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Did political correctness play a role in Al Jazeera-Al Gore deal?

Jan. 4, 2013 12:22pm Meredith Jessup

Maybe.

Read this from the New York Times and see what you think:

When he co-founded the channel in 2005, Mr. Gore managed to get the channel piped into tens of millions of households — a huge number for an untested network — through a combination of personal lobbying and arm-twisting of industry giants.

He called on those skills again after deciding in December to sell Current TV to Al Jazeera for $500 million. To preserve the deal — and the estimated $100 million he would personally receive — he went to some of those same distributors, who were looking for an excuse to drop the low-rated channel, and reminded them that their contracts with Current TV called it a news channel. Were the distributors going to say that an American version of Al Jazeera didn’t qualify, possibly invoking ugly stereotypes of the Middle Eastern news giant?

“The lawyers for the carriers couldn’t find their way around it,” said a person briefed on the negotiations who described them on condition of anonymity.

See more coverage of the Current TV-Al Jazeera deal here.

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Comments (5)

65Mustang
Posted on January 6, 2013 at 6:43pm
No PC had no part in this deal…the pompous POS, Al Gore is a sleaze bag who not only has sold his soul to the devil but also his country. God forbid that he would do anything moral and decent for a change…once a lying crook, always a lying crook.

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Capdaver
Posted on January 6, 2013 at 9:45am
Just watched a pretty good hit piece on Al Jazeera that slammed Obama on whistle blowers. They mocked him at his selective leaking etc. Not sure if it can be accessed on the web, segment called the Listening Post. Really whacked his administration on the Thomas Drake case. Who would have thought i would see real journalism here.

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spirited
Posted on January 4, 2013 at 5:59pm
Tipper even showed up for photos.

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MrSunshine
Posted on January 4, 2013 at 4:42pm
You mean Al Gorezeera?

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woodyee
Posted on January 4, 2013 at 3:12pm
Looks to me like he used his political connections and status to COERCE owners into helping him create something that wasn’t there – a captive audience.

Then he uses the same type of coercion to keep a losing entity afloat in order to maximize his bottom line. Yet I also read (in another column) that Time Warner was going to drop Al-Jazeera anyway, and a few other giants are considering doing the same.

Sounds to me like Algore should be investigated for strong-arming and intimidation.

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