About nine months ago, this publication promised you the launch of an Al-Jazeera news channel in English. Well, it just happened. It was only about six months behind schedule and, if you live in America, limited to a free fifteen minute preview via Al-Jazeera's website (or full coverage on the GlobeCast satellite network, which counts among its American subscribers about half a dozen people in South Dakota). On top of that, it won't begin its 24-hour cycle until January. For now, it's 12 hours-a-day only.

The initial broadcast included teasers for segments on Darfur ("scene of the world's worst humanitarian crisis"), the Gaza Strip ("brought to the brink of chaos and despair by sanctions, siege and shelling") and Tehran (where Iran's president "could hold the key to Mideast peace"). What it didn't feature was a single story about Tom and Katie. Or Dancing with the Stars.

The first actual story, though? About what a revolution Al Jazeera English is going to be. Naturally.

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Logistical challenges and a little self-appreciation aside for just a minute, AJE's launch was polished and professional. That's not surprising, given the decade of experience its parent channel has in delivering the news and the talent pool AJE has recruited from around the world. The initial segments were sober and unsensational, evenly delivered, and quite full of information.

In fact, the even-handedness of these segments put Western news outlets to shame in an important way: the segments from Darfur and Gaza marked the first time I've ever seen either place on television in anything but a state of total chaos (or, at the very least, in a state of rock-throwing). The segments began with a reporter standing on a street corner and people walking behind, going about their daily business. The beginning of each segment was reminiscent of a local news broadcast in the US reporting on a local community event.

Now, of course the segments did progress toward scenes of violence and disruption; I don't mean to suggest that AJE portrayed these places as peaceful nor that they should have. What I am saying, though, is that AJE did a superb job of showing that actual people live in these places. And that's more than one can say for any Western news show.

AJE news director Steve Clark has been widely quoted as saying, "We aim to reverse the North-South flow of information." What does he mean by that? Well, on day one of broadcasting, his channel showed a graphic that read as follows, "Great Britain: 400 atomic weapons, Israel: 150, North Korea: 1? Iran: 0? USA: 10,250." AJE understands that communication is a two way street -- it's not about what you say, but about what people understand you to be saying. And, as their graphics indicate, the network aims to provide a vehicle for those in the Western world to understand what much of the rest of the world understands us to be saying. They aim to provide a voice in a way that, to date, the world media has not.

What's more is that the channel provides the opportunity to increase information flow in both directions: AJE, through its interview programs and features, allows Americans to reach an audience they couldn't using strictly Western media. Words from the mouth of an American official will carry more legitimacy in the eyes of much of the world when they are delivered through Al Jazeera than those same words would were they delivered through CNN.

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Which brings us back to those logistical challenges. The bottom line is that pretty much no one in America saw the launch of this channel (though one particular watchdog group, Accuracy in Media, was keenly aware of its launch and has started a hysterical crusade against the channel). And if no one's listening, then nothing's being communicated.

Does that matter? Is this channel really about us here in the Western world? On the one hand, one could argue that it's not: Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, and they don't speak Arabic there; they speak English. Same with Pakistan, India and Malaysia. To a certain extent, AJE is more about Asian Muslims than it is about European or American Christians. The government of Qatar has made a decision to invest its current oil revenues in the country's economic future, and like many investors these days, it is betting on Asia.

But on the other hand, this has to be about the West. Can any commercial venture today not be? Further, the mission of AJE is to increase the flow of information across hemispheres. Its success in that respect is dependent on penetration of Western markets.

And so the question becomes, how does AJE get from here (no one watching it) to there (people watching it)? What makes a news outlet successful in the US? And can those same factors for success apply to Al-Jazeera? Success in America is about attracting advertisers. The way many news organizations attract advertisers is by playing to the prejudices and norms of certain groups of people. Just look at the commercial success of the O'Reilly Factor. And the Daily Show. These shows are popular with advertisers because they are popular with a defined demographic of viewers. And they are popular with these viewers because they resonate with their values and reinforce their beliefs.

What's refreshing is that AJE cannot follow this path to commercial success in America. Because of its roots, the network must do all it can to avoid accusations of the type of partisanship that has made Fox and other channels popular. In order to establish legitimacy in the eyes of advertisers, it must establish a reputation for presenting the news without bias and with integrity. And then it must rely on American viewers to recognize and value that service.

Here's to hoping.

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