Al Jazeera America will have to prove itself: Your Say

Al Jazeera America is slated to debut Tuesday on cable lineups in 48 million homes. Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

Al Jazeera is a respected news agency known for straight journalism with no bias, reporting facts.

— Cory Weston

I will withhold my decision, waiting to see if Al Jazeera America will be like other news media and slant things toward its biased outlook.

I do not hold out hope for it to be unbiased, neutral purveyors of "here's what happened today; you make up your own mind."

— Clayton Spangenberg

Any open-minded person would want to hear from as many news sources as possible. Do you watch news only from your side?

— Mark Schlueter

I'm looking forward to the launch! Hopefully, it will live up to the expectations and give CNN, Fox and MSNBC a run for their money!

— Cindy Sears Miller

While Al Jazeera might be unbiased in the presentation of U.S. news, the evidence suggesting a strong prejudice internationally and, in particular, against Israel has been obvious.

The media conglomerate is financed by the government of oil-rich Qatar. The former emir of Qatar has supported Hamas and transferred power to his son in June. So one could expect a continuing anti-Israel bias with perhaps a degree of subtlety from the organization.

I am not surprised that a number of noted reporters are willing to work for the higher pay and the perks and security offered by Al Jazeera America. But I hope that the American public will question their reporting as being biased, particularly when it comes to events in the Middle East.

Nelson Marans; Silver Spring, Md.