Tomorrow’s going to be one of the most interesting media launches for some time, as Al Jazeera’s long-awaited English language service finally begins broadcasting. The TV channel, with a host of familiar faces, will be backed up by a relaunched website which promises ‘RSS feeds, live streams and downloadable clips from the channel, as well as interactive discussions and polling’.
If you’re interested, there’s a promo video available for viewing on YouTube…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVikteiQj8]
… but it was posted by someone with the ID ‘ForeignPolicyMag’, which suggests it hasn’t been put there ‘officially’.
Can it work? It’s going to be fascinating to see. I’m not sure the general audience is ready for a channel with a foreign-sounding name, let alone a radically different viewpoint… but maybe they aren’t interested in the general audience anyway. It all starts tomorrow lunchtime.