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Al Jazeera America to Shut Down by April

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E

ElectricBlanketFire

Member
Just 2 1/2 years after its debut.

Al_Jazeera_America_Logo.png


New York Times said:
The cable news channel Al Jazeera America, which debuted in 2013 to great fanfare when it promised to cover American news soberly and seriously, is shutting down by the end of April. The move was announced at a companywide meeting on Wednesday.

In a memo to the staff, Al Jazeera America’s chief executive, Al Anstey, said the “decision by Al Jazeera America’s board is driven by the fact that our business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the U.S. media marketplace.”

“I know the closure of AJAM will be a massive disappointment for everyone here who has worked tirelessly for our long-term future,” he continued. “The decision that has been made is in no way because AJAM has done anything but a great job. Our commitment to great journalism is unrivaled.”

Al Jazeera America went on the air in August 2013 after it bought Al Gore’s Current TV for $500 million. It promised to be thoughtful and smart, free of the shouting arguments that have defined cable news in the United States over the last decade. But meaningful viewership never came, with prime-time ratings sometimes struggling to exceed 30,000 viewers.

To make matters worse, the newsroom was hit with turmoil last year when staff members complained bitterly of a culture of fear. There was an exodus of top executives, along with a pair of lawsuits from former employees that included complaints about sexism and anti-Semitism at the news channel.
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Pagusas

Pagusas

Elden Member
as stupid as it is, the name really did kill it, just watch how many assholes on social media will be calling this a victory again muslims.
 
P

pgtl_10

Member
How many people watch Bein Sports?

This may be related to the oil price crash.
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Doubt it. People don't realize Al-Jazeera is losing popularity in the Arab world as well. When journalists quit and explain that the Qatar government started to use it to control narratives(The journalists had a freer hand in the 90s) people in the Arab world saw it and started going elsewhere.
 
R

R10Neymarfan

Member
pgtl_10 said:
How many people watch Bein Sports?



Doubt it. People don't realize Al-Jazeera is losing popularity in the Arab world as well. When journalists quit and explain that the Qatar government started to use it to control narratives(The journalists had a freer hand in the 90s) people in the Arab world saw it and started going elsewhere.
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Hope that's next, they have way too much a monopoly on most of the soccer matches
 
D

DonasaurusRex

Online Ho Champ
dang i dont think i had this on Comcast now on Verizon and I have more news channels. Guess this one is going away though . Oann, Newsmax, Al Jazeera and BBC was a welcome addition to seeing Fox News, Cnn and MSNBC all of which are tired.
 
F

FLEABttn

Banned
I liked it but I'm not sure if launching a new TV news network in 2013 was a winning idea. I can't say I'm surprised by this news.

R10Neymarfan said:
Hope that's next, they have way too much a monopoly on most of the soccer matches
Click to expand...

It's really uncertain that the death of Bein means ESPN or FS1 gets that much more soccer.
 
P

pgtl_10

Member
R10Neymarfan said:
Hope that's next, they have way too much a monopoly on most of the soccer matches
Click to expand...

I'm fine with that. I just don't like the English speaking announcers. I'm just wondering if people knows that Bein use to be called Al-Jazeera Sports in the Middle East till they rebranded.
 
C

commedieu

Banned
Everyone seems to be missing that AJ has been pretty good at actual news coverage. Shame. But, hopefully they'll keep covering news before Fox/Cnn/BBC as they've been doing.
 
T

toadsworth

Banned
Is their website shutting down as well?

EDIT: Looks like it is, which is a shame because they had some good news and kept away from clickbait bullshit.
 
P

Pyrokai

Member
With NPR on the decline, how will I get sober and normal news and journalism? I'm serious. NPR is the only place worthy of getting my news. I can't tolerate sensationalist tripe anymore. What will the US do? I think it's so severe of a problem that I think it has a huge role in the political divisiveness of our country.
 
G

GPsych

Member
Mecha said:
Yep, someone I know thought it was a terrorist TV channel just because of the name.
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Almost everyone I know thinks that. When I tell people I get the knows from Al Jazeera there always like, "Oh, that's why you're liberal. You watch terrorist channels."
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
pgtl_10 said:
How many people watch Bein Sports?



Doubt it. People don't realize Al-Jazeera is losing popularity in the Arab world as well. When journalists quit and explain that the Qatar government started to use it to control narratives(The journalists had a freer hand in the 90s) people in the Arab world saw it and started going elsewhere.
Click to expand...

Yep. I knew of the reputation it had to laypeople in the States, but listening to some people from the Middle East go off on it was pretty eye-opening.

Also, from what I've heard from colleagues in the production business they treated their rank-and-file people like crap, even worse than the established news orgs.

Pyrokai said:
With NPR on the decline, how will I get sober and normal news and journalism? I'm serious. NPR is the only place worthy of getting my news. I can't tolerate sensationalist tripe anymore. What will the US do? I think it's so severe of a problem that I think it has a huge role in the political divisiveness of our country.
Click to expand...

What signs are there of NPR on the decline?

And there's still PBS.
 
P

pgtl_10

Member
Al-Jazeera got bad publicity from the Iraq war. I remember American media would constantly trash the channel as propaganda and not being "objective". American media was terrible back then too. What I was hearing in international media on Iraq's WMDs was way different than what American media was saying. It's hard for Al-Jazeera to gain traction when they are constantly derided. It's how American media tries to sound credible.

The English channel(International) was also blackballed by major cable/satellite providers. In sume, Al-Jazeera never had a chance.
 
M

Messofanego

Banned
They have some really great documentaries and long features. The Stream is great for topical debates. I'm subscribed to their Youtube channel. So all that great stuff will be stopped? Or is Al Jazeera English the International version and isn't affected?
 
W

wildfire

Banned
Pyrokai said:
With NPR on the decline, how will I get sober and normal news and journalism? I'm serious. NPR is the only place worthy of getting my news. I can't tolerate sensationalist tripe anymore. What will the US do? I think it's so severe of a problem that I think it has a huge role in the political divisiveness of our country.
Click to expand...

News hour with Jim Leher on PBS is still really good.
 
V

Valhelm

contribute something
Mecha said:
Yep, someone I know thought it was a terrorist TV channel just because of the name.
Click to expand...

I've never heard anybody go that far, but my friend's father refuses to trust Al Jazeera because its writers are mostly Muslim.
 
M

Moppeh

Banned
That's a damn shame. I'm a Canadian, so I've only seen some of their coverage online, but they always seemed to provide a more honest and thought provoking news cast compared to most other news channels.

And now I've fallen down an absolutely terrible Twitterhole. So many Trump supporters making really stupid jokes and ignorant comments about this. >.>
 
Jag

Jag

Member
The place was a fucking mess and falling apart from the start.

Is Al Jazeera Sexist, Anti-Semitic, and Anti-American?

Since its much-anticipated launch 21 months ago, AJAM, as it calls itself, has reportedly spent billions of dollars to chase scant advertising revenue and negligible viewership; laid off hundreds of staffers; suffered through high-profile resignations of respected executives and attracted a $15 million wrongful termination suit depicting a corporate culture that condones “misogynistic behavior” and “anti-American” and “anti-Semitic rhetoric,” among other outrages.
Click to expand...
 
J

juicyfruitas

Member
Expecting Middle Eastern branding to fly in the US was an iffy proposition from the start - not just for converting CNN/FxN viewers but to attract mainstream American brands as well.
 
B

Balphon

Member
If this means I can access Al Jazeera English without hassle again, then great.

AJAM was doomed the second they decided to emulate the cable news model.
 
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