Somewhere, Keith Olbermann has just done the Nelson laugh and he doesn't know why.

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Sgt Otter: Grand_Moff_Joseph: Well, at least that will be the story by the time it arrives in your inbox from your crazy uncle in Hoboken.

You probably shouldn't tell him who the largest owner of NewsCorp (whose last name isn't "Murdoch") is.

I've always found that a bit amusing, actually.  The Prince must make quite a profit on his investment for him to continue subsidizing people who hate him and everyone that looks like him.

And GE owns MSBNC. It's almost like politics doesn't really matter and it's all about ratings... nah, that's just crazy talk.

*MSNBC* even.

Apos: *scans headline*

What is the anguished cry from Glen Beck and his Outraged RightTM cohorts, Alex?

/*Slinks out of thread*

Apparently Beck and his "The Blaze" network tried to make a bid for Current but got told to hit the pavement.

Pffff... this is like Australia invading New Zealand.

Besides, AJ is better than Current TV in trustworthiness.

Well hell. It can't possibly be worse than news stations have been

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Sgt Otter: Grand_Moff_Joseph: Well, at least that will be the story by the time it arrives in your inbox from your crazy uncle in Hoboken.

You probably shouldn't tell him who the largest owner of NewsCorp (whose last name isn't "Murdoch") is.

I've always found that a bit amusing, actually.  The Prince must make quite a profit on his investment for him to continue subsidizing people who hate him and everyone that looks like him.

The hate only reaches the poor people who look like him. His money effectively sheilds him from the effects of the hate he finances.

brantgoose: Of course, they said the same thing when Al Gore bought it.

Al Gore, Al Jazeera, whatever.

It looks like AJ is buying Current strictly for their slot on many cable systems. This has worked for other networks in the past but I wonder if it'll be the same here. It wouldn't surprise me to see many systems drop them because tea party folks calling to cancel their cable subscription.

vygramul: This is very interesting.  I was kind of hoping Current TV would be successful, partly because I wanted Olbermann to have a show.  But apparently, he's just too big a dick.  Nevertheless, this might improve the station.

I think Current was Olbermann's last chance. He was given the most sweetheart deal he could possibly get, he had the whole damn network built around him, and he still got himself fired within a year. He'll be lucky if any network, anywhere, ever hires him again.

Why bother?
TLC is already wreaking devastating damage to the Western intellect. Just wait a year or two and just walk in and take the place.

EngineerAU: It looks like AJ is buying Current strictly for their slot on many cable systems. This has worked for other networks in the past but I wonder if it'll be the same here. It wouldn't surprise me to see many systems drop them because tea party folks calling to cancel their cable subscription.

I don't think there is a slot for Current on my cable system. Granted, I haven't looked very hard.

EngineerAU: It looks like AJ is buying Current strictly for their slot on many cable systems. This has worked for other networks in the past but I wonder if it'll be the same here. It wouldn't surprise me to see many systems drop them because tea party folks calling to cancel their cable subscription.

They're not going to cancel. How would they get Fox?

Al Jazeera is a freaking awesome news station. They aired an interview with Marine Le Pen (the head of the French National Front) a couple of weeks ago, and the interviewer asked her questions that I'm certain made her uncomfortable to answer. Yet she answered them all the same rather than get all huffy and march off the set like Christine O'Donnell did with Piers Morgan.

EngineerAU: It looks like AJ is buying Current strictly for their slot on many cable systems. This has worked for other networks in the past but I wonder if it'll be the same here. It wouldn't surprise me to see many systems drop them because tea party folks calling to cancel their cable subscription.

The ones that do were probably doing so anyway because Current's ratings were just that bad.

I know a few names Al Jazeera will want to hang on to- Adam Yamaguchi and Cristof Putzel come to mind- but really there isn't much worth saving. Yamaguchi and Putzel's primary teammates have long since gone, getting out ahead of the Olbermann restructuring. They might as well give Current the TechTV treatment.

I mean, my God, in the wake of the Newtown shooting, Current just ran reruns of Bowling for Columbine over and over and over for a solid week, like way back when Cartoon Network ran the same Screwy Squirrel cartoon for hours on end on April Fools' Day.

Current TV was never 'our' TV station.

Seems a fair trade since RT is better than most US News/Opinion stations.

Do people even watch Current TV?

Al Jazeera English is one of the most unbiased news stations I've seen, so ...

I'm ok with this.

A7: Current TV was never 'our' TV station.

Seems a fair trade since RT is better than most US News/Opinion stations.

The Kremlin Channel mainly caters to the Wake Up Sheeple set.

Grand_Moff_Joseph: Well, at least that will be the story by the time it arrives in your inbox from your crazy uncle in Hoboken.

I love the name of that city. It sounds like a move from Street Fighter.

Next they'll be competing with PBS for the taxpayer money.

zarberg: Al Jazeera English is one of the most unbiased news stations I've seen, so ...

I'm ok with this.

But it has a scary Arab name or something.

Allah, be praised. A truly unbiased news station is coming to the unwashed infidel masses.

cc_rider: Duke Phillips' Singing Bears: brantgoose: Of course, they said the same thing when Al Gore bought it.

Al Gore, Al Jazeera, whatever.

LOL.  I hope this actually means that everyone who now gets Current will be getting Al Jazeera, because they've been blacklisted it from almost every cable market in the US, save a couple.

Oddly, I don't get cable. But I can still see Al Jazeera, because they stream their content. That's something most American news networks don't do.

So does this mean the next time a Republican president declares war on a country in the Middle East, he'll want to bomb Current TV?

EngineerAU: It looks like AJ is buying Current strictly for their slot on many cable systems. This has worked for other networks in the past but I wonder if it'll be the same here. It wouldn't surprise me to see many systems drop them because tea party folks calling to cancel their cable subscription.

Time Warner already said they're gone. In that case it has nothing to do with Tea Partiers (TW has almost entirely highly urban systems) and everything to do with the fact that they've been looking to cut low-ratings channels and the change of control gave them the opening they needed in this case.

With so many propaganda outlets like TPM in the US, I now go to Al Jazeera for most of my international news.

Don't the Saudi's still own a decent amount of NewsCorp?

Dow Jones and the Temple of Doom: When it caters to your biases, of course it seems so. Neoconservatives think Fox is one of the most unbiased stations they've seen.

This is true. But, that said, Al Jazeera is still better journalism than most of what passes for news on U.S. tv. Their bias is obvious, but it's a refreshing change.