Why do the Emmys hate America?

Outcry over the introduction of Al Jazeera English was so pronounced when the English-language cable-news network was introduced that, well, good luck finding it anywhere. Because, you know, they were going to be tin-eared when it came to the audience they were seeking and go and run "Death to America" messages 24/7, and someone watching would take it upon himself to obey, or something.

But that didn't prevent the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences from nominating it for two international news Emmys today. Al Jazeera was cited in the international news and public affairs reporting categories, for stories on the Myanmar uprising and subsequent military crackdown and radical Islamists in Pakistan's Red Mosque.

That's as many nominations as "The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" and MSNBC each received when the domestic news and documentary nods were announced last month. And that's two more than all of the Fox News Channel received (though, to be fair: Fox, perhaps sensing the writing on the wall, traditionally does not submit entries for the competition; saves on all the "For Your Consideration" ads in the trades, one supposes).