CNN Not Hot for HOT, Israel's Largest Cable Provider
November 2, 2007 1:01 AM   Subscribe

Israeli cable TV just got a little fairer and more balanced (not). Matania Ben Artzi, father of former Israeli prisoner of conscience Yonatan Ben Artzi writes this:
...Yesterday...CNN...was taken off the Israeli cable service (and replaced by Fox News...).
It's a sin and a shame that HOT, Israel's largest cable company provides viewers their only 24-hour U.S. news from Rupert Murdoch. I guess Christian Amanpour's God's Warriors, which pilloried the settler movement, must've been the last straw for HOT. It decided it needed a news service that would never challenge Israeli policy and be cheap to boot.

Matania also tells me that the Jerusalem Post, that paragon of impeccable journalism, reported on October 23rd that CNN would be replaced by Al Jazeera's English-languge news. Apparently, the cable provider had a change of heart during the ensuing week and was inveigled to switch to FOX instead. You'll notice Al Jazeera's news logo is nowhere to be found on the linked HOT web page.
posted by richards1052 (18 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Yeah, still not cutting it. This is a couple link propping up unchecked editorialization. It reads like a blog entry, and, well, it is verbatim an entry on your blog. This is not the way to make a good mefi post. -- cortex



 
It decided it needed a news service that would never challenge Israeli policy and be cheap to boot.

Do you have a supporting link or is this just your own opinion?
posted by three blind mice at 1:31 AM on November 2, 2007


The Jerusalem Post story which is linked portrays the cable service provider saying it cancelled CNN because it was seeking to cut costs. The cable company representative also compared FOX News favorably to CNN.

If you read the last sentence in the context of the entire paragraph, it is written in a style that makes clear that these are my opinions.
posted by richards1052 at 2:19 AM on November 2, 2007


Why a finite number of news services? FOX, CNN, BBC, Al Jezeera, put them all on.
posted by Meatbomb at 2:34 AM on November 2, 2007


The removal of CNN and the addition of Al-Jazeera's English version both stemmed from financial considerations,

A cable company switches its offering to save costs. Why is this remarkable?

I guess Christian Amanpour's God's Warriors, which pilloried the settler movement, must've been the last straw for HOT. It decided it needed a news service that would never challenge Israeli policy and be cheap to boot.

You guess.
posted by three blind mice at 2:41 AM on November 2, 2007


There is more dissent and debate that goes on in the Knesset than the rest of the Middle East combined.

If your opinion was correct, they would have shut down the Knesset years ago for 'challenging Israeli policy'.
posted by Dagobert at 3:08 AM on November 2, 2007


If they were considering switching to Al Jazeera, then surely this has nothing to do with ideology.

Why a finite number of news services? FOX, CNN, BBC, Al Jezeera, put them all on.
Cost.
posted by atrazine at 3:24 AM on November 2, 2007


Withut wishing to get into another mideeast thingie, I note that my cable gets nothing that is remarkably un-Fox, Keith Olberman excepted in his one hour show...Cable sucks. Meanwhile, BBC strikes me as being left-biased and not very up on news. Example: when Israel bombed Syrian nuke site, BBC wondered why Syria , the US, and Israel had nothing to say and what the raid was all about. Elsewhere, other news places suggested a nuke strike took place.
posted by Postroad at 3:50 AM on November 2, 2007


Israeli's must watch Fox News and laugh themselves silly. While they actually live with a real threat of terrorist attack they have to watch blowhards proclaiming that "OMG! AL QUAIDA SET CALIFORNIA ON FIRE!".
posted by PenDevil at 3:52 AM on November 2, 2007


On the plus side, at least there won't be any more suicide bombings from now on.
posted by demagnetized at 3:55 AM on November 2, 2007


Man, demagnetized, I know it's been done to death, but why does FOX call them homicide bombings? Most bombs kill people, so "homicide" is redundant. "suicide bomb" at least gives you more information - the bomb wasn't lobbed, or planted, but walked in strapped to someone. The modifier actually tells you something rather than sitting there taking up space.

Of course, FOX just takes up space, adding nothing but bloviation, so I guess it's typical.
posted by notsnot at 4:37 AM on November 2, 2007


GYOFB
posted by phrontist at 5:13 AM on November 2, 2007


Fairly certain it's not a sin. Not sure on the shame part.
posted by yerfatma at 5:14 AM on November 2, 2007


GYOFB, FW.
posted by Kwantsar at 5:37 AM on November 2, 2007


GYOFB
posted by signal at 5:39 AM on November 2, 2007


Are you a slow learner?
posted by Kwantsar at 5:39 AM on November 2, 2007 [1 favorite]


Kwanstar: This post is demonstrably better than the one he linked to! This one has. . . uh. . . MORE LINKS!
posted by absalom at 5:49 AM on November 2, 2007


He already has his own blog, guys. That's where he posted this.
posted by grouse at 5:51 AM on November 2, 2007


Could you please learn how to make posts here (as opposed to your own blog)? Hint: keep your fucking overbearing opinions out of them. Thanks.
posted by languagehat at 5:56 AM on November 2, 2007


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