Review: Al Jazeera Is Radically Out of Touch With America … but in a Good Way

If there is a coded message, it's this: Engage. Care. Get in the game

Watching Al Jazeera America, I’ve been occasionally shocked by what I’ve seen.

I knew going in that the new network, which premiered this week, would probably be out of touch with my American way of life. It is backed, after all, by a billionaire sheik and oil baron who once ruled Qatar. It comes to us from the Middle East, and doesn’t hesitate to criticize my government.

Most stunning of all: It expects me to have an attention span.

The programming is a mix of straight news in the neutral tone of a traditional broadcast network — a far throw from the often-partisan tone of MSNBC or Fox News.

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