Malala, who will continue her fight, and the others,
who will not -- are on the front lines of deciding what our world looks
like. Will young women who speak out on the need for education be
stopped or celebrated? Will girls who dream of becoming doctors stay
alive long enough to do so? And when will we realize that their battle
is one shared by everyone who dreams of a safer, more stable, more
prosperous world in which more people have a stake? Perhaps Buffett's
words will help enlist more fighters in the cause. Because the economic
and human rights stakes are high.
Increasingly the world
is recognizing the value and the contributions of girls and women. But
progress is slow while violence is tolerated. And as the attacks in
Pakistan show, educating girls remains a potentially deadly line of
work.
"They wanted to kill
her," said her father not long after gunmen shot his daughter. "But she
fell temporarily. She will rise again. She will stand again." He was
right.
Follow us on Twitter: @CNNOpinion.
Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
here is a nice comment:
RockyRetired • 19 hours ago
here is a nice comment:
Jan 8, 2013
Del Mar woman fighting fairground gun shows
Del Mar woman fighting fairground gun shows
Published: Monday, Jan. 7, 2013 - 6:17 am
DEL MAR, Calif. -- A resident of tiny Del Mar in San Diego County town is taking aim at gun shows following the Connecticut school massacre.
The North County Times ( http://bit.ly/VMkd7Y) says former teacher Rosanne Holliday has begun a grass-roots campaign to stop shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Holliday says it's wrong to celebrate gun culture in a public facility.
She says about 50 people in the town of 4,100 have expressed support. Supporter Bud Emerson says the group has put together a draft petition against the shows.
Fair board President Adam Day says five shows a year bring the fairgrounds a net profit of $324,000. He says the shows, which have been held for two decades, meet all laws and undercover law enforcement officers are on hand.
The North County Times ( http://bit.ly/VMkd7Y) says former teacher Rosanne Holliday has begun a grass-roots campaign to stop shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Holliday says it's wrong to celebrate gun culture in a public facility.
She says about 50 people in the town of 4,100 have expressed support. Supporter Bud Emerson says the group has put together a draft petition against the shows.
Fair board President Adam Day says five shows a year bring the fairgrounds a net profit of $324,000. He says the shows, which have been held for two decades, meet all laws and undercover law enforcement officers are on hand.
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/01/07/5096719/del-mar-woman-fighting-fairground.html#storylink=cpy
...............................................................................
These beautiful black candy earrings are available for 18.88 at www.chloetoo.com.......They are 8mm black swarovski crystal cubes with the aurora borealis finish. The finish shows off a colorful sheen when they turn in the light. The ear wires are also sterling silver with 4mm light black swarovski crystal accents. The rondelles are tiny clear swarovski crystals. These earrings are easy to wear, sturdy and go with everything..................They can be purchased with paypal..........no tax and free shipping...........handmade by chloelouise ................please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions or comments.......chloe.louise.langendorf.louis@gmail.com
here is a link to the website:
http://www.chloetoo.com/
Jan 5, 2013
Happy Christmas from Mick Taylor and the Rolling Stones
Like This Page · December 23, 2012
Happy Christmas + Happy New Year to Rolling Stones Fans Worldwide.
Thank you for your support,
Mick T
Mick Taylor Official (micktaylor.com)
everyone is searching Mick Taylor......cl
Jan 3, 2013
Should David Atlee Phillips Have Been of the Cover of Life Magazine Instead of Lee Harvey Oswald?
Talking about the JFK Assassination Clearing House......
I
think "The Clearing House" concept is an excellent idea. There is just
so much information out there now. I am beginning to think that was
the idea--confusion.
The big researchers seem to have the basic facts
down now especially in the run-up to the big event.
Will we ever know who
pulled the trigger?
The whole Oswald thing continues to be a mystery
and I am beginning to think fairy tale.
The history portion of c-span
ran a show of top JFK assassination researchers--Professor Wrone said
Oswald was a fairy tale. The point I am trying to make is this. The
word "fairy tale," that sticks in your mind. It has to be something
short and something easy for people to remember or the whole thing
becomes a mess of minutia and confusion--the result is that people, the
general public, think it will never be solved and then the Bugliosi type
people take over.
It's a mess. The citizens have a right to know what
happened--reasonable questions have been asked.
Timeline, movie, a good
story teller, a Southern accent--a Bill Clinton type that can take a
complicated subject and explain it to the lay person--so they can
remember the important facts and go away with main idea. I listen to
soooo many researchers--real good ones--as soon as they start arguing
over Cuban details--not that it is not important--the story is lost.
The story is lost--it is driven into the ground with minutia and the
listeners eyes gloss over and their mind wanders and everything is lost.
Then the next sentence is that there is no real proof. Lay it out,
foot note it and move the story forward in an interesting fashion with
key points to remember.
The basic facts are there now particularly with
the whole Russ Baker and the George Bush elder thing and apparently
Oswald's handler George de Mohrenschildt. Can these things really be
denied now?
Really, I beginning to think the person who should have
been on the cover of Life magazine was David Atlee Phillips, not LHO.
All of this is just a suggestion--you idea is great. Problem--it is a
difficult story to understand--and complicated. Personally--I am still
trying to figure out what the CIA is and does.
.................................................................
my turquoise necklace....
,,,sterling silver findings and clasp...this clasp is so easy to use
......swarovski crystal accents
.........17 inches in length..approx.
earrings included with purchase...no tax and free shipping...
buy with paypal at www.chloetoo.com:
here's the link:
http://www.chloetoo.com/
.................................................................
my turquoise necklace....
,,,sterling silver findings and clasp...this clasp is so easy to use
......swarovski crystal accents
.........17 inches in length..approx.
earrings included with purchase...no tax and free shipping...
buy with paypal at www.chloetoo.com:
here's the link:
http://www.chloetoo.com/
Jan 2, 2013
The Ronnie Republic Welcomes Al Jazeera
file under: Food and Fabric Around The World
Chloelouise and The Ronnie Republic welcome Al Jazeera to the beautiful coat of many colors of the United States.
Yes...I love going to London and seeing all of the different news channels from around the world.....cl
My thing....bringing the world together with food.........cl
really.....the lady that sits next to me in my sewing class wears traditional Muslim clothing...the fabric is beautiful...and she is beautiful, too. I love her....she is trying to find a pattern to make her traditional dress and fortunately there are plenty of directions on you-tube.
Food and fabric...that makes everyone human and interesting....it brings people together all around the world. It's just everyday people...trying to get dressed and eat and take care of their children.
What is my favorite restaurant.....forever and always....DZ Aikens deli in San Diego. Really, their food is soooooo fresh and high quality.
I hope Al Jazeera will have some space for food and fabric.......cl
“U.S. viewers have clearly demonstrated that they like the way Al Jazeera provides compelling, in-depth news to audiences across the world,” the Director General said. “Our commitment to the voice of the voiceless, bringing stories from under-reported regions across the world and putting the human being at the center of our news agenda is at the heart of what we do. Everyone at Al Jazeera takes great pride in the independence, impartiality, professionalism and courage of our journalism. I look forward to bringing these standards to our new American audiences and working with our new colleagues at Current.”
Chloelouise and The Ronnie Republic welcome Al Jazeera to the beautiful coat of many colors of the United States.
Yes...I love going to London and seeing all of the different news channels from around the world.....cl
My thing....bringing the world together with food.........cl
really.....the lady that sits next to me in my sewing class wears traditional Muslim clothing...the fabric is beautiful...and she is beautiful, too. I love her....she is trying to find a pattern to make her traditional dress and fortunately there are plenty of directions on you-tube.
Food and fabric...that makes everyone human and interesting....it brings people together all around the world. It's just everyday people...trying to get dressed and eat and take care of their children.
What is my favorite restaurant.....forever and always....DZ Aikens deli in San Diego. Really, their food is soooooo fresh and high quality.
I hope Al Jazeera will have some space for food and fabric.......cl
“U.S. viewers have clearly demonstrated that they like the way Al Jazeera provides compelling, in-depth news to audiences across the world,” the Director General said. “Our commitment to the voice of the voiceless, bringing stories from under-reported regions across the world and putting the human being at the center of our news agenda is at the heart of what we do. Everyone at Al Jazeera takes great pride in the independence, impartiality, professionalism and courage of our journalism. I look forward to bringing these standards to our new American audiences and working with our new colleagues at Current.”
|
JANUARY 02, 2013
For
years, I and other critics have argued that Al Jazeera, the newschannel
founded and funded by the government of Qatar, has earned a prominent
place in America's array of cable news outlets, thanks to their incisive
coverage of the Arab Spring revolts and war in the Middle East.
But no one predicted the channel would earn its foothold through purchase of a floundering cable concern owned by a former vice president of the United States.
Al Jazeera announced today it has acquired Current TV, the liberal-focused cable channel funded and co-owned by onetime Vice President Al Gore. According to Forbes magazine, Current co-founder Joel Hyatt sent staffers a memo with the news earlier today, saying he had spent a week in Qatar observing Al Jazeera's operations. The magazine quoted a possible sale price at $400 million.
Hyatt
wrote: " it became clear to us that Al Jazeera was founded with the
same goals we had for Current: To give voice to those whose voices are
not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and
diverse points of view; and to tell the important stories that no one
else is telling. Al Jazeera, like Current, believes that facts and truth
lead to a better understanding of the world around us."
Al Jazeera announced plans to scrap Current's programming -- which now includes weekday shows featuring former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm -- to create a new, U.S.-based channel.
Current
TV has struggled for visibility and focus since its founding in 2005,
beginning as a home for liberal-oriented documentaries and morphing into
a more left-leaning analysis and opinion channel than liberal channel
MSNBC. Hiring former MSNBC star Keith Olbermann to lead a restructuring of the channel and relaunch of his show Countdown didn't fare well -- Olbermann was eventually fired amid growing friction with executives, countersuing the company.
Al Jazeera has experienced its own setbacks in the U.S. cable market, struggling to earn access to American households amid suspicion of its Middle East roots and Arab-centric programming. Today, Time Warner Cable dropped Current from its lineup, though Bright House Networks, which often shares programming with Time Warner, still has Current in its digital tier as I write this.
Al Jazeera expects to double its American staffing to 300 in staffing the new channel, which will be available in 40 million homes even after the Time Warner cancellation. Where this new channel will fit in the axis of right-leaning Fox News, liberal-oriented MSNBC and non-partisan CNN remains to be seen.
But anything to shake up the status quo in American cable news programming can't be all bad.
AL JAZEERA TO START NEW U.S.-BASED NEWS CHANNEL
Acquisition of Current TV Will Make Al Jazeera Channel Available in more than 40 million American Households
NEW YORK – (January 2, 2013) – Al Jazeera Media Network today announced that it will launch a new U.S.-based news channel that will provide both domestic news and international news for American audiences.
The Network has won numerous U.S. and international awards for its journalism and with more than 70 bureaus across the globe it has one of the largest bureau footprints and newsgathering forces of any news network in the world.
Al Jazeera Media Network also announced that it has acquired Current TV in the United States and that the new U.S.-based news channel will be available on Current’s distribution network when it is launched in 2013. There will be a transition from existing programming until the new Al Jazeera channel begins to air.
The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera’s expansion will double the network's U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.
Al
Jazeera Director General Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said that the
creation of the new U.S.-based news channel and the purchase of Current
TV are historic developments in Al Jazeera's 16-year history. He said,
“For many years, we understood that we could make a positive
contribution to the news and information available in and about the
United States and what we are announcing today will help us achieve that
goal. By acquiring Current TV, Al Jazeera will significantly expand our
existing distribution footprint in the U.S., as well as increase our
newsgathering and reporting efforts in America. We look forward to
working together with our new cable and satellite partners to serve our
new audiences across the U.S. I am both exceptionally pleased and very
proud that we could take this very important step.”
Al Jazeera’s decision to create a U.S.-based news channel was based in part on the fact that Americans have already shown a great demand for its news and programs: Almost 40 percent of all online viewing of Al Jazeera English comes from the United States.
“U.S. viewers have clearly demonstrated that they like the way Al Jazeera provides compelling, in-depth news to audiences across the world,” the Director General said. “Our commitment to the voice of the voiceless, bringing stories from under-reported regions across the world and putting the human being at the center of our news agenda is at the heart of what we do. Everyone at Al Jazeera takes great pride in the independence, impartiality, professionalism and courage of our journalism. I look forward to bringing these standards to our new American audiences and working with our new colleagues at Current.”
The new U.S.-based news channel will be the latest addition to the Al Jazeera Media Network which consists of: Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Balkans, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr (Egypt Live), Al Jazeera Mobile, the English and Arabic Al Jazeera web sites Al Jazeera.net and Al Jazeera.com, and supported by the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, and the Al Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights Department. As part of the Network’s expansion it is also planning to launch Al Jazeera Turk for the Turkish-speaking region in 2013.
The Al Jazeera Media Network is one of the most-honored news organizations in the world. In 2012, it won some of the most prestigious awards in journalism including:
• Franklin D Roosevelt Foundation - Four Freedoms Award for “Freedom of Expression and Speech”
• Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award Grand Prize
• Alfred I. duPont Award
• Columbia University Journalism Award
• George Polk Award for Television Documentary
• Foreign Press Association Award for Best Environmental Story of the Year
• Amnesty International Media Award
• The George Foster Peabody Award
• Scripps Howard Award for Television/Cable In-Depth Reporting
• Royal Television Society Award – News Channel of the Year 2012
Al Jazeera has won a wide range of additional awards (http://www.aljazeera.com/pressoffice/2012/04/2012416161854868952.html) and has been nominated for several Emmy Awards including an International Digital Emmy Award nomination for its 2008 U.S. election coverage. Al Jazeera has recently won praise from a number of American leaders including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator John McCain.
To learn more about the acquisition of Current TV and how to find Al Jazeera programming on a cable provider, please visit www.aljazeera.com/america.
Join the online conversation by following @ajenglish on Twitter with the tag #AJEUS, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aljazeera or watch us on www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish.
Al Jazeera to buy Al Gore's Current TV, build new U.S.-based cable newschannel
For
years, I and other critics have argued that Al Jazeera, the newschannel
founded and funded by the government of Qatar, has earned a prominent
place in America's array of cable news outlets, thanks to their incisive
coverage of the Arab Spring revolts and war in the Middle East.But no one predicted the channel would earn its foothold through purchase of a floundering cable concern owned by a former vice president of the United States.
Al Jazeera announced today it has acquired Current TV, the liberal-focused cable channel funded and co-owned by onetime Vice President Al Gore. According to Forbes magazine, Current co-founder Joel Hyatt sent staffers a memo with the news earlier today, saying he had spent a week in Qatar observing Al Jazeera's operations. The magazine quoted a possible sale price at $400 million.
Hyatt
wrote: " it became clear to us that Al Jazeera was founded with the
same goals we had for Current: To give voice to those whose voices are
not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and
diverse points of view; and to tell the important stories that no one
else is telling. Al Jazeera, like Current, believes that facts and truth
lead to a better understanding of the world around us."Al Jazeera announced plans to scrap Current's programming -- which now includes weekday shows featuring former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm -- to create a new, U.S.-based channel.
Current
TV has struggled for visibility and focus since its founding in 2005,
beginning as a home for liberal-oriented documentaries and morphing into
a more left-leaning analysis and opinion channel than liberal channel
MSNBC. Hiring former MSNBC star Keith Olbermann to lead a restructuring of the channel and relaunch of his show Countdown didn't fare well -- Olbermann was eventually fired amid growing friction with executives, countersuing the company.Al Jazeera has experienced its own setbacks in the U.S. cable market, struggling to earn access to American households amid suspicion of its Middle East roots and Arab-centric programming. Today, Time Warner Cable dropped Current from its lineup, though Bright House Networks, which often shares programming with Time Warner, still has Current in its digital tier as I write this.
Al Jazeera expects to double its American staffing to 300 in staffing the new channel, which will be available in 40 million homes even after the Time Warner cancellation. Where this new channel will fit in the axis of right-leaning Fox News, liberal-oriented MSNBC and non-partisan CNN remains to be seen.
But anything to shake up the status quo in American cable news programming can't be all bad.
AL JAZEERA TO START NEW U.S.-BASED NEWS CHANNEL
Acquisition of Current TV Will Make Al Jazeera Channel Available in more than 40 million American Households
NEW YORK – (January 2, 2013) – Al Jazeera Media Network today announced that it will launch a new U.S.-based news channel that will provide both domestic news and international news for American audiences.
The Network has won numerous U.S. and international awards for its journalism and with more than 70 bureaus across the globe it has one of the largest bureau footprints and newsgathering forces of any news network in the world.
Al Jazeera Media Network also announced that it has acquired Current TV in the United States and that the new U.S.-based news channel will be available on Current’s distribution network when it is launched in 2013. There will be a transition from existing programming until the new Al Jazeera channel begins to air.
The new channel will be headquartered in New York City. In addition to the existing Al Jazeera news bureaus in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago, Al Jazeera will open additional bureaus in key locations across the United States. Al Jazeera’s expansion will double the network's U.S.-based staff to more than 300 employees.
Al
Jazeera Director General Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani said that the
creation of the new U.S.-based news channel and the purchase of Current
TV are historic developments in Al Jazeera's 16-year history. He said,
“For many years, we understood that we could make a positive
contribution to the news and information available in and about the
United States and what we are announcing today will help us achieve that
goal. By acquiring Current TV, Al Jazeera will significantly expand our
existing distribution footprint in the U.S., as well as increase our
newsgathering and reporting efforts in America. We look forward to
working together with our new cable and satellite partners to serve our
new audiences across the U.S. I am both exceptionally pleased and very
proud that we could take this very important step.”Al Jazeera’s decision to create a U.S.-based news channel was based in part on the fact that Americans have already shown a great demand for its news and programs: Almost 40 percent of all online viewing of Al Jazeera English comes from the United States.
“U.S. viewers have clearly demonstrated that they like the way Al Jazeera provides compelling, in-depth news to audiences across the world,” the Director General said. “Our commitment to the voice of the voiceless, bringing stories from under-reported regions across the world and putting the human being at the center of our news agenda is at the heart of what we do. Everyone at Al Jazeera takes great pride in the independence, impartiality, professionalism and courage of our journalism. I look forward to bringing these standards to our new American audiences and working with our new colleagues at Current.”
The new U.S.-based news channel will be the latest addition to the Al Jazeera Media Network which consists of: Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Balkans, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr (Egypt Live), Al Jazeera Mobile, the English and Arabic Al Jazeera web sites Al Jazeera.net and Al Jazeera.com, and supported by the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, and the Al Jazeera Public Liberties and Human Rights Department. As part of the Network’s expansion it is also planning to launch Al Jazeera Turk for the Turkish-speaking region in 2013.
The Al Jazeera Media Network is one of the most-honored news organizations in the world. In 2012, it won some of the most prestigious awards in journalism including:
• Franklin D Roosevelt Foundation - Four Freedoms Award for “Freedom of Expression and Speech”
• Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award Grand Prize
• Alfred I. duPont Award
• Columbia University Journalism Award
• George Polk Award for Television Documentary
• Foreign Press Association Award for Best Environmental Story of the Year
• Amnesty International Media Award
• The George Foster Peabody Award
• Scripps Howard Award for Television/Cable In-Depth Reporting
• Royal Television Society Award – News Channel of the Year 2012
Al Jazeera has won a wide range of additional awards (http://www.aljazeera.com/pressoffice/2012/04/2012416161854868952.html) and has been nominated for several Emmy Awards including an International Digital Emmy Award nomination for its 2008 U.S. election coverage. Al Jazeera has recently won praise from a number of American leaders including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator John McCain.
To learn more about the acquisition of Current TV and how to find Al Jazeera programming on a cable provider, please visit www.aljazeera.com/america.
Join the online conversation by following @ajenglish on Twitter with the tag #AJEUS, and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/aljazeera or watch us on www.youtube.com/aljazeeraenglish.
|
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)