Last year, Al Jazeera, the leading news network in the Middle East, set up shop in the United States. It’s been kind of slow, and C.E.O. Ehab Al-Shihabi addressed the issue.
According to the C.E.O. of Al Jazeera America, his company is in very good financial standing and it will take time to get it off the ground. It hasn’t been exactly a ratings hit. Sometimes, it doesn’t get even 20,000 viewers at a time. But it’s making grounds. It secured a spot with Time Warner Cable and is preparing a major market campaign. It’s hired world class reporters, like former ABC news executive Kate O’Brian.? Mr. Al-Shihabi urges patience; these are the early stages. He says, “…we’re building a great news organization. Not for next week-but for the next year and next decade and years to come.”
Personally, I hope Al Jazeera America is successful. I say this because I think there is a hunger for global and credible media. Al-Shihabi says we’re heading for a golden age of global media. I hope this global golden age is better than the mainstream age. I’m not the only one. According to one poll in Feb. 2013, only 6% trust the mainstream news media very much, while 12% have no trust in it at all. More and more people are turning to alternative and/0r global media for credible reporting. Plus, when the media tells us more about Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus than they do about major bankers mysteriously dying, maybe it’s time for a change. For that reason, if Al Jezeera America can help give us real news, then I say bring it on. But will they?