This was discussed in a Salon article a few days ago: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/28/dahl_al_jazeera/index.html http://www.salon.com/ne

This was discussed in a Salon article a few days ago: http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/28/dahl_al_jazeera/index.html http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/01/28/dahl_... The section "Turning On" describes the process that led Buckeye Cable System in Ohio to start carrying Al Jazeera. I think it directly addresses your question. This hit the front page a few days ago: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2156195 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2156195