Why is it strange coming from Al Jazeera? Would you think it strange if it came from the BBC or Der Spiegel? Despite what many in the US believe, Al Jazerra isn't the mouthpiece of terrorists or Qatar's propaganda machine, they're mostly just a very good news source.
Yeah, they're actually too good. Americans (in general) don't want real news, they want to be entertained. Al Jazeera America is a fantastic product, but unfortunately not a product in sufficient demand.
When you combine that fact with the racism because of the name, its future doesn't look too bright. :(
I also find Al Jazeera pretty good. It's definitely good that we have multiple sources of information. As far as Al Jazeera'a future is concerned, I wouldn't worry that it's not so popular in US, I think its future doesn't depend on that, they are well funded by the House of Thani, see the Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jazeera
Yes, good news for sure. They're eager to show another view from inside countries. Often a troublesome view. (A view the mainstream media often neglect). It does make me wonder: Would they be allowed to show the same view of Quatar, their owner?
The links above are just anecdotal of course, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of interference from Qatar in any of their coverage. It's not the "RT" of Qatar.
I have to say that recently I have found quite a few really excellent articles in Aljazeera. Still fewer than I find in the New York Times, but more than I find from the vast majority of mainstream US news sources.
