WTTW Adds Al Jazeera News Programming
By Chuck Sudo in News on Oct 20, 2011 9:20PM
Window to the World Communications announced they'll be adding Al Jazeera English News to its programming, effective Oct. 31. Al Jazeera News will run 6:30 - 7 a.m. and 11 - 11:30 p.m. Monday through Friday on WTTW Prime 11.2, with a one-hour block of news from 5:30 - 6;30 p.m. Saturday on WTTW 11.1.
WTTW president and CEO Dan Schmidt said he's "excited" about the addition in a statement.
Since February, cable and satellite providers have received more than 70,000 emails from Americans asking for access to the channel. Although many viewers watch live streams of AJE coverage online, this will be AJE’s first foray into mainstream public television in Chicago.
As many of Robert Feder's readers have noted, Al Jazeera English is already on WYCC 20.3. But WTTW's reach and prominence on cable systems will allow the network's programming to reach "more than 65% of Illinois’ population, as well as sections of Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan."
Even though Al Jazeera is available for viewing online and on smartphone platforms, the Qatar-based network has struggled to find a home on American cable providers, who have cited limited channel space.
(Although we wouldn't be surprised to see a backlash from subscribers if Al Jazeera was added to a service package. Feder alludes to this briefly in his lede, asking if Chicago television viewers are will be ready for the network.)
Instead, Al Jazeera has worked to buy airtime on public television channels like WTTW and cable networks across the country. Los Angeles' KCET airs Al Jazeera programming and streams the network online. Al Jazeera also leases 23 hours of airtime per day on New York cable channel RISE.
Al Jazeera is funded by the Qatari Ministry of Finance and over the years we've found the network to be a bastion of solid news and fair reporting sorely lacking on American news networks. We all know that Fox News isn't as "fair and balanced" as its motto states, But MSNBC's shift to the left is an opposite and equally wrong reaction.