AJI To Feature Five Hours From D.C.

In Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, Gail Shister asks: “Al Jazeera is ready for America, but is America ready for Al Jazeera?”

The long feature includes a few news nuggets: “The daily schedule will incorporate 11 hours from Doha, five each from London and Washington, and three from Kuala Lumpur. Washington segments will run from 1 to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. Eastern time.” Also: “Half the Washington bureau’s 100 positions are filled, about 10 of them on-air slots.”

Each segment on AJI “will be presented with a distinct cultural point of reference,” Shister writes. Dave Marash says: “My instructions were, ‘You’re a 63-year-old American guy. Be that. That means football will still be football and soccer will still be soccer.”