Al-Jazeera America Launches Today

Al-Jazeera America is launching at 3 p.m. ET today (August 20th), just seven months after buying out Al Gore's former Current TV.

The U.S. affiliate of the Qatar-based news organization has hired may U.S. broadcast journalism veterans, and will focus their programming on harder news, a contrast with the more opinionated talk that's prominent on U.S. news networks.

Kate O'Brian, the former ABC News executive who's Al-Jazeera America's president, told AP, "We're breaking in with something that we think is unique and are confident, with our guts and some research, that the American people are looking for."

Although Al-Jazeera is well-established overseas, with 70 bureaus around the world, executives have stressed that Al-Jazeera America will be geared to American audiences and tastes.

However, when it launches today, the network will only be available in less than half of U.S. homes. Two of the biggest cable networks won't be carrying it: Time Warner dropped the Current channel when it was sold and Cablevision never carried it.

However, Al-Jazeera is negotiating with both of them, and well as with other carriers, to try to get into more American homes.