LONDON — Controversial Arabic newscaster Al-Jazeera is to add four channels starting with an English-lingo news service, which general manager Adnan Sharif hopes to launch around the end of the year.

There’s a fine line between folkloric simplicity and plain amateurishness. Most of the time, The Legend of Johnny Lingo is on the wrong side of that line. Set circa 1900 on the islands of the South ...