Al Jazeera English

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Not to be confused with Al Jazeera America.

Al Jazeera English
Aljazeera eng.svg
Launched15 November 2006
NetworkAl Jazeera
Owned byAl Jazeera Media Network
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 480i/576i for the SDTV feed)
Audience share0.07% (UK) (January 2016 (2016-01), BARB)
SloganSetting the news agenda
Every story, every side
Hear the human story
Country Qatar
LanguageEnglish
Broadcast areaWorldwide
HeadquartersDoha, Qatar
Sister channel(s)Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera Mubasher
Al Jazeera Balkans
Al Jazeera Documentary Channel
AJ+
Websitewww.aljazeera.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview UKChannel 108 (HD)
Freeview
(New Zealand)		Channel 16
Oqaab
(Afghanistan)		Channel 45
Satellite
Tata Sky (India)Channel 533
Dish TV (India)Channel 618
Dialog TV
(Sri Lanka)		Channel 32
Dish TV Sri Lanka
(Sri Lanka)		Channel 2746
beIN
(Middle East and North Africa)		Channel 201 (HD)
Astro
(Malaysia)		Channel 513
Indovision
(Indonesia)		Channel 331
Bell TV
(Canada)		Channel 516
Foxtel
(Australia)		Channel 651
yes
(Israel)		Channel 108
Cignal Digital TV
(Philippines)		Channel 135
DigiturkChannel 144 (SD)
GlobecastChannel 463 (FTA)
MEOChannel 205
Freesat
(UK)		Channel 203
Sky
(UK & Ireland)		Channel 513 (HD)
Channel 880 (SD)
SKY ItaliaChannel 532
TPSChannel 330
TV VlaanderenChannel 54
Dish Home (Nepal)Channel 702
G Sat
(Philippines)		Channel 121
SKY TV (New Zealand)Channel 90
DStv
(South Africa)		Channel 406
CANAL+
(Myanmar)		Channel 182
Astra 2G11082 H 22000 5/6 (SD)
11612 H 2300 2/3 (HD)
Astra 1M11627 V 22000 5/6 (SD)
Astra 1KR11229 V 22000 2/3 (HD)
Cable
Virgin Media (UK)Channel 622
StarHub TV
Singapore		Channel 128
Cablecom
(Switzerland)		Channel 152
Smallworld Cable
(United Kingdom)		Channel 514
Cablevision
(Lebanon)		Channel 188
Ziggo
(Netherlands)		Channel 506
First Media
(Indonesia)		Channel 252
Full Channel
(US)		Channel 168
Destiny Cable
(Philippines)		Channel 22 (Analog)
Channel 151 (Digital)
Unitymedia
(Germany)		LCN 570
Vodafone Kabel
(Germany)		Channel 842
Numericable
(France)		Channel 64
Charter Spectrum
(New York City)		Channel 92
Rogers Cable
(Canada)		Channel 176
Royal CableChannel 65
Macau Cable TV
(Macau)		Channel 817
Shaw Exo TV
(Canada)		Channel 513
SkyCable
(Philippines)		Channel 151 (Digital)
TeledünyaChannel 71
ClearTV
(Nepal)		Channel 660 (HD), 659 (SD)
IPTV
ClixChannel 97
Club InternetChannel 59
ElionChannel 66
FreeChannel 85
Neuf TVChannel 47
now TV
(Hong Kong)		Channel 325
TPGChannel 23
Yes TV
(Israel)		Channel 108
Movistar TVChannel 136
Unifi TVChannel 602
MEOChannel 205
Bell Fibe TV
(Canada)		Channel 516
CHT MOD
(Taiwan)		Channel 561
Fetch TV
(Australia)		Channel 187
Optik TV
(Canada)		Channel 825
xs4all
(Netherlands)		Channel 40
PTCL Smart TV
(Pakistan)		Channel 105
myTV SUPER
(Hong Kong)		Channel 704
PEO TV
(Sri Lanka)		Channel 26
A1 TV (Austria)Channel 61 (SD)
Streaming media
AlJazeera.comWatch live
TVPlayerWatch live (UK only)
Virgin TV AnywhereWatch live (UK only)
YouTubeWatch live (1080p)
ZattooWatch live (Switzerland and UK only)

Al Jazeera English (AJE) is a Qatari pay television news channel owned and operated by Al Jazeera Media Network, headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East.[1] Instead of being run centrally, news management rotates between broadcasting centres in Doha and London.

History[edit]

The channel was launched on 15 November 2006 at 12:00 GMT. It had aimed to begin broadcasting in June 2006 but had to postpone its launch because its HDTV technology was not ready.[2][3] The channel was due to be called Al Jazeera International, but the name was changed nine months before the launch because "one of the Qatar-based channel's backers decided that the broadcaster already had an international scope with its original Arabic outlet".[4]

The channel had expected to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes.[5] As of 2009, Al Jazeera's English-language service can be viewed in every major European market and is available to 130 million homes in over 100 countries via cable and satellite, according to Molly Conroy, a spokeswoman for the network in Washington.[6]

The channel is noted for its poor penetration in the American market, where it was carried by only one satellite service and a small number of cable networks.[7] Al Jazeera English later began a campaign to enter the North American market, including a dedicated website.[8] It became available to some cable subscribers in New York in August 2011, having previously been available as an option for some viewers in Washington, D.C., Ohio and Los Angeles.[9] The channel primarily reaches the United States via its live online streaming. It is readily available on most major Canadian television providers including Rogers and Bell TV after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the channel for distribution in Canada on 26 November 2009.[10][11]

Al Jazeera English and Iran's state-run Press TV were the only international English-language television broadcasters with journalists reporting from inside both Gaza and Israel during the 2008–2009 Israel-Gaza conflict. Foreign press access to Gaza has been limited via either Egypt or Israel. However, Al Jazeera's reporters Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros were already inside Gaza when the conflict began and the network's coverage was often compared to CNN's initial coverage from inside Baghdad in the early days of the 1991 Gulf War.[12][13][14]

The channel may also be viewed online. It recommends online viewing at its own website[15] or at its channel on YouTube.[16] Al Jazeera English HD launched in the United Kingdom on Freeview on 26 November 2013, and began streaming in HD on YouTube in 2015.

Al Jazeera America / United States[edit]

Main article: Al Jazeera America

On 3 January 2013, Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it had purchased Current TV in the United States and would be launching an American news channel. 60% of the channel's programming would be produced in America while 40% would be from Al Jazeera English.[17][18][19][20] That was later changed at the request of the cable and satellite providers to almost 100% American programing.[21] Regardless Al Jazeera America maintained a close working relationship with Al Jazeera English. The channel aired Newshour in the morning and midday hours and cut to live Al Jazeera English coverage of large breaking international news stories outside of that. Al Jazeera English programmes Witness, Earthrise, Listening Post, Talk To Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Correspondent and 101 East along with Al Jazeera Investigates regularly aired on Al Jazeera America.

On January 13, 2016, Al Jazeera America announced that the network would be terminated on April 12, 2016, citing the "economic landscape".[22]

Al Jazeera UK / Europe[edit]

In 2014, Al Jazeera moved its UK London operations including its newsroom, studios and shows from Knightsbridge to its new space on floor 16 of The Shard.[23] The last day of broadcasting from the Knightsbridge studios was September, 12th 2014.[24] The space was officially opened on November 3, 2014, with the first Newshour broadcast on October 10, 2014.[25]

The new facility is capable of running an entire channel, independently of the Doha hub.

In 2013 Al Jazeera Media Network began planning a new channel called Al Jazeera UK. If launched, the British channel would broadcast for five hours during prime time as cut-in UK content aired on Al Jazeera English.[26] It would in effect function much like RT UK and RT America does in the United States.

Programmes[edit]

In addition to those listed below, Al Jazeera English runs various programmes that are either entirely non-recurrent or consist of just a limited number of parts (miniseries format known as special series). All programmes, including former shows are shown in their entirety on Al Jazeera's website and YouTube. Current programmes on the channel are:[27][28]

  • 101 East — the weekly documentary series for issues of particular importance in Asia. Presenters or hosts have included Teymoor Nabili and Fauziah Ibrahim
  • Al Jazeera Investigates — documentaries arising from the work of the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit.
  • Counting the Cost — the weekly look at business and finance.[29] Hosted by Kamahl Santamaria.
  • Empire — a monthly programme exploring global powers and their policies. A discussion with host Marwan Bishara and his guests[30]
  • Fault Lines — the documentary series focused on the forgotten and the unreported aspects of life in the United States. Presented by: Josh Rushing, Sebastian Walker, Wab Kinew and formerly by Zeina Awad.
  • Head To Head – A debate programme hosted by Mehdi Hasan.
  • Inside Story — the daily investigation and analysis of a topical issue, with the aid of three guests from within and outside of the country in question. Jane Dutton and Shiulie Ghosh are regular hosts, but most of the Doha-based news-presenters have also taken the chair, including: Dareen Abughaida, Stephen Cole, Adrian Finighan, David Foster, Divya Gopalan, Veronica Pedrosa, Kamahl Santamaria, Folly Bah Thibault.
  • Listening Post — analysis of how the other news organizations are covering the stories of the week, plus examination of viewer-submitted news. Hosted from London by Richard Gizbert.
  • News:
    • World news live from Al Jazeera's Doha broadcast centre
    • World news live from Al Jazeera's London broadcast centre
    • Newshour — an hour of world news and sport hosted from both of Al Jazeera's broadcast centres.
    • Newsgrid − an interactive news and live post. Launched on Nov 14, 2016 as part Of Al Jazeera English's 10 Year Anniversary Of broadcast. Also Airs On Facebook Live, aljazeera.com and the channel's YouTube Channel.
  • People & Power — a biweekly programme, originally hosted by Dr. Shereen El Feki.
  • TechKnow — weekly show showcasing bright spots and innovations in the world of science and technology in the United States and how they are changing lives. Segments are recorded in the field by a group of young, tech-savvy contributors with diverse backgrounds in science and technology.
  • The Stream — a discussion programme focused on social media, daily from Monday to Thursday. Hosted by Femi Oke and Malika Bilal, usually with one guest in the studio and a couple on Skype. An issue, itself often viewer-generated, is discussed by the team and viewers can contribute with comments on Twitter or Facebook, with some occasionally invited to join in on Skype.
  • Talk to Al Jazeera — extended studio interviews with people of influence from around the world:
  • Viewfinder – Fresh perspectives through the lens of local filmmakers from around the globe.
  • Witness — the daily documentary-slot for films by the best of the world's independent film-makers. The strand aims to shine a light on the events and people long-forgotten by the global media and on those that never merited a mention in the first place.
  • UpFront – hosted by Mehdi Hasan, discussion, debate and analysis programme from Washington, D.C.

Former programmes[edit]

These include programmes that have not had a new episode announced since 2014.

  • 48 — weekly show hosted by Teymoor Nabili; Asian politics, business and current affairs
  • Everywoman — hosted by Shiulie Ghosh
  • Inside Iraq — coverage of the Iraq War, hosted by Jasim Al-Azzawi
  • Riz Khan — daily (Mon-Thu) viewer participation show, hosted by Riz Khan. Similar to CNN's Larry King Live
    • Riz Khan One on One — Riz Khan sits down with a single guest for an extended interview
  • Africa Investigates — African journalists risk their lives in order to reveal the truth about corruption and abuse across the continent
  • Sportsworld — a daily sports programme hosted on rotation by members of Al Jazeera's sports team
  • The Café — a discussion programme, hosted by Mehdi Hasan.
  • Inside Story America — version of Inside Story focused on the United States.
  • The Fabulous Picture Show — hosted by Amanda Palmer, offers some interviews and reports on movies, actors and directors.
  • The Frost Interview (previously Frost Over The World) — this was hosted by David Frost. Frost died in 2013, and show still aired posthumously with the family's consent.[citation needed]

International bureaus[edit]

In addition to its two main broadcast centres, Al Jazeera English itself has 21 bureaus around the world that gather and produce news. It also shares resources with its Arabic-language sister channel's 42 bureaus, Al Jazeera Balkan's bureaus and Al Jazeera Turk's bureaus for a grand total of 70 bureaus[31]. This is a significant difference from the present trend:

"The mainstream American networks have cut their bureaus to the bone.... They're basically only in London now. Even CNN has pulled back. I remember in the '80s when I covered these events there would be a truckload of American journalists and crews and editors and now Al Jazeera outnumbers them all.... That's where, in the absence of alternatives, Al Jazeera English can fill a vacuum, simply because we're going in the opposite direction."

Tony Burman, Former Managing Director, AJE (quoted in Adbusters)[32]

Also Al Jazeera presenters can alternate between broadcast centres. Al Jazeera also shares English-speaking correspondents with Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera Turk and Al Jazeera Balkans and vice versa.

Doha broadcast studio in use, November 2011

Middle East and the Maghreb[edit]

Broadcast Centre: Doha: Al Jazeera English Headquarters
Anchors: Dareen Abughaida, Richelle Carey, Jane Dutton, Adrian Finighan, Martine Dennis, Darren Jordon, Laura Kyle, Raheela Mahomed, Rob Matheson, Sohail Rahman, Kamahl Santamaria, Folly Bah Thibault
Sports Desk: Andy Richardson

Weather Team: Richard Angwin, Everton Fox, Steff Gaulter

Correspondents & Reporters: Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Zeina Khodr (Lebanon), Imran Khan (Palestine) (&: presenter), Jamal Elshayyal (&: host), Clayton Swisher (AJ.IU);

Countries and Bureaus:

Sub-Saharan Africa[edit]

Correspondents:
West Africa: Nicolas Haque (Senegal); Ahmed Idris & Yvonne Ndege (Nigeria);
East Africa: Catherine (Wambua-)Soi;
Southern Africa: Haru Mutasa; Tanya Paige;

Countries and Bureaus:

The Shard, Home to Al Jazeera English's London hub

Europe[edit]

Broadcast Centre: London: The Shard
Anchors: Felicity Barr, Julie MacDonald, Maryam Nemazee, Barbara Serra, Lauren Taylor
Programme Host: Richard Gizbert

Correspondents & Reporters: Neave Barker, Natacha Butler (Paris), Paul Brennan, Rory Challands (Moscow), David Chater, Dominic Kane (Berlin), Robin Forestier-Walker (former CIS), Sonia Gallego, Emma Hayward, Laurence Lee (UK), Barnaby Phillips, John Psaropoulos (Greece), Jacky Rowland

Countries and Bureaus:

The Americas[edit]

Broadcast Centre: Washington, D.C.: 1200 New Hampshire Avenue, NW[33]
Programme Hosts: Femi Oke & Malika Bilal; Mehdi Hasan; and Josh Rushing, Sebastian Walker & Wab Kinew

Correspondents & Reporters:
North America: James Bays, Gabriel Elizondo, Alan Fisher, Kimberly Halkett, Daniel Lak, Shihab Rattansi, Rob Reynolds, Kristen Saloomey, Casey Kauffman, Jacob Ward
, South America: Lucia Newman

Countries and Bureaus

Asia-Pacific[edit]

Correspondents & Reporters: Jamela Alindogan (Philippines), Adrian Brown (China), Steve Chao, Harry Fawcett (Korea), Rob McBride (Korea & Japan), Jennifer Glasse (Afghanistan), Divya Gopalan (Hong Kong), Wayne Hay, Kamal Hyder (Pakistan), Florence Looi, Andrew Thomas (Australia), Step Vaessen (Indonesia), Shamim Chowdhury

Countries and Bureaus:

Staff[edit]

Management[edit]

Managing Director
Crystal128-tv.svg This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

On-air staff[edit]

Al Jazeera English uses a combination of full-time 'staffers' and local freelancers. So long as the journalists are appearing – or are providing credited commentaries – regularly on-air, no distinction has been made as to their contractual arrangements. However, those who have received a recent on-air profile and whose names therefore appear in bold, may well be assumed to be on the staff.

Current[edit]

On-air staff currently working for the station (previous employer in brackets) include:[34]

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
V
W
Also:
Strands:
And:
Al Jazeera Media Network correspondents also appearing on AJ.E:

Key[edit]

AJ.IU – Al Jazeera Investigative Unit

Former presenters and correspondents[edit]

Those who have retired, died, left, or resigned from Al Jazeera Media Network completely.

Al Jazeera America:

Recruitment[edit]

Al Jazeera English Newsroom

The late veteran British broadcaster David Frost joined Al Jazeera English in 2005[35] to host his show Frost Over the World.

Former BBC and CNN anchor Riz Khan, who previously had been the host of the CNN talk show Q&A, also joined. He hosts his shows Riz Khan and Riz Khan's One on One.

Former U.S. Marine Josh Rushing joined Al Jazeera in September 2005.[36] He had been the press officer for the United States Central Command during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq, and in that role had been featured in the documentary Control Room. When subsequently joining Al Jazeera, Rushing commented that "In a time when American media has become so nationalized, I'm excited about joining an organization that truly wants to be a source of global information...."[37] Rushing worked from the Washington DC broadcasting centre until the formation of Al Jazeera America, he now works from AJAM's San Francisco hub.

Former CNN and BBC news anchorwoman and award-winning journalist Veronica Pedrosa also joined the team,[38] along with CNN producer James Wright, and Kieran Baker, a former editor and producer for CNN, who had been Acting General Manager, Communications and Public Participation for ICANN. On 2 December 2005, Stephen Cole, a senior anchor on BBC World and Click Online presenter, announced he was joining Al Jazeera International.[39]

The network announced on 12 January 2006 that former Nightline correspondent Dave Marash would be the co-anchor from their Washington studio. Marash described his new position as "the most interesting job on Earth".[40] On 6 February 2006, it was announced that the former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar would host the weeknight documentary series, Witness.[41]

The managing director for Al Jazeera English was previously Tony Burman, who replaced Nigel Parsons in May 2008.[42] The current Managing Director is Al Anstey.

In mid 2014 Al Jazeera English froze employment of both permanent and freelance staff for its Qatar network and cut freelance pay rates by 30-40% without warning, while at the same time Al Jazeera lodged a $150 million claim for compensation against Egypt, arguing that by arresting and attacking Al Jazeera journalists, seizing the broadcaster's property and jamming its signal, the Egyptian government has violated its rights as a foreign investor in the country and put the $90 million it has invested in Egypt since 2001 at risk.

Al Jazeera Investigative Unit[edit]

Formed in 2010, in its own words: the role of Al Jazeera Investigations is not to report the news, but to make the news.

The Unit, also known as 'the Investigations Team' or, simply, 'Al Jazeera Investigations' is based at the Network headquarters in Doha, but also has representation in London, Washington, DC and San Francisco. The unit is an Al Jazeera Media Network asset and its reports will appear equally on the other channels, tailored appropriately for the relevant language and audience.

The Unit's investigations resulted, amongst others, in the documentary What Killed Arafat? This film won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. In 2013, the Arafat findings were indeed reported as a news-item on other networks. The documentaries are often presented under their own strand, as: Al Jazeera Investigates. It will reveal secrets and expose truths surrounded by silence.

The original Unit chief was Ahmad Ibrahim, but the current Manager of Investigative Journalism for the Al Jazeera Media Network is Clayton Swisher. Other leading figures include: Ed Pound, Karen Wightman, Trevor Aaronson, Frank Bass, Josh Bernstein, Simon Boazman, Will Jordan, Phil Rees, Ken Silverstein. At its launch, the unit had three separate teams.

Availability[edit]

The channel is available in many countries,[43] mostly via satellite, sometimes via cable. The channel is also available online.[44] Al Jazeera English provides a free HD stream on its website for unlimited viewing.[15] It is available free worldwide. They also provide a free stream on their YouTube page.[16] Previously, before Al Jazeera provided an official stream, a low quality RealVideo stream was available for viewing. Al Jazeera news segments are frequently included on the American public television program Worldfocus. Al Jazeera can also be streamed on any iOS or Android device with an internet connection using a free application.[45]

Along with a free unlimited high-quality stream on the official Al Jazeera English website, Online subscriptions allowing unlimited viewing may be purchased from Jump TV,[46] RealPlayer,[47] and VDC.[48] Al Jazeera English is also available on YouTube. Headlines from Al Jazeera English are available on Twitter.[49]

Al Jazeera English's website also contains news reports and full episodes of their programs that can be viewed for free on their website. The videos are hosted by YouTube, where viewers can also go to find the videos.[50][51]

Europe[edit]

Al Jazeera English is available in the UK and Ireland on Freeview channel 108 (HD), Sky channel 514, Freesat channel 203 and Virgin Media channel 622.

The channel initially began test streaming Al Jazeera English (then called "Al Jazeera International") in March 2006 on Hot Bird, Astra 1E, Hispasat, AsiaSat3S, Eutelsat 28A and Panamsat PAS 10. Telenors Thor, Türksat and Eutelsat 25A were added to the satellites carrying it. Eutelsat 28A carried the test stream on frequency 11.681 under the name "AJI".

Oceania[edit]

In New Zealand, Al Jareera English is available 24 hours a day on the Kordia operated free-to-air DVB-T terrestrial network since October 2013. Prior to the December 2012 analog switchoff Triangle TV re-broadcast various Al Jazeera programmes in Auckland on its free-to-air UHF channel. TV One was going to replace BBC World with this service during their off-air hours of 01:30 to 06:00 from 1 April 2013, however opted to run infomercials instead.

Asia[edit]

In April 2010, Al Jazeera English was taken off air in mio TV Singapore with unspecified reasons, according to the official Al Jazeera English website.

On 7 December 2010, Al Jazeera said its English language service has got a downlink license to broadcast in India. Satellite and cable companies would therefore be allowed to broadcast Al Jazeera in the country.[52] The channel launched on Dish TV in November 2011,[53] and is considering a Hindi-language channel.[54]

Americas[edit]

On 26 November 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved "a request to add Al Jazeera English (AJE) to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis and amends the lists of eligible satellite services accordingly".[10][11] Al Jazeera English became available on Rogers Cable, Videotron and Bell TV on 4 May 2010.[55]

Al Jazeera English's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 led to calls for the channel to be aired in the U.S.

Al Jazeera English is available via satellite across all of North America free to air via Globecast on Galaxy 19 on the Ku band in DVB format. As of 2011, only a small number of Americans were able to watch the channel on their televisions.[56] Among the markets where it was available were Bristol County, Rhode Island, Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio, Burlington, Vermont, Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC.[57] Industry giant Comcast originally planned to carry Al Jazeera English in 2007, but reversed its decision shortly before the channel's launch, citing "the already-saturated television market".[58] The two major American satellite providers, DirecTV and Dish Network, had similar plans but also changed their minds, with speculation that the decision may have been influenced by allegations by the Bush administration of "anti-American bias" in the channel.[59]

With Al Jazeera's coverage of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, the channel drew acclaim and received renewed attention. The New York Times reported on 1 February 2011 that 1.6 million U.S. viewers had tuned in via Internet stream, and stated that new discussions were underway with carriers.[60] The following month, it was announced that Al Jazeera entered carriage negotiations with Comcast and Time Warner Cable.[61] Salon.com described the channel's English-language coverage as "mandatory viewing for anyone interested in the world-changing events currently happening in Egypt",[62] while Huffington Post contributor Jeff Jarvis claimed it was "un-American" for operators to not carry the network.[63] When Al Jazeera covered the Libyan Civil War, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted an increasing American audience for the network, saying that "viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it's real news. You may not agree with it, but you feel like you're getting real news around the clock instead of a million commercials and—you know—arguments between talking heads and the kind of stuff that we do on our news which—you know—is not particularly informative to us, let alone foreigners."[64]

On 1 February 2011, Internet appliance Roku posted on its Facebook page that the English-language Al Jazeera Live would be streaming on Roku devices through a private channel called Newscaster and also through the BBC channel. It permitted the announcement following unrest in Egypt so American viewers can watch the latest events going on in the Middle East. A Roku user must add the private channel Newscaster from the Roku website.[65]

On 1 August 2011, Al Jazeera English began airing 23 hours a day in New York City as part of a sublet agreement with cable channel RISE, a former Spanish-language network, which is carried on WRNN-TV's DT2 subchannel (the other hours were used to meet FCC E/I and local programming guidelines). The network aired on Time Warner Cable on channel 92 and on Verizon FiOS on channel 481.[66]

On 2 January 2013, Al Jazeera announced that it had acquired the U.S.-based cable TV channel Current TV for a reported $500 million. With this acquisition, Al Jazeera launched a new channel, called Al Jazeera America, with a heavy dose of U.S. domestic news along with Al Jazeera English programming and news, to an estimated 40 million U.S. households—putting it in direct competition with CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel.

Due to contracts with U.S. cable and satellite carriers for Al Jazeera America the official Al Jazeera English live stream was geo-blocked in the United States on 18 August 2013. With the launch of Al Jazeera America, Al Jazeera English was excluded from all US services carrying or providing the channel, including YouTube, with Al Jazeera America material replacing all Al Jazeera English video content and live streams. Most Al Jazeera English video content was no longer officially available in the United States.

In April, 2014 the Al Jazeera English show Empire wasn't geo-blocked in the United States. Shortly after the programs Indian Hospital, Viewfinder, Lifelines and Head to Head were available also. These programs were the only AJE shows officially non-geoblocked for American viewing during the time that Al Jazeera America was in existence.

With the closure of Al Jazeera America in April, 2016 it was expected that the official live stream of Al Jazeera English and access to its programmes would eventually be restored to the United States.[67][68] The online live stream of Al Jazeera English was made available to viewers in the United States once again in September 2016.

Controversies[edit]

Al Jazeera English Journalists Egyptian Detainment[edit]

Main article: 2013–15 detention of Al Jazeera journalists by Egypt

In December 2013, three Al Jazeera English journalists, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, were arrested in their Cairo Marriott hotel rooms. They were detained on charges of delivering "false news" and "aiding a terrorist organization" by being part of Al Jazeera Media Network in Egypt following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état and the shutdown in Egypt of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr. Egypt's government, already accused of muzzling freedom of expression and opposition to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, blocked access to a host of news websites including Al Jazeera during this period.[69]

The crew has had court trials that have been adjourned over 10 times where questionable evidence including video from other news organizations claimed to be from Al Jazeera English, inaudible audio recordings, pictures from a family vacation, a music video and video of sheep had been presented as evidence.[70] The trial has been called out by free press groups and rights groups as a sham. The former Cairo Bureau chief from Al Jazeera English now works for sister channel AJ+ after the shutdown of the bureau. During the detainment of the journalists Al Jazeera along with the BBC and other major news organizations launched the Twitter and social media campaign #FreeAJStaff. The campaign included moments of silence while holding the hashtag as well as protesting at Egyptian embassies in various countries among other things. Calls from the United Nations, European Union and the United States for the journalists to be released were ignored.

On 23 June 2014, the three journalists were found guilty by an Egyptian court. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to 7 years in prison while Mohamed was sentenced to 10 years. The ruling was denounced by fellow journalists, including some at BBC, CNN, ABC Australia and most other major news outlets along with world leaders from Australia, Canada, The United States, United Nations, Switzerland and the United Kingdom primarily because they were found guilty based on no actual evidence in a case that has been deemed politically motivated and also because the ruling was seen as an attack on press freedom. The response was especially negative on the part of United States Secretary of State John Kerry who a day earlier was in Egypt and was made a promise of press freedom by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The ruling has resulted in many negative stories in print, online and on television by various news outlets around the world calling the Egyptian justice system a kangaroo court and calling the Egyptian government authoritarian.[71][72]

There were various calls for amnesty, clemancy and pardons by various governments and news agencies all of which were declined by the Egyptian government who claimed that their justice system was independent and to respect the courts decision and stay out of Egyptian affairs.[73] There are also calls for the United States to end or hold funding for the Egyptian military in response to the case. Attempts to free the journalists are still ongoing. Peter Greste was released from prison and deported back to Australia on 1 February 2015.[74]

On 29 August 2015, Fahmy, Greste and Mohamed were sentenced to 3 years in prison in a decision heavily criticized internationally.[75] The Government of Canada worked to have Fahmy pardoned and deported.[76] On 23 September 2015, Fahmy and Mohamed were pardoned by Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi along with 100 other people and released from prison.[77]

Expulsion from China[edit]

Al Jazeera English's longtime China correspondent Melissa Chan was expelled from the country in 2012.[78] The Chinese government did not provide any public reasons but was known to have been unhappy over a documentary the channel had aired on China's prison system.[79][80][81] On 8 May 2012, reporters from the Beijing press corps asked about the expulsion at the Chinese Foreign Ministry's daily press briefing. Officials did not provide an explanation, and censored most of the questions when they published their official transcript.[82] Chan later worked at Al Jazeera America.[83]

Criticism[edit]

Main article: Al Jazeera controversies and criticism

As with Al Jazeera's Arabic counterpart, the network has received criticism from having bias from several sides.

Allegations of Anti-American bias[edit]

Al Jazeera English has frequently been criticized for having an anti-American bias, although some commentators[who?] have asserted that this has been lessened over time.

Emmy award-winning journalist Dave Marash, who served as a veteran correspondent for ABC's Nightline, resigned from his position as Washington anchor for Al Jazeera English in 2008. Marash cited "reflexive adversarial editorial stance" against Americans and "anti-American bias".[84][85]

It is often unclear whether recent discussions of anti-American bias at Al Jazeera are referring also to Al Jazeera English or only to Al Jazeera's Arabic-language channel. There are significant differences in tone between the English and Arabic-language channels. (According to bilingual Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab, "The English channel uses more neutral terminology; the Arab channel is much harsher.")[86] An example of this is a 2011 claim by Bill O'Reilly that Al Jazeera is "anti-Semitic" and "anti-American" and a subsequent defense of Al Jazeera against these claims made by former Al Jazeera English anchor Dave Marash on the O'Reilly Factor.[86][87] Another example concerns statements by former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who in April 2004 denounced Al-Jazeera's Arabic-language coverage of the Iraq War as "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable", but took a more conciliatory tone in a 2011 interview for Frost Over The World, Al Jazeera English's news and public affairs program hosted by David Frost, praising the network as "an important means of communication in the world".[88] The government of which Rumsfeld was part had deliberately targeted Al Jazeera journalists in Iraq and Afghanistan, and discussed bombing its headquarters in Doha.[89]

On 12 October 2008, Al Jazeera English broadcast interviews with people attending a Sarah Palin United States presidential election rally in St. Clairsville, Ohio, with interviewees making comments about Barack Obama such as "he regards white people as trash" and "I'm afraid if he wins, the blacks will take over". The report received over two million views on YouTube.[90] Following this, The Washington Post ran an op-ed,[91] claiming the news channel was deliberately encouraging "anti-American sentiment overseas",[91] which was criticized by Al Jazeera as "a gratuitous and uninformed shot at Al Jazeera's motives", as the report was just one of "hundreds of hours of diverse coverage".[92] Criticism of an Anti-American bias has been dwindling as their coverage of the Arab Spring received wide acclaim and calls for the network to be added to U.S. television.[93]

Subsequent endeavours have been seen as tests by Al Jazeera to see whether it can get rid of the hostility Americans feel toward it. One example was a day's worth of special coverage marking the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.[94] Al Jazeera has also launched The Stream, a show based in Washington D.C. that discusses social media, which targets an American audience.[95][96] On 2 January 2013, Al Jazeera purchased the American channel Current TV and rebranded as Al Jazeera America in August 2013.[19]

Awards[edit]

Main article: List of awards awarded to Al Jazeera English

As of May 2017, Al Jazeera English has won more than 150 prizes, medals and awards.[97]

See also[edit]

Competitors

Further reading[edit]

  • Abdul-Mageed, MM, (2008) TripleC: Cognition, Communication, Co-operation, 6(2), 59–76 Online News Sites and Journalism 2.0: Reader Comments on Al Jazeera Arabic Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, 10 April 2009
  • Abdul-Mageed, MM, and Herring, SC, (2008) In: F. Sudweeks, H. Hrachovec, and C. Ess (Eds.), Proceedings of Cultural Attitudes Towards Technology and Communication 2008 (CATaC'08), Nîmes, France, 24–27 June Arabic and English News Coverage on Al Jazeera.NET Muhammad Abdul-Mageed, 10 March 2008
  • Philip Seib (ed.): Al Jazeera English. Global News in a Changing World. Palgrave Macmillan, April 2012, ISBN 9780230340206
  • Josh Rushing: Mission Al-Jazeera: Build a Bridge, Seek the Truth, Change the World. Palgrave Macmillan, 2007
  • Tine Ustad Figenschou: Al Jazeera and the Global Media Landscape: The South is Talking Back. Routledge, 2013

References[edit]

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External links[edit]

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