Comments on: Dave Marash leaves Al-Jazeera English

By: Skeeter Sanders

Skeeter Sanders — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:18:05 +0000

I can cite another factor in Dave Marash’s decision to leave Aljazeera English: The almost-total blackout of the network in the United States.

Except for two local cable systems — one in Burlington, Vermont and the other in Berkeley, Claifornia — the only way Americans can watch Aljazeera English is via the Internet.

Under pressure from conservatives aligned with the Bush administration — and from the pro-Israel lobby — most U.S. satellite and cable systems refuse to carry Aljazeera English.

It remains to be seen whether there will be a change of attitude toward Aljazeera English in the incoming Obama administration. But one thing is certain: the pro-Israel lobby is determined to keep Aljazeera English off American television screens.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:14:55 +0000

In itself it is interesting to note that one hears more about Dave Marash who’s leaving Al Jazeera (for writing and teaching pursuits) than about CNN’s anchor Shihab Rattansi replacing him as the face for Aljazeera’s news programmes from Washington. Some reports accord more attention to who is leaving the news channel that was launched in November 2006.

Referring to some recent departures, a spokeswoman for Aljazeera has pointed out: “The channel is still opening new offices across the world and still recruiting new staff.” The M.D. Nigel Parsons, she said, believes it was “unrealistic to think that some people would not leave at the end of their two-year contracts”.

Why do we as a nation, as a viewing audience, permit it: television news that institutionalizes willful ignorance of the world?” asks Dave Marash who has worked in television journalism for 49 years.

In his latest article he declares: “It is time to readjust to reality. If it’s been political pressure that has kept Al Jazeera/English off America’s cable and satellite servers, it’s time to reject such literal “know-nothing-ism. Explaining which channel will he tune to after he steps down as Aljazeera’s Washington anchor to teach and write Marash says: “ I still will watch regularly for its excellent coverage of Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Without it, I’d be blind to half the planet. Why would anyone want that?”

By: Mutant Palm » Blog Archive » Tuning Out: Anti-CNN and Al Jazeera

Mutant Palm » Blog Archive » Tuning Out: Anti-CNN and Al Jazeera — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 11:35:42 +0000

[...] like MainSail, or Larry King Live for that matter. With the recent news of Dave Marash’s departure from Al Jazeera English, I can’t help but notice that AJE is still not available from any US [...]

By: Robbie Honerkamp

Robbie Honerkamp — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:49:05 +0000

While I understand that this hurts AJE’s coverage of the US for those outside of the States, I enjoy that AJE _doesn’t_ cover the US frequently. They do a great job covering stories that don’t get much (or any) play in the US.

I see the automatic “possibly related” posts are one where you wanted to get AJE in the US. It’s a free channel on Galaxy 25- you just need a relatively inexpensive Ku-band dish and receiver. Also on G25 are some other interesting channels, including Russia Today (the English language Russian news/propaganda channel), NTA (Nigerian television), KSA2 (Saudi Arabia’s English language channel), Press TV (Iran’s English language news/propaganda channel), an English channel from Myanmar, and a slew of foreign language channels. If you get a motorized Ku or C-band dish, there are even more interesting things out there on other satellites.

And while I’m at it, if you’re still feeling deprived of international news, you can do what I did and get a Bell ExpressVU system from CanAm Satellites. It’s the Canadian version of Dish Network, but gives you BBC World, which isn’t available anywhere in the US.