What's the connection between a TV show some call child porn, and a TV network some call anti-Western? "'Skins' isn't as irresponsible as some critics have claimed. Neither is Al Jazeera English. But
only one is getting a chance to prove it," writes Alessandra Stanley on the
New York Times "Art Beat" blog. While "Skins" continues to run on MTV, Al Jazeera English is "almost totally
invisible in the United States - except on cable providers in Burlington, Vt.; Toledo, Ohio; and Washington."
U.S. interest in the channel has peaked in the wake of the Egyptian revolt; eager
for firsthand information, U.S. viewers have accounted for 1.6 million of the more than 4 million views of the Al Jazeera Web site's live video streams.
Stanley also makes a distinction
between the two entities in terms of quality: "Al Jazeera English may be providing the most up-close and personal coverage [of the Egypt revolt] round-the-clock, but it isn't necessarily the best,"
she writes. Meanwhile,"'Skins'" isn't the worst series for young people on cable, not by far. That would be "'Jersey Shore.'"
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