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Ongoing troubles at Al Jazeera America


skbl17

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I'm an Al Jazeera supporter, but with the ongoing dysfunction at AJAM, they should have just gone with a 24-hour AJE simulcast from the start.

 

http://jezebel.com/how-al-jazeera-america-went-from-a-home-for-idealists-t-1703931763

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/06/business/media/al-jazeera-network-in-turmoil-is-now-the-news.html

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Sounds like a horrible place to work. I agree and liked the concept and watched on occasion but as I started to hear bad things I stopped watching. I know it's bad for employees who shows were cancelled because of this but I can't justify supporting a network that is sexist, anti-Semitic and where employees live in fear.

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I wonder if some of Al Jazeera's bureaus are less immune to some of the drama. I understand there is going to be some worry about firings and the status of the channel but at least some may not have to experience the executive's drama, comments and harassment on a day to day basis.

 

Also does Al Jazeera have any news partnership agreements like Newsource? I seem to remember at the turn of the century Al Jazeera had agreements with NBC News and CNN.

 

Edit: it appears they had a sharing agreement with ABC and CNN.

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  • 7 months later...

I know this thread is a few months old, but I felt it was the best place to place this.

 

Al Jazeera America to close in April. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/business/media/al-jazeera-america-to-shut-down-in-april.html?smid=tw-share

 

They claim they will expand their digital presence in America.

 

Sorry to say, but if they didn't include Al Jazeera in the Name, it may have caught on better with certain segments of the audience, and with Cable providers. But at the same time, the turnover, plus taking over Current TV would have doomed the network anyway.

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I know this thread is a few months old, but I felt it was the best place to place this.

 

Al Jazeera America to close in April. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/14/business/media/al-jazeera-america-to-shut-down-in-april.html?smid=tw-share

 

They claim they will expand their digital presence in America.

 

Sorry to say, but if they didn't include Al Jazeera in the Name, it may have caught on better with certain segments of the audience, and with Cable providers. But at the same time, the turnover, plus taking over Current TV would have doomed the network anyway.

 

I wish this was a sign for the CBC to buy the channel and bring back Newsworld International (NWI) because I sure do miss that channel.

 

Anyways, this sounds like a great opportunity for either ABC or CBS to buy AJAM's channel space and convert it into a 24-hour news network of their own. But it sounds unlikely for CBS since they have CBSN and possibly has no plans to convert it to Television. Meanwhile, ABC has Fusion but is looking to sell their stake in Fusion. If so, then expect ABC to start up a 24-hour national news network with AJAM's channel space.

 

That's just my guess, but I'm just glad to see AJAM. They were doomed to failure from the beginning.

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Anyways, this sounds like a great opportunity for either ABC or CBS to buy AJAM's channel space and convert it into a 24-hour news network of their own. But it sounds unlikely for CBS since they have CBSN and possibly has no plans to convert it to Television. Meanwhile, ABC has Fusion but is looking to sell their stake in Fusion. If so, then expect ABC to start up a 24-hour national news network with AJAM's channel space.

 

Why would I buy AJAM's distribution contracts if they're missing major MSOs like Cox? I've never seen a lick of their programming for that reason alone.

 

A few important items that I feel are being lost in the shuffle:

 

1. Qatar's an oil-funded government. Many thought it could absorb losses. But look what oil prices have done since AJAM's launch. While their official rhetoric cites the challenging American media environment, I think they might have gone on longer if oil prices were closer to 2013/14 levels.

 

2. They played it too safe. Glenn Greenwald of The Intercept noted that their drive to be really inoffensive and vanilla did not help them at all.

 

3. Does a digital expansion mean the return of Al Jazeera English to the US? AJ promises to expand its global digital content into the US. Does that mean making Al Jazeera English streamable again? That was taken away on AJAM's launch, and AJAM's stream was cable-authenticated.

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3. Does a digital expansion mean the return of Al Jazeera English to the US? AJ promises to expand its global digital content into the US. Does that mean making Al Jazeera English streamable again? That was taken away on AJAM's launch, and AJAM's stream was cable-authenticated.

 

From what I read somewhere (I forgot the source that mentioned it), Al Jazeera English would be allowed to come back to U.S. airwaves.

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They probably should have started by broadcasting the AJE signal, inserting occasional programming from a more modest US bureau, before leaping right to a full-fledged AJAM network. I still think they could do this to make use of the AJAM channel slot.

 

The other direction they could have gone in is a completely new brand, one unrelated to Al Jazeera. The Al Jazeera name/brand is, rightly or wrongly, associated in the minds of many Americans with that of Islamist terrorism, an association that would be difficult to undo. It's probably too late for this now.

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Should've called it "beIN News" to avoid the name issues, or at least it should have been an AJE simulcast from the start.

 

Anyway, yeah, this is sad but not all that surprising. Al Jazeera is good, but with the (fairly limited) distribution reach of AJAM, the continued issues with the perception of the channel's name, staff turnover, low oil prices, and low ratings, the shutdown was inevitable. It's a shame too; of all the domestic news channels, I thought AJAM had the most (and honestly, some of the best) news output, something that has sadly gone by the wayside on the other domestic channels.

 

Well, this hopefully means that the geoblocks on the legal AJE streams will be removed come April.

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  • 1 month later...
I'm a bit surprised that Al Jazeera would spend money launching a new graphics system for the elections data and visualization.

 

http://www.sportsvideo.org/2016/02/23/al-jazeera-turns-to-astucemedia-for-data-integration-custom-graphics-implementation/

The article says the project started last October, which was probably before the decision to shutter the station was made.

 

It's possible that they end up doing as I suggested, carrying AJE but with America-specific inserts. If that's the case, they can still make use of new graphics/visualizations for the America insert shows.

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  • 1 month later...
Sooooooooooo, seeing as how Tuesday was AJAM's last day (and I'm honestly surprised no one mentioned here mentioned it), what's replaced it on everyone's cable systems?

Nothing filled the slot on our Comcast system- they don't add channels that often.

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I know I'm no admin or moderator in this forum, but with AJAM gone, I think this thread should be closed down.

 

Btw, AJAM closed the channel slot that was held for 22 years. First, it was Newsworld International (NWI) from 1994-2005, then it became Current TV from 2005-2013 and now, the ill-fated AJAM from 2013-2016.

 

And that's 22 years, down the drain...

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Sooooooooooo, seeing as how Tuesday was AJAM's last day (and I'm honestly surprised no one mentioned here mentioned it), what's replaced it on everyone's cable systems?

Time Warner Cable in this area has a blue gradient background with white text that reads "Al Jazeera America has shut down and is no longer telecasting as of April 12, 2016." Easy listening music plays in the background (right now, an easy listening cover of Elton John's "Your Song.")

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