Al-Jazeera rolls into US

Al Jazeera has rolled into the US. The Qatar based channel has made its debut in New York City. The channel is expected to reach an estimated two million homes in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester County and New Jersey to begin with. It can also be viewed across Latin America and Canada. Al Jazeera English, owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation, will be simulcast 23 hours a day on WRNN's RISE channel, available in the New York through Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS. "We will get on in the U.S.," Al Anstey, the managing director of Al Jazeera English, told local media. As part of the Al Jazeera Network, Al Jazeera English currently reaches 220 million households in more than 100 countries. The channel won plaudits following the September 11, 2001 attacks, when it became the only channel to cover the war in Afghanistan from that country. Al Jazeera also won praise for its in-depth coverage of the recent Arab Spring.