Al Jazeera America
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Al Jazeera America was an American
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owned by the
Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: l (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ , referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and T ...
. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with
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, HLN,
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,
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, and in certain markets
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. It was Al Jazeera's second entry into the U.S. television market, after the launch of
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in 2012. The channel, which had persistently low ratings, announced in January 2016 that it would close on April 12, 2016, citing the "economic landscape". Al Jazeera America was headquartered and run from studios on the first floor of the
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in
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. It also had a total of 12 bureaus located in places such as
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, at the channel's D.C. studios at the
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and Al Jazeera's D.C. hub,
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,
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, Nashville,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and
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(former headquarters of Current TV and current headquarters of online channel AJ+). The channel was the sister channel of Al Jazeera's international English language news channel Al Jazeera English. Although operated and managed completely separately with America's management based in the United States, the two shared United States studios and bureaus, such as the D.C. hub, and Al Jazeera America ran some of Al Jazeera English's programming and many of its live newscasts alongside its own.


History


Creation

The creation of Al Jazeera America was announced on January 2, 2013, along with the announcement that the network had purchased the user-generated content channel turned progressive-oriented pay television channel Current TV, which had long been struggling in the ratings and after two format changes had announced in October 2012 that it was considering a sale of the channel. It was reported that Al Jazeera planned on shutting down Current TV, keeping its production staff and possibly some programs, and using the company's distribution network to broadcast Al Jazeera America. Current TV, by coincidence, was formerly Newsworld International, an international news channel similar to Al Jazeera America run by the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
. On July 22, 2013, Al Jazeera America named former
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Vice President Kate O'Brian as president of the network, and Ehab Al Shihabi as interim CEO in charge of business affairs. In addition, former CNN veteran David Doss was named Vice President of News Programming and former CBS News executive Marcy McGinnis was named Vice President of News Gathering. Former MSNBC executive Shannon High-Bassalik was named Senior Vice President of Documentaries and Programs. Al Jazeera said it received more than 21,000 job applications for 400 positions at its U.S. network. Approximately 200 Current TV employees, including some 50 in editorial, were absorbed by the new operation. It planned to have a total of 800 employees at the channel's launch. Al Jazeera America also announced that the channel would employ well-known veteran journalists, anchors, and producers. On July 3, 2013, Ali Velshi confirmed that Al Jazeera America's launch would take place on August 20, 2013. The launch took place at 3:00 p.m.
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on that date, with an hour-long preview special entitled ''This is Al Jazeera''. News coverage began immediately afterward at 4:00 p.m. Al Jazeera America's website launched on August 8, 2013.


Closure

On January 14, 2016, the Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it would shut down Al Jazeera America's pay-TV and online operations on April 30, 2016, citing plummeting oil prices and the highly competitive nature of the American media market; the channel's last day of operation was later confirmed to be April 12. It was also reported that this closure would lead to the loss of about 700 jobs. During its two-year history, Al Jazeera America won several media awards including the Peabody, Emmy, and Shorty Awards and citations from groups such as the National Association of Black Journalists and Native American Journalist Association. However, the network experienced low viewership ratings, averaging between 20,000 and 40,000 viewers on a typical day. Following the network's shutdown,
Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: l (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ , referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and T ...
is planning on expanding its digital presence in the United States through ventures such as United States-based AJ+. On February 11, 2016, writing in the television trade magazine, ''
Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcas ...
'', industry pundit Joe Mohen proposed a provocative thesis that the business failure of Al Jazeera America was only because it chose the wrong distribution channel, namely, subscription television. Mohen argued that by the time of Al Jazeera America's launch, the demographics of pay-TV news viewers in the United States market were people in their sixties whereas the natural audience of Al Jazeera was people under 34 years old; had the parent company instead launched the linear news channel as a Netflix-type app, with full online distribution, then it could have grown its audience using search and sold its commercials programmatically. On February 26, 2016, the Al Jazeera America website ceased operations. On March 27, 2016, CNN correspondents Brian Stelter and Tom Kludt wrote an in-depth analysis of Al Jazeera America's closure. Among the many reasons for the closure cited in the article were low viewership and falling oil prices. But the article also pointed to "deeper-rooted problems". These problems included poor decision making and management on behalf of Al Jazeera higher-ups – specifically CEO Ehab Al Shihabi. The article stated that they lacked a business plan and made faulty branding choices such as refusing to change the name "Al Jazeera". Stelter and Kludt also suggested that political issues could have played into the channel's demise. During the Bush administration, the President and other officials openly criticized Al Jazeera for airing messages from Al-Qaeda figures. This could have been part of the reason why Al Jazeera America struggled to get major pay-TV providers like Comcast and DirecTV to carry the channel. On April 12, 2016, Al Jazeera America signed off for the final time; its final program to air on the network was a live three-hour retrospective film titled "Your Stories" that aired twice from 3PM until the shuttering. Antonio Mora and Richelle Carey, the first two anchors to appear on air when it launched August 20, 2013, were the last two anchors to appear as the network signed off the air at 8:59 p.m. ET. Shortly afterwards, a slide was shown with the Al Jazeera logo above a simple message that read "Al Jazeera America is no longer available. Thank you for watching" with the network's English web address shown below it, and the channel space initially created by Newsworld International in 1994 subsequently folded and ceased to exist. During the time that Al Jazeera America was in existence, Al Jazeera English and AJE programs that were shown on Al Jazeera America were geoblocked in the United States owing to agreements with the carriers of Al Jazeera America. Programs from Al Jazeera English not shown on Al Jazeera America (such as ''
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'' and ''UpFront'') were some of the few unblocked during the time and therefore visible on Al Jazeera English's website. In September 2016, Al Jazeera English's online live stream and the programs which were blocked in the United States during Al Jazeera America's existence were officially un-geoblocked in the United States, making them viewable for the first time since 2013.


Content and programs

It was announced that 60% of the channel's programming would be produced in America, while an additional 40% would come from Al Jazeera English. That was later changed to almost all of the channel's program content being sourced from the United States. In an interview with ''
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'', head of international operations Ehab Al Shihabi said Al Jazeera America's content would on most days primarily concern domestic affairs. However, Shihabi added, "Al Jazeera's seventy bureaus around the world will mean that we will have an unparalleled ability to report on important global stories that Americans are not seeing elsewhere. We will do that when it is warranted." Al Shihabi said that the channel would feature less political discussion and celebrity news and that news gathering would take priority over maximizing profits (the network was to air only six minutes of commercials per hour, a rate far less than competing networks). Its three-hour morning program was to have a different format focusing on hard news and not "a group of anchors chatting on a couch". Al Jazeera America aired live programming at all hours, including half-hour news bulletins. Three Al Jazeera English programs that were based in Washington, '' The Stream'', ''Inside Story'' and ''Fault Lines'' were included on the launch schedule, as well as ''The Frost Interview'' and ''Listening Post''. The flagship nighttime show was called ''
America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...
''. It was a weeknight news magazine that presented the day's news in Al Jazeera's long-form style with "stories that are not covered elsewhere". Al Jazeera America's original senior executive producer for news and special projects was Bob Wheelock, a former senior producer for ABC and NBC News. Wheelock left the network shortly after the launch to head up a political campaign in Delaware.
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chief business correspondent and the anchor of '' Your Money'',
Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...
was the first major name to join Al Jazeera America. He hosted a daily, half-hour show originally called ''Real Money with Ali Velshi'', (later called '' Ali Velshi on Target''). The show was originally going to be once a week until the end of 2013 when it was re-launched as a daily show. The channel also hired Kim Bondy, a former executive producer with CNN to produce its flagship news program ''
America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...
'', a news magazine program that was hosted by original
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anchor and former CBS News correspondent Joie Chen, produced from Al Jazeera America's
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studio in Washington, D.C., and featuring correspondents Adam May, Lori Jane Gliha, former
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, ABC and CBC news correspondent Sheila MacVicar and former Current TV correspondent Christof Putzel. The program presented in-depth segments each night on the economy, government, education, healthcare and the environment, and include breaking news stories. The program also featured work by the Al Jazeera America investigative unit and covers stories in depth from across America, revealing new insights on the news of the day and breaking stories with its own original reporting. ''America Tonight'' also incorporated social media interaction on screen and off to reflect the views of its American audience. On July 1, 2013, longtime CNN anchor
Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for ''Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...
was hired to be a special correspondent for ''America Tonight'', as well as a deal with her production company Starfish Media Group to produce long-form documentaries for Al Jazeera America. An American version of the popular Al Jazeera English program ''The Stream'' was originally featured on the channel. Produced from Al Jazeera's Washington, D.C. hub, and hosted by veteran journalist and former ABC News correspondent Lisa Fletcher. The show formatted to allow viewers to interact with Fletcher and her guests during the program via
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,
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, Google+ Hangouts and
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. The show's social media team and second screen technology enabled viewers to engage 24 hours a day with new content, comments, user-generated videos and a variety of posts. ''The Stream'' relied heavily on a variety of online resources and social media tools to connect with people across the United States and around the world. This includes "Storify", which allowed the aggregation of additional information, links, and photos about show topics on the website; "Video Genie", which enables viewers to leave video questions for the show 24–7; and Twitter, Facebook,
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, and
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. It also hosted Google+ Hangouts and uses Skype rather than satellite feeds for nearly all guest interviews. Less hard-news orientated than Al Jazeera America's other shows, guests included everyone from civil rights group leaders to Kathy Griffin. On July 21, 2013, the network hired former Fox News, MSNBC, and Current TV veteran
David Shuster David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist and talk radio host. He most recently served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously serving as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, ...
to host a show during "the evening hours". Shuster became an analyst on the midday and evening news on the channel as well as a fill in host. It later hired Andrea Stone, most recently of ''
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'', and Tony Karon, most recently of ''
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'', to manage both U.S. and global coverage for the channel's website and other digital platforms. The two were responsible for determining the overall editorial direction for the site and were based in New York City. On July 26, 2013, the network announced that former '' Good Morning America'' host and award-winning journalist Antonio Mora would host a current events talk show called '' Consider This'', a program which showcased "hard-hitting interviews and panel discussions on issues important to American viewers". ''Consider This'' also featured interactive segments where the audience will join the conversation via social media. The first episode of the show highlighted the hunger strike and court-approved force-feeding in California's prison system. After the show's cancellation during a schedule re-do to raise ratings and lower costs Mora anchored the late news. The show was replaced by a similar program ''Third Rail''. Kathy Davidov and Cynthia Kane were hired as the senior executive producer and senior producer for its in-house documentary film unit. Davidov came from the National Geographic Channel, where she produced shows such as '' Border Wars'' and the ''
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'' special. Kane came from
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, where she managed over 150 projects and worked with the
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. On April 13, 2014 the channel began showing '' Borderland'', a documentary series on illegal immigration which follows six Americans as they retrace the fatal journey of three undocumented migrants who died attempting to cross into the United States. '' Borderland'' was the first such documentary series for the channel. A second one called ''The System'' focused on the U.S. prison system.


Investigative reporting

The channel had a 16-person investigative unit and hired veteran National Headline Award-winning journalist Edward Pound (formerly of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', ''
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'', '' U.S. News & World Report'' and the '' National Journal'') to lead its investigation division. Josh Bernstein of
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Fox affiliate
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was hired as the lead investigative reporter, along with
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, an award-winning author and investigative journalist and the former co-founder and associate director of the nonprofit
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who served as the networks investigative digital reporter based in Washington, D.C. This was in addition to the Al Jazeera Investigative Reporting Unit controlled by Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera America was the first television national news outlet to report in-depth on the Flint water crisis on January 22, 2015.


News staff

Al Jazeera America's news anchors included
Randall Pinkston Randall Pinkston was a correspondent/anchor for Al Jazeera America. Previously he was with CBS News. After a stint as a White House Correspondent in CBS's Washington Bureau, Pinkston became a general assignment reporter, contributing to CBS bro ...
(formerly of CBS News), John Seigenthaler (formerly of
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and WSMV in Nashville), Antonio Mora (formerly of ABC News), Richelle Carey (formerly of CNN and HLN), Jonathan Betz (formerly of WFAA in Dallas and WWL-TV in New Orleans), Tony Harris (formerly of sister station Al Jazeera English and
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
), Del Walters (formerly of
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in Washington, D.C. and WMAR of Baltimore, MD) and
Stephanie Sy Stephanie Sy (born January 16, 1977) is an American television news anchor and reporter for the ''PBS NewsHour''. Youth and education Sy was born and raised in southern California. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania cum laude ...
.


Other people

Mike Viqueira was hired on June 5, 2013 to be Al Jazeera America's first
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
correspondent. In November 2013, Al Jazeera America hired
Ray Suarez Rafael Suarez, Jr. (born March 5, 1957), known as Ray Suarez, is an American broadcast journalist and author. He is currently a visiting professor at NYU Shanghai and was previously the John J. McCloy Visiting Professor of American Studies at Am ...
, formerly of
PBS Newshour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...
, to host Inside Story.


Former programming


Produced by Al Jazeera America

* '' Ali Velshi on Target'' (formerly Real Money with Ali Velshi) – A show hosted by
Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...
from New York City that focuses on current affairs which provides context and analysis around current political and economic issues along with interviews. * '' Inside Story'' – Hosted by
Ray Suarez Rafael Suarez, Jr. (born March 5, 1957), known as Ray Suarez, is an American broadcast journalist and author. He is currently a visiting professor at NYU Shanghai and was previously the John J. McCloy Visiting Professor of American Studies at Am ...
from Washington D.C. Show provides analysis, background and context on the top stories of the day. Each episode features a panel of expert guests who examine and debate domestic and international topics ripped from the headlines. The Al Jazeera English version continues. * ''
America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...
'' – Al Jazeera America's flagship show, Hosted by Joie Chen from the
Newseum The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication. The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...
in Washington D.C., a 30-minute-long news and current affairs magazine. Segments feature in-depth reports on subjects such as the economy, government, education, healthcare, and the environment, as well as breaking news featuring correspondents from across the country. * '' Your World This Morning'' – Hosted by
Stephanie Sy Stephanie Sy (born January 16, 1977) is an American television news anchor and reporter for the ''PBS NewsHour''. Youth and education Sy was born and raised in southern California. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania cum laude ...
, Del Walters, and Nicole Mitchell (Weather) from New York City, Morning block of national and international news. * ''
News News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...
'' – Domestic and international News from New York City, hosted by various anchors including Tony Harris, Antonio Mora and John Seigenthaler. * '' Talk To Al Jazeera'' – Interview program with prominent world figures by various anchors and journalists. * ''
Fault Lines In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
'' – Hosted by Josh Rushing,
Zeina Awad Zeina Awad ( ar, زينة عوض) is a Lebanese/Canadian news correspondent who used to co-host ''Fault Lines In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacemen ...
, and Sebastian Walker, A show that takes viewers behind a particular story and reports on it in-depth using in-depth interviews and investigative reporting. The show continues on Al Jazeera English. * '' TechKnow'' – Hosted by Phil Torres and others from Los Angeles, a Fast-paced, 30-minute show that explores and exposes how the latest scientific discoveries are changing our lives. The show was taken over by Al Jazeera English after shutdown. * ''Compass With Sheila Macvicar'' – Hosted by Sheila MacVicar, program focuses on foreign policy issues. * ''Third Rail'' – Hosted by
Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...
(formerly Imran Garda), weekly current affairs program tackling controversial issues and probe perspectives with moderated debate, three-person panels and reports from Al Jazeera correspondents around the world. * ''Al Jazeera America Presents'' – Documentary and investigative series focused on a specific topic such as ''Borderland'' and ''The System''. * '' Consider This'' – Weeknight current affairs talk show with Antonio Mora from New York City. Show featured interviews with prominent newsmakers, panel discussions that provide insight through varied perspectives and involvement of the show's audience using social media. * ''Power Politics'' – Hosted by
David Shuster David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist and talk radio host. He most recently served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously serving as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, ...
from New York City, a political analysis show featuring in-depth looks into issues topping the poles (produced during U.S. election seasons). * '' The Stream'' (American Version) – Hosted by Lisa Fletcher and Wajahat Ali from Washington, D.C., Current events discussion and debate show formatted to allow viewers to interact with the hosts and guests during the program via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ Hangouts and Skype. The Al Jazeera English version continues.


Produced/provided by Al Jazeera English

*''News from Al Jazeera English'': ** 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 English's broadcast centres in Doha and London. * '' Listening Post'' – Hosted by Richard Gizbert from London, Current affairs program that critiques journalism and the media industry around the world. *'' 101 East'' — the weekly documentary series for issues of particular importance in Asia. Presenters or hosts have included
Teymoor Nabili Teymoor Nabili is a veteran journalist and broadcaster, and CEO of a startup online news venture called " The Signal". The Signal aims to be a news and research platform covering issues relating to the ASEAN region. Nabili is also the host and ...
and Fauziah Ibrahim *'' People & Power'' — a biweekly program, originally hosted by Shereen El Feki. *''
Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
'' — 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 which never merited a mention in the first place. * '' The Frost Interview'' (previously '' Frost Over The World'') was hosted by David Frost. Frost died in 2013, and show still aired posthumously with the family's consent.


Produced jointly

*''
Al Jazeera Investigates ''Al Jazeera Investigative Unit'' formerly, Al Jazeera Investigates, the outward facing name for journalists from Al Jazeera Media Network's Investigative Journalism Directorate. The Investigative Unit The Investigative Unit has bureaux in Doha, ...
'' — documentaries arising from the work of the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit.


Imported

* ''
The Truth Is The Truth Is... may refer to: * ''The Truth Is...'' (Failsafe album), 2008 * ''The Truth Is...'' (Theory of a Deadman album), 2011 * ''The Truth Is'' (Alexandra Burke album), 2018 * ''The Truth Is'' (TV program), an Australian current affairs t ...
'' – series imported from Australia. Also airing at various times were the Al Jazeera English programs ''Earthrise'', ''Al Jazeera World'' and ''Al Jazeera Correspondent'' along with shows brought in from other channels in the UK and Australia.


Notable staff


Management

* Kate O'Brian – President of Al Jazeera America


On-air staff

A complete list of hosts and correspondents is located in the box at the bottom.


Anchors and hosts

* Jonathan Betz – anchor/reporter * Richelle Carey – anchor/reporter * Joie Chen – host of ''America Tonight'' * Tony Harris – anchor of ''Early Evening News'' * Sheila MacVicar – host of ''Compass with Sheila MacVicar'' and ''America Tonight'' correspondent * Nicole Mitchell – meteorologist (now at
KSTP-TV KSTP-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, serving the Twin Cities area as an affiliate of ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Hubbard Broadcasting, which has owned the ...
in Minneapolis) * Antonio Mora – anchor of '' International Newshour'' *
Randall Pinkston Randall Pinkston was a correspondent/anchor for Al Jazeera America. Previously he was with CBS News. After a stint as a White House Correspondent in CBS's Washington Bureau, Pinkston became a general assignment reporter, contributing to CBS bro ...
– anchor/reporter *
Cara Santa Maria Cara Louise Santa Maria (born October 19, 1983) is an American science communicator. She hosts the podcast ''Talk Nerdy'' and co-hosts '' The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'' podcast, and was a co-host of TechKnow on Al Jazeera America. Santa M ...
– host of ''TechKnow'' * John Seigenthaler – host of ''Nightly News'' *
David Shuster David Martin Shuster (born July 22, 1967) is an American television journalist and talk radio host. He most recently served as principal anchor and managing editor for i24 News, previously serving as an anchor for MSNBC and worked for Fox News, ...
– anchor/reporter, and host of ''Power Politics'' * John Henry Smith – anchor/reporter *
Ray Suarez Rafael Suarez, Jr. (born March 5, 1957), known as Ray Suarez, is an American broadcast journalist and author. He is currently a visiting professor at NYU Shanghai and was previously the John J. McCloy Visiting Professor of American Studies at Am ...
– host of ''Inside Story'' *
Stephanie Sy Stephanie Sy (born January 16, 1977) is an American television news anchor and reporter for the ''PBS NewsHour''. Youth and education Sy was born and raised in southern California. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania cum laude ...
– anchor *
Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...
– host of ''On Target'' and ''Third Rail'' (now at
MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...
)


Correspondents

* Chris Bury – reporter and ''
America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...
'' correspondent * Melissa Chan – San Francisco correspondent * Lisa Fletcher – Correspondent and fill-in host * Jami Floyd – contributor/legal contributor * Lori Jane Gliha – ''America Tonight'' correspondent * Sheila MacVicar – ''America Tonight'' correspondent * Adam May – ''America Tonight'' correspondent *
Soledad O'Brien María de la Soledad Teresa O'Brien (born September 19, 1966) is an American broadcast journalist and executive producer. Since 2016, O'Brien has been the host for ''Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien,'' a nationally syndicated weekly talk show ...
– special correspondent * Christof Putzel – ''America Tonight'' correspondent * Ash-har Quraishi – Chicago bureau reporter * Josh Rushing – ''Faultlines '' host/reporter * Roxana Saberi – correspondent * William Schneider – political analyst and contributor * Michael Shure – contributor/political contributor * John Terrett – correspondent * Mike Viqueira – White House correspondent * Sebastian Walker – correspondent *
Jacob Ward Jacob Ward (born 1974) is an American science and technology journalist. In 2018, he became a technology correspondent for NBC News, reporting on technology's social implications. He was the editor-in-chief of ''Popular Science'', and from 2013 t ...
– Science and Technology correspondent


Awards

In 2014, Al Jazeera America and producer Reed Lindsay won a
Gracie Award The Gracie Awards are awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWM) in the United States, to celebrate and honor programming created for women, by women, and about women, as well as individuals who have made exemplary contr ...
in the "Outstanding Hard News Feature" category from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for the story "Fists of Fury", which aired on ''
America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...
''. The award was the first award ever for the channel. Al Jazeera America also won a
Shorty Award The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...
for "Best News Twitter Account". The Al Jazeera America show ''
Fault Lines In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
'' won two Peabody Awards in 2013 for the episodes "Haiti in a Time of Cholera" and "Made in Bangladesh". The channel and ''Fault Lines'' also won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for "Made in Bangladesh". On September 30, 2014, ''Fault Lines'' won a News & Documentary Emmy Award in the Investigative Journalism News-magazine category for "Haiti in a Time of Cholera". In early 2015, Al Jazeera America's digital team was recognized with an Award of Excellence for Photo Editing Portfolio in the
Pictures of the Year International Pictures of the Year International (POYi) is a professional development program for visual journalists run on a non-profit basis by the Missouri School of Journalism's Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. POYi began as an annual competition f ...
competition. In April 2015, Al Jazeera America won 16 National Headliner Awards including 7 first place wins in various categories including "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators environmental reporting" where It held all three top nomination spots with the ''
Fault Lines In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
'' episode "Water for Coal" winning overall, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators investigative report" and "Best of TV" where the ''Fault Lines'' episode "Deadly Force" won, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators documentary or series of reports" where the documentary "Killing the Messenger" won, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators coverage of a major news event" where they also held the top three places with their coverage of "The Downing of MH14" winning, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators newscast" where their coverage of the "Crisis in Yemen" and "ISIL on the Turkish Border" won and "online slideshow" for its digital team.


Incidents

While covering the Ferguson protests in 2014, officers from the Ferguson Police Department shot
rubber bullets Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of baton round. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Altho ...
and
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...
at an AJAM news crew including correspondent Ash-har Quraishi, who after yelling, "We're the press" caused them to abandon their recording equipment and run to safety. The incident was caught on camera by KSDK-TV, a local
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate who was filming from across the street. An officer was captured on video turning the reporters' video camera toward the ground and dismantling their equipment. Other incidents, including the arrests of two print journalists for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' and ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'', also occurred during the same time period.


Controversies

On April 28, 2015, Matthew Luke, Al Jazeera America's former Supervisor of Media and Archive Management, filed a US$15 million lawsuit against his former employers over unfair dismissal. Luke alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed by the network after he had raised concerns with the human resource division that his boss, Osman Mahmud, the Senior Vice-President of Broadcast Operations and Technology, discriminated against female employees and made anti-Semitic remarks. In response, Ehab Al Shihabi, the head of Al Jazeera America, has announced that the network will contest the lawsuit in court. Mahmud has also denied Luke's charges and has alleged that Luke was a difficult employee. In an unrelated development, two female Al Jazeera America employees—Diana Lee, the Executive Vice-President for Human Resources, and Dawn Bridges, the Executive Vice President for Communications, had resigned that week. On May 4, 2015, Marcy McGinnis, a senior Al Jazeera America's executive and former
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
news anchor, resigned from the company for undisclosed reasons amidst internal dissension with AJAM's management. On May 5, 2015, Al Jazeera Media Network demoted Al Shihabi to Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Al Jazeera America. He was demoted from CEO after a report from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' of an altercation between him and host
Ali Velshi Ali Velshi (born October 29, 1968 or 1969) is a Canadian television journalist, a senior economic and business correspondent for NBC News since October 2016. He was also substitute anchor for '' Top Story with Tom Llamas'' on NBC News Now at we ...
where he attempted to fire and sue the channel's top host. He was replaced by Al Anstey, the former managing director of Al Jazeera English. On June 11, 2015, Shannon High-Bassalik, AJAM's former senior vice president of programming and documentaries, filed a multi-million lawsuit against the channel; alleging a biased pro-Arab coverage and the mistreatment of employees. AJAM has responded that they would contest the lawsuit in court. On November 8, 2015, it was reported that Al Jazeera America's general counsel, David W. Harleston, did not have a license to practice law. Harleston had previously dealt with several lawsuits involving
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
and
Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...
, several wrongful termination cases by former employees, and the departure of the company's chief executive, Al Shihabi.


Reactions to "The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers" documentary

On December 27, 2015, Al Jazeera English released a report, aired on Al Jazeera America, conducted by the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit via
Al Jazeera Investigates ''Al Jazeera Investigative Unit'' formerly, Al Jazeera Investigates, the outward facing name for journalists from Al Jazeera Media Network's Investigative Journalism Directorate. The Investigative Unit The Investigative Unit has bureaux in Doha, ...
called "''The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers''", which investigated professional athletes' alleged use of
Performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...
(PEDs), naming Peyton Manning and other prominent athletes as having received drugs from Charles Sly, a pharmacist who had worked at the Guyer Anti-Aging Clinic in Indianapolis during the fall of 2011. ''The Huffington Post'' leaked the reports a day before Al Jazeera's publication. Then, Manning told
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's Lisa Salters about the reports, despite the fact that the documentary had not yet been aired, in an interview on the morning of the 27th for ESPN '' Sunday NFL Countdown'' calling them "completely fabricated" and "garbage". He also expressed his anger that his wife, Ashley, had been mentioned in the documentary. Salters pointed to other cases in which athletes initially deny, and then eventually admit allegations, but Manning replied that he could not speak for others. Nevertheless, Manning also stated he had visited the Guyer Institute 35 times during 2011 and that he had received both medication and treatment from Guyer during this time. Sly recanted his story and requested the report not to be aired via a YouTube video following the release of the report. Sly later said he had never seen the Mannings and told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that he is not a pharmacist and was not at the Guyer Institute in 2011, as Al Jazeera claimed. However, state licensing records indicate that someone named "Charles David Sly" was licensed as a pharmacy intern in Indiana from April 2010 to May 2013 and that his license expired May 1, 2013. Manning decided to respond to the further allegations against him, and hired former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer to manage the issue. He also threatened to sue Al Jazeera but then decided against doing so. On January 5, 2016, it was announced that Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman had filed a lawsuit suing Al Jazeera for defamation following the publication's release of the documentary which linked them.


See also

*
Al Jazeera America News ''Al Jazeera America News'', also referred to as ''Al Jazeera America Newshour'' or simply (''Weekend'') ''News'', is a news program that aired on Al Jazeera America. The program aired several times a day on Al Jazeera America and was supplemente ...
*
Al Jazeera Media Network Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) (Arabic: الجزيرة‎, romanized: al-jazīrah, IPA: l (d)ʒæˈziːrɐ , referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is a Qatari international state-owned public media conglomerate headquartered at Qatar Radio and T ...


References


External links


Main siteYouTube channelBroadcastprome.com: Story of building AJAM's studios and infrastructure in record timeCNN Money: The Final Days of Al Jazeera America, Profile on the channel told by staffers and ex-staffers.
{{Authority control Al Jazeera 2013 establishments in New York (state) Defunct television networks in the United States Mass media-related controversies in the United States Television channels and stations established in 2013 Peabody Award winners Television channels and stations disestablished in 2016 2016 disestablishments in the United States