KPFT To Air Al-Jazeera News

[DToTheJ]

As part of Pacifica Broadcasting's deal with Al-Jazeera, KPFT (90.1 FM) will air an hour of news from the organization every day at 5 AM:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7326679.html

The Al-Jazeera News Hour currently airs on Pacifica's stations in Berkeley, CA and New York City.

 

[mrbeasley]

Nothing that station does surprises me. It doesn't even show up in the ratings; which tells you how much of a big deal this really is. They have a miniscule audience of fringe kooks that are so far to left that, before long, they'll be over the edge. This is just one more step in that direction. I don't know anyone who takes them seriously.

 

[stuckinthe50s]

But they always put up a good fight.... amony themselves.

;D

 

[adguy]

Is anyone concerned that Al-Jazeera might program anything that might be codes to Al Quida cells? I know I sound paranoid, but we are living in a post 911 world.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Is anyone concerned that Al-Jazeera might program anything that might be codes to Al Quida cells? I know I sound paranoid, but we are living in a post 911 world.

There are numerous ways any terrorist group could get information that are far more obscure/secure.

And this is the English service we're talking about, not the Arabic service widely seen/heard throughout the Middle East.

Ever actually listened or watched Al-Jazeera? Much more straightforward than one might think.

There hasn't been any fuss over China Radio International running on two stations in Houston, so I would be surprised if Al-Jazeera on KPFT creates any significant reaction.

 

[FilioScotia]

***There hasn't been any fuss over China Radio International running on two stations in Houston, so I would be surprised if Al-Jazeera on KPFT creates any significant reaction.***

It's true that no one has made a fuss over China Radio International running here in Houston. I'm guessing that may be because there have been no reports of radical Chinese terrorists hijacking airliners and flying them into American skyscrapers, killing thousands of innocent people. We haven't seen any Chinese suicide bombers blowing up themselves and others in public places. I've also seen no reports of Chinese religious fanatics using the teachings of Confucius and Buddha to justify their homicidal crusade to impose their culture and religious laws on the rest of the world.

The world is blessedly free of such things, but if anything like them involving Chinese people were going on anywhere in the world, there would be a helluva fuss about having the Chinese network on a Houston radio station.

Al Jazeera is the broadcast news wing of the radical Arab culture that has produced Al Qaida and the Taliban - the fanatical groups responsible for most of the Islamo-Fascism and terrorism in the world. I expect Al Jazeera's coverage of middle east news will be as free of objectivity as the station that carries it. Frankly, I predict there will be a significant negative reaction to it, and Al Jazeera will not like it. They are not known for taking criticism well. Look for CAIR - the Council on American-Islamic Relations - to be Al Jazeera's chief apologist in this new outreach effort.

 

[uncamark]

Nothing that station does surprises me. It doesn't even show up in the ratings; which tells you how much of a big deal this really is. They have a miniscule audience of fringe kooks that are so far to left that, before long, they'll be over the edge. This is just one more step in that direction. I don't know anyone who takes them seriously.

They're 0.3 this month, along with four commercial stations. That's still better than hash mark lovin' KTRU, the focus of controversy for the last several months.

 

[KTN Corp]

Is anyone concerned that Al-Jazeera might program anything that might be codes to Al Quida cells?  I know I sound paranoid, but we are living in a post 911 world. 

Not as much as Fox News giving signals to the TEA (TErrAr) Party giving out the current step in the plan to overthrow the U.S. government and replace it with a Christian theocratic state (basically a Christian version of Iran).  Wanna guess why the MSM had to put out the fear of gay screeners "gate raping" same-sex passengers?

There hasn't been any fuss over China Radio International running on two stations in Houston, so I would be surprised if Al-Jazeera on KPFT creates any significant reaction.

There should be.  It's unusual to hear this on a mediumwave station since normally this type of programming would be higher up by a few megahertz (from the MW band) on a shortwave station.  I interpret this as the China PR machine cleaning (or softening) the typical image in the American mind of the politically totalitarian, socially communist, BUT economically free-market capitalist state. More xenophobic folks would interpret this programming as a demonstration of increasing Chinese political/economic power and an effort to spread the politically totalitarian state while fulfilling Marx's prophesy of "hanging capitalism by it's own rope" (see Chinese debt ownership).

BTW did anyone listen early this morning? What is the formula of their newscast?

 

[mrbeasley]

[/quote]

They're 0.3 this month, along with four commercial stations. That's still better than hash mark lovin' KTRU, the focus of controversy for the last several months.
[/quote]

Like I said, "a miniscule audience of fringe kooks".

 

[fredcantu]

How does the action of Saudis who trained in Afghanistan have anything to do with a commercial media venture from Qatar? Al-Jazeera is an English language global TV service much like BBC or CNN Internaitonal. As a previous poster noted, despite its name, it is much more mainstream than you would think.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Al-Jazeera is an English language global TV service much like BBC or CNN Internaitonal. As a previous poster noted, despite its name, it is much more mainstream than you would think.

Al-Jazeera may be about to have a bigger profile on the international stage, at least as far as radio goes, as the BBC World Service announced today it is making major cuts to its output. Al-Jazeera might very well step into the void the BBC reductions create.

 

[Ai4i]

Al Jazeera is the only service covering the events in Egypt from an embedded perspective.
Others, including most domestic networks, are debating how a change will effect Israel and the US.
No wonder Gloria Vanderbilt's little boy got popped on the snout.

 

[KTN Corp]

Al-Jazeera is an English language global TV service much like BBC or CNN Internaitonal. As a previous poster noted, despite its name, it is much more mainstream than you would think.

Al-Jazeera may be about to have a bigger profile on the international stage, at least as far as radio goes, as the BBC World Service announced today it is making major cuts to its output. Al-Jazeera might very well step into the void the BBC reductions create.

BBC's (audience share) loss is Al-Jazeera's gain. Anybody with a shortwave radio hear anything about Egypt on the SW bands for these past few weeks?

 

[Ai4i]

Anybody with a shortwave radio hear anything about Egypt on the SW bands for these past few weeks?

Most international broadcasters are more interested in supporting a web audience than a handful of third world shortwave geeks. I was a first world shortwave geek until about the time that the major broadcasters turned their antennae away from the northern and western hemispheres and I had my first 56k modem. I said most because I have not found a Pyongyang website.

 

[FilioScotia]

***I have not found a Pyongyang website.***

I've found the next best thing. It's a website with large audio sound files containing recordings of North Korean Radio shortwave radio broadcasts.

Have fun. http://northkoreanradio.com/

 

[Ai4i]

What a charming smile that fellow has, sorry to hear about his il-ness ;D

 

[KTN Corp]

Anybody with a shortwave radio hear anything about Egypt on the SW bands for these past few weeks?

Most international broadcasters are more interested in supporting a web audience than a handful of third world shortwave geeks. I was a first world shortwave geek until about the time that the major broadcasters turned their antennae away from the northern and western hemispheres and I had my first 56k modem.

I think the antennas might be turned towards the northern and western hemispheres again after the Egyptian internet blackout revealed that fallacy. There was a bill (luckily it died of neglect) in the last Congress to have a presidential kill switch in the U.S.

 

[Ai4i]

There was a bill (luckily it died of neglect) in the last Congress to have a presidential kill switch in the U.S.

Let us get Jay Rockefeller's take on this.

 

[w9wi]

Anybody with a shortwave radio hear anything about Egypt on the SW bands for these past few weeks?

Most international broadcasters are more interested in supporting a web audience than a handful of third world shortwave geeks. I was a first world shortwave geek until about the time that the major broadcasters turned their antennae away from the northern and western hemispheres and I had my first 56k modem.

I think the antennas might be turned towards the northern and western hemispheres again after the Egyptian internet blackout revealed that fallacy. There was a bill (luckily it died of neglect) in the last Congress to have a presidential kill switch in the U.S.

From what I've read it didn't remain down long.

My guess is within a few hours after the shutdown, Mubarak's supporters in the business community came screaming about how they couldn't teleconference with their home offices/download tech support documents/Skype their suppliers in Germany/etc./etc./etc...