Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English
Aljazeera eng.svg
Launched 15 November 2006
Owned by Al Jazeera
Slogan Setting The News Agenda
Broadcast area coverage maps and availability information
Headquarters Broadcast Centers: Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington D.C.
Sister channel(s) Al Jazeera
Website Al Jazeera English
Availability
Terrestrial
Triangle TV
Auckland & Wellington
limited scheduled transmission on FTA UHF channels at certain hours
MHz Networks
Washington
Channel 30.5
Freeview
United Kingdom
Channel 89
Satellite
AsiaSat 3S
Asia/ME/Australia
3760 H / 26000 / 7/8
Astra 1KR
Europe
11508 V / 22000 / 5/6
Eurobird 1
Europe
11680 V / 27500 / 2/3
G-23 (IA 13)
N/Central America
3900 V / 27684 / 3/4
Galaxy 19
North America
12152 H / 20000 / 3/4
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 C1
SE Asia/Australia
12367 V / 27800 / 3/4
PID: video=1121, audio=1122
Intelsat 9
Americas
3840 H / 27690 / 7/8
Intelsat 10
East. Hemisphere
4064 H / 19850 / 7/8
Thor 3
NE Europe
12398 H / 28000 / 7/8
Astro
Malaysia
Channel 513
Indovision
Indonesia
Channel 55
CanalDigitaal Channel 64
Canal Digital Channel 57
CanalSat Channel 331
Cyfrowy Polsat Channel 95
Dialog TV Channel 3
Digital+ Channel 79
Digiturk Channel 125
DStv Channel 406
Globecast Channel 463 (FTA)
MEO Channel 205
Sky Channel 514
SKY Italia Channel 522
TPS Channel 330
Turksat 2A
Eurasia
12139 H / 2222 / 3/4
TV Vlaanderen Channel 54
Cable
Buckeye CableSystem Channel 220
Cable Sula
Cable TV
Hong Kong
Channel 34
Cablevision
Elisa (digital tuner required)
Global Destiny Cable
Philippines
Channel 24
Kabel BW
KDG
Germany
Channel 842
NOOS-UPC Channel 64
Qatar Cable
Tele Columbus (digital tuner required; channel still listed as Al Jazeera International)
UCS Channel 49
Welho (digital tuner required; subscription)
Ziggo (Netherlands) Channel 511
Cable Star Iloilo
Philippines
Channel 55
Cablecom
Switzerland)
Channel 152 (digital CH-D)
SkyCable
Philippines
Channel 152
Royal Cable Channel 65
First Media
Indonesia
Channel 252
Parasat Cable TV
Philippines
Channel 98
IPTV
Clix SmarTV Channel 97
Club Internet Channel 59
Elion Channel 66
Free Channel 85
HKBN bbTV Channel 735
Neuf TV Channel 47
now TV
Hong Kong
Channel 325
TPG
Yes TV
Imagenio Channel 136
Hypp.TV Channel 2001
MEO Channel 205
Bell Fibe TV (Canada) Channel 516
Internet television
Al Jazeera Watch (Free, 56 Kbit/s)
JumpTV Watch (subscription)
Livestation Watch (Free, 502 Kbit/s)
Real Watch (subscription)
Vingo.tv Alpha Watch registration required
YouTube Watch (video segments posted on YouTube by Al Jazeera)
Yalp.alice.it Watch Italy only
Zattoo Watch (where available)

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

The station broadcasts news features and analysis, documentaries, live debates, current affairs, business, technology, and sports. The station claims to be the first global high-definition television network.[1]

Al Jazeera English is the world's first English-language news channel headquartered in the Middle East.[2] The channel aims to provide both a regional voice and a global perspective to a potential world audience of over one billion English speakers who don't have an Anglo-American worldview.[3] Instead of being run under central command, news management rotates around broadcasting centers in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington, DC. Al Jazeera English is one of the few foreign media outlets to have agencies in Gaza and Harare.

The network's stated objective is "to give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions."[4]

Contents

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" (also the channel's slogan). Some observers, including media scholar Adel Iskandar, 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.[5] Other Al Jazeera English slogans and catchphrases include: "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.[6] The English brand identity and its "EVERY ANGLE | EVERY SIDE" promotional positioning was led by Director of Creative, Morgan Almeida, "to extend the Arabic heritage in a language familiar to diverse global audiences".

Launch and reach

The channel was launched on 15 November 2006. It had aimed to begin global broadcasting in June 2006 but had to postpone its launch because its HDTV technology was not ready.[7][8] 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."[9]

The channel had expected to reach around 40 million households, but it far exceeded that launch target, reaching 80 million homes.[10] 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.[11]

However the channel is noted for its poor penetration in the North American market, where it is carried by almost no cable networks except local networks in Toledo, Ohio, and Burlington, Vermont.[12] On 26 November 2009, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved a request to add Al Jazeera English to the lists of satellite services eligible for digital distribution.[13][14] Al Jazeera English has begun a campaign to enter the North American market, including a dedicated website.[15]

In 2008 Al Jazeera English won the Golden Nymph award for Best 24-Hour News Program at the Monte Carlo Television Festival. The jurors singled out Nour Odeh, Al Jazeera's Gaza correspondent, for her bravery in reporting from the Gaza Strip. Al Jazeera English also received nominations in several other news categories, for example the Best News Documentary award for the report Inside Myanmar – The Crackdown.[16]

Al Jazeera English and 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.[17][18][19]

The channel may also be viewed online. It recommends online viewing either via Livestation, a free software (live, high quality), at its own website[20] (live, low quality), or at its channel on YouTube.[21] Although Al Jazeera English is produced in High Definition (HD), the output is converted to 14:9 SD similar to BBC World. Programs are shown on the Al Jazeera English YouTube channel in their original 16:9 format.

Programmes

Regular/recurrent programmes on the channel are:

  • 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: 09:00GMT edition from Doha/Kuala Lumpur; 15:00GMT edition from Doha/London; 18:00GMT edition from Doha/London/Washington DC
    • News headlines are broadcast generally every half hour

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.

International bureau

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.[22] After it began broadcasting in Canada in May 2010, the network announced plans to open, in June 2010, a Canadian bureau office in Toronto.[23][24] 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, Managing Director, AJE (qtd. in Adbusters[25])

Also Al Jazeera presenters can alternate between broadcast centres.

Middle East

Broadcast Centre: Doha (map)
Anchors: Nick Clark, Jane Dutton, David Foster, Imran Garda, Shiulie Ghosh, Darren Jordon, Sohail Rahman, Kamahl Santamaria,
Correspondents: Hoda Abdel-Hamid, Hashem Ahelbarra, James Bays, John Cookson, Clayton Swisher, Sherine Tadros, Nadim Baba, Imran Kahn, and Mike Hanna, former CNN Jerusalem bureau chief.

Bureaux & Correspondents
Beirut: Rula Amin, Zeina Khodr
Jerusalem: Jacky Rowland
Gaza: Ayman Mohyeldin and Sherine Tadros
Ramallah: Nour Odeh
Tehran: Alireza Ronaghi

Africa

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

Correspondents: Amr El Kahky, Haru Mutasa, Mohammed Adow, Mohamad Vall, Yvonne Ndege

Europe

Broadcast Centre: London (map)
Anchors: Felicity Barr, Julie MacDonald Stephen Cole, and Barbara Serra
Correspondents: Alan Fisher, Richard Bestic, Tim Friend, Nazanine Moshiri

Bureaux & Correspondents:
Athens: Barnaby Phillips
Moscow. Neave Barker

The Americas

Broadcast Centre: Washington D.C. (map)
Anchors: Ghida Fakhry, Anand Naidoo, Shihab Rattansi, Daljit Dhaliwal and Kimberly Halkett
Correspondents: Rosiland Jordan, Nick Spicer, Kimberly Halkett and Rob Reynolds

Bureaux & Correspondents:
Bogota: Monica Villamizar
Buenos Aires: Lucia Newman, Teresa Bo
Caracas: Mariana Sanchez and Lucrecia Franco
New York: Kristen Saloomey, John Terret
Mexico City: Franc Contreras
Sao Paulo: Gabriel Elizondo
Toronto: Imtiaz Tyab

Asia and Australasia

Broadcast Centre: Kuala Lumpur (map)
Anchors: Teymoor Nabili, Divya Gopalan, Laura Kyle, and Veronica Pedrosa
Correspondents: Tony Birtley, Casey Kauffman, and Selina Downes

Bureaux & Correspondents
Beijing: Tony Cheng and Melissa Chan
Islamabad: Kamal Hyder
Jakarta: Step Vaessen
Delhi: Matt Mcclure
Manila: Marga Ortigas

Staff

Presenters and correspondents who have joined the channel include[26] (previous employers in brackets):

  • Felicity Barr (ITN),
  • Nick Clark (BBC World, ITV, various),
  • Stephen Cole (BBC World, CNN International, Sky News),
  • Brendan Connor (CBC)
  • Jane Dutton (BBC World & CNN International),
  • Ghida Fakhry (Asharq Al-Awsat, LBC, various),
  • Dr. Shereen El Feki (The Economist),
  • Elizabeth Filippouli (ERT),
  • Alan Fisher (GMTV),
  • David Foster (Sky News),
  • Everton Fox (BBC World)
  • Sir David Frost (BBC World, ITV),
  • Steve Gaisford (Sky News, ITV, Five),
  • Imran Garda (Supersport),
  • Joanna Gasiorowska (ITN, Sky Sports),
  • Steff Gaulter (Sky News, Met Office),
  • Shiulie Ghosh (ITN),
  • Richard Gizbert (ABC),
  • Divya Gopalan (BBC World, NBC, CNBC),
  • Kimberley Halkett (Global TV - Canada),
  • David Hawkins (CBS, CNN),
  • Hassan Ibrahim (Al Jazeera, various),
  • Darren Jordon (BBC World),
  • Riz Khan (BBC World & CNN International),
  • Avi Lewis (CBC),
  • Hamish MacDonald (Channel 4, ITV),
  • Julie MacDonald (ITV, BBC World, GMTV),
  • Teymoor Nabili (BBC World & CNBC),
  • Rageh Omaar (BBC World),
  • Marga Ortigas (GMA News and Public Affairs and CN)
  • Shahnaz Pakravan (BBC World, ITN),
  • Amanda Palmer (CNN, APTV, Seven Network),
  • Verónica Pedrosa (ABS-CBN, BBC World & CNN International),
  • Sohail Rahman (Granada TV, ITV, BBC World, Channel 4 & CNN),
  • Shihab Rattansi (Channel NewsAsia & CNN International)
  • Andy Richardson (Sky News & ITN)
  • Josh Rushing (US Marine Corps),
  • Kamahl Santamaria (Sky News Australia, TV3 News),
  • Mark Seddon (BBC World, Sky News, Channel 4, various),
  • Barbara Serra (Sky News),
  • Nick Spicer (NPR, USA, CBC),
  • Prerna Suri, New Delhi, India, (CNN-IBN, India)
  • Lauren Taylor (ITN),
  • Sami Zeidan (CNBC Arabiya & CNN)
  • Marwan Bishara (American University of Paris),

Former presenters and correspondents

Presenters and correspondents who have left Al-Jazeera English include:

Recruitment

Veteran British broadcaster Sir David Frost joined Al Jazeera English[27] 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.[28] 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...."[29] Rushing works from the Washington, DC broadcasting centre.

Former CNN and BBC news anchorwoman and award winning journalist Veronica Pedrosa also joined the team,[30] 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.[31]

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."[32] On 6 February 2006, it was announced that the former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar would host the daily weeknights documentary series, Witness.[33]

The managing director for Al Jazeera English is Tony Burman, who replaced Nigel Parsons in May 2008.[34]

Availability

The channel is available in many countries, mostly via satellite, sometimes via cable. The channel is also available online. It can be streamed live worldwide for free through Livestation. A low quality RealVideo stream allows viewing. Al Jazeera news segments are frequently included on the American public television program Worldfocus.

Online subscriptions allowing unlimited viewing may be purchased from Al Jazeera on Jump TV, Real, VDC. Headlines from Al-Jazeera English are available on twitter. According to the Al Jazeera English Watch Now webpage, not all services are available everywhere due to licensing/distribution restrictions.

The New York Times on 16 April 2007 reported that Al Jazeera English would begin running segments from its shows on the Internet video-sharing site YouTube.[35] Al Jazeera YouTube site.

Al Jazeera English is available in the UK and Ireland on Sky's digital satellite platform on channel 514, and on Freesat, channel 203.

In the United States, Al Jazeera is available on Buckeye Cable (Channel 220) in Toledo, Ohio and Sandusky, Ohio. It is also available in Burlington, Vermont, Houston, Texas, and Washington, DC.[36] The channel is not widely available on cable and was dropped by Comcast, a cable company with a subscriber base of over 12 million people, a month prior to the channel's launch due to "the already-saturated television market there" and a perception in some circles that the channel gives airtime to terrorists.[37][38] However, Al Jazeera English is available via satellite across all of North America free to air on Galaxy 19 on the Ku band in DVB format. The two major American satellite providers DirecTV and Dish Network were planning on carrying the network, but due to a backlash from subscribers due to its allegations of "anti-American bias" in the channel, they scrapped the plan.[39]

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."[13][14] Al Jazeera English became available on Rogers Cable, Videotron and Bell TV on May 4, 2010.[23] However critical reception on AJE among Canadian cable subscribers were mixed.[23]

In New Zealand, Triangle TV re-broadcasts various Al Jazeera programmes in Auckland on free-to-air UHF channels as does Stratos free-to-air via Freeview satellite.

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.

The channel initially began test streaming Al Jazeera English (then called "Al Jazeera International") in March 2006 on Hot Bird, 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".

Quotations

Bob Geldof: "I say what I like, I'm not beholden to anyone, if you don't like it, f— [inaudible] off."[40]

Tony Burman: "Gaza will probably be for Al Jazeera what the Gulf War was for CNN. People forget, CNN was created in 1980. What did they call it, the Chicken Noodle Network? It was ridiculed really until 1991 when the Gulf War happened. It all of a sudden became an important part of American media culture. Our coverage of Gaza [which was released for rebroadcast by other networks for free][41] is a reminder to a lot of people that there are a lot of important aspects to a lot of stories, not just the Middle East, that are being denied them."[42]

Gallery

Competitors

  • BBC World News
  • MVC - MUNDOVISION (English News Channel)
  • Polsat News
  • Russia Today
  • Channel NewsAsia
  • CCTV-9
  • Sky News
  • France 24
  • CNBC
  • Press TV
  • Bloomberg Television
  • Deutsche Welle
  • EuroNews
  • Nile TV
  • ABS-CBN News Channel
  • Australia Network
  • Metro TV

Further reading

Tatham Steve (2006), Losing Arab Hearts & Minds: The Coalition, Al-Jazeera & Muslim Public Opinion. Hurst & Co (UK), Front Street Press (US).

See also

References

  1. Fact and Figures, iwantaje.com
  2. "Al-Jazeera says its English-language news channel will launch November 15", The Post-Star, Glens Falls, NY, 1 November 2006.
  3. Linda Tischler, "Al Jazeera's (Global) Mission", Fast Company, April 2006.
  4. Al Jazeera English - Corporate Profile.
  5. Adel Iskandar, "Is Al Jazeera Alternative? Mainstreaming Alterity and Assimilating Discourses of Dissent", Transnational Broadcasting Studies Journal, 2005.
  6. Al Jazeera Code of Ethics.
  7. "Al Jazeera International targets June launch", The Star, Kuala Lumpur, 12 April 2006.
  8. "The Challenges of Working at Al-Jazeera", National Public Radio, Talk of the Nation, 26 June 2006.
  9. Leigh Holmwood, "Al-Jazeera renames English-language channel", The Guardian, London, 14 November 2006.
  10. "Al-Jazeera English hits airwaves", BBC News Online, 15 November 2006.
  11. Noam Cohen, "Al Jazeera provides an inside look at Gaza conflict", New York Times, 1 January 2009.
  12. "Al-Jazeera English Struggles For U.S. Audience", National Public Radio, 24 February 2009.
  13. 13.0 13.1 "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2009-725: Addition of Al Jazeera English to the lists of eligible satellite services for distribution on a digital basis". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. 26 November 2009. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2009/2009-725.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 DeMara, Bruce (26 November 2009). "Al Jazeera in Canada on brink of approval". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/731009--al-jazeera-in-canada-on-brink-of-approval. Retrieved 23 April 2010. 
  15. IwantAJE.com "I want AJE", Al Jazeera English.
  16. "Al Jazeera English wins gong at TV festival", media247.co.uk, 13 June 2008.
  17. "Al-Jazeera becomes the face of the frontline", Financial Times, London, 13 January 2009.
  18. "Israel pushes further into Gaza", aljazeera.net, 14 January 2009.
  19. Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, "Al Jazeera English Beats Israel's Ban on Reporters in Gaza with Exclusive Coverage", Huffington Post, 5 January 2009.
  20. Al Jazeera English - Live Streams.
  21. Al Jazeera English YouTube channel.
  22. Al Jazeera International reveals global line-up of bureaux, published 10 October 2006
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 DeMara, Bruce (4 May 2010). "Al Jazeera English on the air in Canada". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/804466--al-jazeera-english-on-the-air-in-canada. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  24. Guill, Greg (23 May 2010). "Al Jazeera — the world through a new lens". Toronto Star. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/813121--quill-al-jazeera-the-world-through-a-new-lens. Retrieved 23 May 2010. 
  25. Broadcaster of the Year, published 7 January 2010
  26. News anchors: Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London, Washington
    News presenters - Doha
    Doha-based news presenters; press release with additional information
    News presenters - Kuala Lumpur
    News presenters - London
    News presenters - Washington
    Programme presenters
    Other news and programme presenters
  27. David Frost joins al-Jazeera TV, BBC News, published 7 October 2005
  28. Mission of Former Marine: Arab TV, by Nick Madigan and Annie Linskey, MediaChannel.org, via Wayback Machine
  29. Josh Rushing, former U.S. marine, joins Al Jazeera International, AMEInfo, published 22 September 2005
  30. "Veronica Pedrosa joins Al Jazeera". 20 November 2005. http://www.ameinfo.com/72194.html. Retrieved 2006-06-03. 
  31. BBC's 'Peter Pan' joins al-Jazeera, Guardian Unlimited, by Chris Tryhorn, published 2 December 2005
  32. Los Angeles Times
  33. Farewell to the front line (for now), The Times, by Damian Whitworth, published 7 February 2006
  34. Burman named al-Jazeera English MD, Guardian Unlimited, by Chris Tryhorn, published 14 May 2008
  35. Now on YouTube: The Latest News From Al Jazeera, in English
  36. Burlington one of few places to air Al Jazeera, Associated Press, 22 April 2007
  37. "Al Jazeera Meets American Resistance". Businessweek. http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_14/b3978036.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-29. 
  38. "French Rescue Al-Jazeera Intl.". Terror Television. http://www.stopaljazeera.org/blog/french-rescue-al-jazeera-intl/. Retrieved 2007-08-29. 
  39. http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/154/26645.html
  40. Geldof is not an Al Jazeera employee, but a clip of him saying the above —during an interview for Riz Khan's One on One— is featured in Al Jazeera English's promos.
  41. http://cc.aljazeera.net/
  42. http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2009/02/16/AlJazeera/

External links