Al Jazeera English

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Al Jazeera English

Launched	15 November 2006
Owned by	Al Jazeera Network
Slogan	SETTING THE NEWS AGENDA
Broadcast area	coverage maps and availability information
Headquarters	Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington D.C.
Sister channel(s)	Al Jazeera
Website	aljazeera.net/english
Availability
Terrestrial
Triangle TV Auckland & Wellington	limited scheduled transmission on FTA UHF channels at certain hours
Satellite
AsiaSat 3S Asia/ME/Australia	3760 H / 26000 / 7/8
Astra 1KR Europe	11508 V / 22000 / 5/6
Astro Malaysia	Channel 20
Badr 4 ME/Europe/N.Afr.	12034 H / 27500 / 3/4
Badr C Africa/ME	3996 V (analogue signal)
Canal Digitaal Netherlands	Channel 64
Canal Digital Scandinavia	Channel 57
CanalSat France	Channel 331
Cyfrowy Polsat Poland	Channel 95
Eurobird 1 Europe	11680 V / 27500 / 2/3
G-23 (IA 13) N/Central America	3900 V / 27684 / 3/4
G-25 (IA 5) North America	11999 H / 20000 / 2/3
Globecast United States	Channel 463 (FTA)
Hispasat 1C Europe/N Africa	12092 V / 27500 / 3/4
Hotbird 6 Europe	11034 V / 27500 / 3/4
Nilesat 101 North Africa/ME	12015 V / 27500 / 3/4
Optus B3 Australia	12452 / 22500 / 3/4
Optus C1 SE Asia/Australia	12367 V / 27800 / 3/4 PID: video=1121, audio=1122
PAS-9 Americas	3840 H / 27690 / 7/8
PAS-10 East. Hemisphere	4064 H / 19850 / 7/8
Sky Digital UK/Ireland	Channel 514
SKY Italia Italy	Channel 522
Thor 3 NE Europe	12398 H / 28000 / 7/8
TPS France	Channel 330
Turksat 2A Eurasia	12139 H / 2222 / 3/4
TV Vlaanderen Belgium	Channel 54
yes Israel	Channel 108
Cable
Buckeye Cable Toledo, OH, USA	Channel 220
Cable Sula Honduras
Cablevision Lebanon
Global Destiny Philippines	Channel 41
Kabel BW Germany
Kabel Deutschland GmbH Germany	channel may vary (FTA; digital tuner required; channel still listed as Al Jazeera International)
NOOS-UPC France	Channel 64
Qatar Cable Qatar
Tele Columbus Germany	(digital tuner required; channel still listed as Al Jazeera International)
IPTV over ADSL
Neuf TV France	Channel 47
Club Internet France	Channel 59
Clix SmarTV Portugal	Channel 97
Online Watching
Al Jazeera	[1] (free 56K stream; Real SuperPass, JumpTV & VDC subscriptions)
JumpTV	[2] (subscription)
Real	[3] (subscription)
VDC - Virtual Digital Cable	[4] (subscription; USA only and Windows only)

The Title Card for the Al Jazeera Newshour

Al Jazeera English is a 24-hour English-language news and current affairs TV channel headquartered in Doha, Qatar. It is the sister channel of Al Jazeera Arabic TV.

The station broadcasts factual programming including news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business and sport. The station claims to be the first global high-definition television network.

Al Jazeera English is the world’s first English-language news channel headquartered in the Middle East. The channel aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective to a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers, but without an Anglo-American worldview.^[1] Instead of being run under central command, news management rotates around broadcasting centres in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington, D.C. "following the sun".

Al Jazeera offers a different perspective and the channel is now one of the three biggest global English language 24 hour news channels, the other two being BBC World and CNN International.[6]

1 Philosophy
2 Launch and Reach
3 Programmes
4 International bureaux
5 Personalities and staff
- 5.1 Recruitment
6 Availability
7 Quotations
8 Trivia
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
- 11.1 Staff
- 11.2 Press coverage, commentary and reaction

[edit] Philosophy

Al Jazeera English has stated objectives of emphasizing news from the developing world, of "reversing the [North to South] flow of information" and of "setting the news agenda". The latter is the channel's main slogan. Some observers have commented that this focus can be seen, in the eyes of Western viewers, as casting Al Jazeera English as a global "alternative" news network, though the entire Al Jazeera brand has been heavily mainstreamed in many parts of the world^[2]. Other Al Jazeera English slogans and catchphrases include: "EVERY ANGLE | EVERY SIDE", "ALL THE NEWS | ALL THE TIME", "fearless journalism" and "If it's newsworthy, it gets on air, whether it's Bush or Bin Laden." Al Jazeera's Code of Ethics mirrors some of these statements.

[edit] Launch and Reach

The channel was launched on 15 November 2006. It had aimed to commence global broadcasting in June 2006 but had to postpone its launch because its HDTV technology was not ready.^[3] The channel was due to be called Al Jazeera International, but the name was changed one day prior to launch.^[4]

The channel had expected to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes.^[5] The channel is now one of the three biggest global English language 24 hour news channels, the other two being BBC World and CNN International.^[6]

[edit] Programmes

Regular/recurrent programmes on the channel are:

101 East - weekly show hosted by Teymoor Nabili; Asian politics, business and current affairs
48 - "In one city with only 48 hours, Amanda Palmer shows you the highs and lows of city living."
Everywoman - hosted by Shahnaz Pakravan; "Everywoman is the first show of its kind from the Middle East to put women’s issues at its core. Its strong stories with universal appeal ensure that this will be compelling viewing for men and women alike."
The Fabulous Picture Show (FPS) - Motion picture/entertainment show hosted by Amanda Palmer
Frost Over the World - hosted by Sir David Frost; "Frost Over the World brings together a diverse range of guests to discuss the week’s current affairs."
Inside Iraq - hosted by Jasim Al-Azzawi, "Inside Iraq is a weekly debate programme offering opinions from a diverse range of guests on Iraq."
Inside Story - "analysis, background, and context on the day's top story"
Listening Post - hosted by Richard Gizbert; Al Jazeera English revisits and reviews how other news organizations covered the news that week and presents viewer-submitted news
News:
- World news live from Al Jazeera's Kuala Lumpur broadcast centre
- World news live from Al Jazeera's Doha broadcast centre
- World news live from Al Jazeera's London broadcast centre
- World news live from Al Jazeera's Washington DC broadcast centre
- Newshour - an hour of world news hosted from three of Al Jazeera's four broadcast centres, linked together live: early edition from Doha/London/Kuala Lumpur; late edition from Doha/London/Washington DC
- News headlines are broadcast generally every half hour
News Review - Al Jazeera English reviews/recaps the news of the day
People & Power - biweekly programme hosted by Dr Shereen El Feki, Juliana Ruhfus and Sapna Bhatia; "'People & Power' is about power in the 21st century - who has it, who wants it and how it is being used - and abused."
Riz Khan - daily (Mon-Thu) viewer participation show hosted by Riz Khan
Riz Khan's One on One - Riz Khan sits down with a single guest for an extended interview
Sportsworld - a weekly sports programme hosted, on rotation, by members of Al Jazeera's Doha sports team
Witness - hosted by Rageh Omaar; a daily presentation of short documentaries

In addition to the above, Al Jazeera English runs various programmes that are either entirely non-recurrent or consist of just a limited number of parts (miniseries format).

Also cf. the channel's Programmes and Programme Schedule pages.

[edit] International bureaux

In addition to its four broadcast centres, Al Jazeera English has 21 supporting bureaux which gather and produce news. It also shares resources with the Arabic language channel's 42 bureaux and is planning to add further bureaux, to be announced as they open.^[7]

[edit] Middle East

Broadcast Centre: Doha (map)

Correspondents: Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Hashem Ahelbarra, James Bays, John Cookson, and Mike Hanna.

Bureaux: Beirut, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Gaza.

Correspondents: Nour Odeh, Zeina Khodr, Rula Amin, Jacky Rowland, and Walid Batrawi.

[edit] Africa

Bureaux: Cairo, Abidjan, Nairobi, Johannesburg, and Harare.

Correspondents: Amr El Kahky, Gabi Menezes, Haru Mutasa, Kalay Maistry, and Farai Sevenzo.

[edit] Europe

Broadcast Centre: London (map)

Correspondents: Alan Fisher

Bureaux: Athens and Moscow.

Correspondents: Barnaby Phillips and Jonah Hull

[edit] The Americas

Broadcast Centre: Washington DC (map)

Correspondents: Viviana Hurtado and Rob Reynolds

Bureaux: Buenos Aires, Caracas, and New York.

Correspondents: Lucia Newman, Mariana Sanchez, Mark Seddon, and Kristen Saloomey.

[edit] Asia and Australasia

Broadcast Centre: Kuala Lumpur (map)

Correspondents: Tony Birtley, David Hawkins

Bureaux: Beijing, Delhi, Islamabad, Jakarta, Manila, and Sydney.

Correspondents: Tony Cheng, Zain Awan, Rajesh Sundaram, Kamal Hyder, Marga Ortigas, Dan Nolan and Step Vaessen

[edit] Personalities and staff

Personalities who have joined the channel include^[8] (previous employers in brackets):

Dalal Azar (Arab News Network),
Felicity Barr (ITN),
Nick Clark (BBC, ITV, various),
Stephen Cole (BBC, CNN, Sky News),
Jane Dutton (BBC & CNN),
Dr Shereen El Feki (The Economist),
Ghida Fakhry (Asharq Al Awsat, LBC, various),
Elizabeth Filippouli (ERT),
Alan Fisher (GMTV),
David Foster (Sky News UK),
Sir David Frost (BBC, ITV),
Imran Garda (SuperSport),
Steff Gaulter (Sky News UK, Met Office),
Shiulie Ghosh (ITN),
Richard Gizbert (ABC),
Divya Gopalan (BBC, NBC, CNBC),
Kimberley Halkett (Global TV),
David Hawkins (CBS,CNN),
Hassan Ibrahim (Al Jazeera, various),

Darren Jordon (BBC),
Riz Khan (BBC & CNN),
Hamish MacDonald (Channel 4, ITV),
Julie MacDonald (ITV, BBC, GMTV),
Dave Marash (ABC),
Teymoor Nabili (BBC & CNBC Asia),
Maryam Nemazee (Russia Today),
Rageh Omaar (BBC),
Marga Ortgas {GMA (Philippines) and CNN}
Shahnaz Pakravan (BBC, ITN),
Amanda Palmer (CNN, APTV, Seven Network),
Veronica Pedrosa (ABS-CBN, BBC & CNN),
Sohail Rahman (Granada, ITV, BBC, Channel 4 & CNN),
Josh Rushing (US Marine Corps),
Kamahl Santamaria (Sky News Australia, TV3 News),
Mark Seddon (BBC, Sky News UK, Channel 4, various),
Barbara Serra (Sky News UK),
Lauren Taylor (ITN),
Sami Zeidan (CNBC Arabia & CNN)

Initial name and logo for the English-language channel

[edit] Recruitment

Veteran British broadcaster Sir David Frost joined Al Jazeera English^[9] 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.^[10] 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..."^[11] Rushing works from the Washington, DC broadcasting centre.

Former CNN and BBC news anchorwoman and award winning journalist Veronica Pedrosa also joined the team^[12], along with CNN producer James Wright, and Kieran Baker, a former editor and producer for CNN, who most recently was 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.^[13] 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."^[14] On 6 February 2006, it was announced that the former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar would host the daily weeknights documentary series, Witness.^[15]

The managing director for Al Jazeera English is Nigel Parsons.

[edit] Availability

The channel is available in many countries, mostly via satellite, sometimes via cable. The channel is also available online. A low quality RealVideo stream allows viewing of up to 15 minutes at a time. Online subscriptions allowing unlimited viewing may be purchased from Jump TV, Real and VDC. According to the Al Jazeera English Watch Now webpage, not all services are available everywhere due to licensing/distribution restrictions. The VDC service is US only and Windows only.

Al Jazeera English is available in the UK and Ireland on Sky's digital satellite platform on channel 514.

In the United States, Al Jazeera is available on Buckeye Cable (Channel 220) in Ohio. In general, the channel has had difficulty securing US distributors due to their industry and institutional prejudices against the channel, where Al Jazeera is incorrectly thought of as "the terrorist channel" or a Muslim propaganda tool.^[16] However, Galaxy 25 (Intelsat Americas 5) carries the network free-to-air over the US and Canada. Al Jazeera English is available on Galaxy 25 on the Ku band, transponder 16 (11.999 GHz) in DVB format (Globecast channel 463). In New Zealand, Triangle TV re-broadcasts various Al Jazeera programmes in Auckland and Wellington on free-to-air UHF channels.

The channel initially began test streaming Al Jazeera English (then called "Al Jazeera International") in March 2006 on Hot Bird, SES Astra Astra 1E, Hispasat, AsiaSat3S, Eurobird 1 and Panamsat PAS 10. Telenors Thor, Türksat and Eurobird 2 were added to the satellites carrying it. Eurobird 1 carried the test stream on frequency 11.681 under the name "AJI".

[edit] Quotations

These are some quotes from Al Jazeera staff that were broadcast on Al Jazeera English:

Josh Rushing: "Do the right thing, for the right reason. And that's what I see Al Jazeera doing."

Josh Rushing: "I care more about the truth, and getting the truth in my story, than I do about controlling the message, like I did before when I was a spokesperson."

Dave Marash: "We're gonna seek out the areas neglected by the Western-oriented media."

Rageh Omaar: "I think one thing you can definitely say about Al Jazeera is that it will and does evoke a reaction."

Riz Khan: "In my lifetime as a journalist, there will not be another channel launched on this scale."

Barbara Serra: "If it's newsworthy, it gets on air, whether it's Bush or Bin Laden."

Bob Geldof: "I say what I like, I'm not beholden to anyone, if you don't like it, f— [inaudible] off." ^[17]

[edit] Trivia

Al Jazeera English's Doha news studio featured on the cover of TIME magazine, November 6 2006

When Al Jazeera English was launched on November 15, 2006, its broadcast was also simulcast on Al Jazeera Arabic.^[18]

On 13 December 2006, Comedy Central's Daily Show ran a piece of comic-correspondent Samantha Bee visiting Al Jazeera English's Washington office and "rebuilding this network from the ground up."^[19] A few hours after the segment aired, complete transcripts appeared on the blogosphere^[20], and subsequent Google searches of "Al Jazeera" "Daily Show" produced over 200,000 hits.^[21]

In mid-December 2006, Al Jazeera English started running an advertisement clip announcing the then forthcoming Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, which was launched at midday on 1 January 2007.