News Network In Search Of Itself Retreats

Michael Hedges April 4, 2016 Follow on Twitter

Maturity comes to international news broadcasters when hot coverage fades. Parachuting crews in conflict zones create, often, as many headlines as they report. There is a place for that and audiences are drawn to the excitement. When the buzz fades - and critics leap out - it’s time to “examine the business model.”

Steep job cuts announced by Al Jazeera Media Network at the end of March set off a flurry of speculation about the well-known Middle Eastern broadcaster’s future. Widely suggested rumors became reality when acting general director Mostefa Souag said a “workforce optimization initiative” will shed 500 network employees, 300 at the Doha headquarters, reported Doha News (March 27). In January the 700 employees of subsidiary Al Jazeera America were given notice their jobs would end and the unit closed by April 30th. Al Jazeera Media Network is owned by the Qatari royal family.

“This announcement comes at a time when Al Jazeera must consider and respond to the large-scale changes underway in the media landscape,” wrote Mr. Souag in an email to staff. “As you know, other leading media organizations across the world are being forced to redefine their business models as well with negative impact on their staff. Al Jazeera is no exception.”

In the region and globally media watchers - along with Gulf States observers, generally - quickly pointed out the effect of falling energy prices on Qatari State finances. The government has, indeed, cut government ministries, energy subsidies for consumers and certain cultural projects. Preparations for the 2022 FIFA football World Cup, including construction of those air conditioned facilities, continue unabated, costs and controversy rising.

The Arabic TV news landscape has changed considerably since the Al Jazeera entry in late 1996. One of the oldest Arabic-language channels is Al-Manar, principally owned by the Lebanese militant faction Hezbollah and operating from Beirut. It launched in 1991 with programming split between news and entertainment, distributed both on terrestrial transmitters in Lebanon and satellite more broadly. BBC World Service operated an Arabic language news channel, distributed by Saudi-owned satellite provider Orbit Communications, from June 1994 until April 1996. An editorial dispute caused Orbit to pull the plug. Al Jazeera benefitted by hiring most of the well-trained staff.

Al Arabiya was created in 2003 by Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) as a direct competitor for Al Jazeera. MBC founder Waleed Al Ibrahim, related to the Saudi royal family, explained the positioning difference as “CNN to Al Jazeera’s Fox News,” to the New York Times (January 2, 2005).

Al Arabiya’s Beirut bureau was abruptly closed last week and all 27 employees fired, reported Daily Star (Lebanon) (April 1). Officially, the closure was prompted by “challenges on the ground” and concerns for staff safety. Relations between rulers in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia have been strained by regional political discord.

Television’s soft diplomacy value, not always so soft, encouraged governments to expand output in the MENA region. Satellite news channel Al Hurra, broadly part of the Voice of America system, appeared in 2004. It was followed by the Arabic service of France 24 and the Iranian government’s multi-lingual Press TV in 2007. BBC Arabic was relaunched, if you will, in 2008. An Arabic language satellite channel from China’s CCTV, a mix of news and Bruce Lee movies, appeared in 2009.

UK pay-TV operator BSkyB, now known simply as Sky and principally owned by 21st Century Fox, launched Sky News Arabia in 2012, in a joint venture with Abu Dhabi Media Investments. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, part of the Saudi royal family, launched Al Arab news channel in 2015, which was shut-down within hours by the government of Bahrain where it was based. He is the second largest shareholder in 21st Century Fox after Rupert Murdoch. CNN Arabic came to be, online only, in 2002.

For Al Jazeera Media Network a certain strategic pivot became noticeable when Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became Emir of Qatar in 2013 on the abdication of his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Sheikh Tamim has often been described as pragmatic. He’s also a big sports fan.

It was in late 2013 that Al Jazeera Sport rebranded as BeIN Sports and spun-off into BeIN Media Group, like Al Jazeera Media Network wholly owned by Qatar Investment Authority. Nasser Al-Khelaifi was named chairman and CEO. He’s also chairman of Paris Saint-Germain football club, principally owned by Qatar Sports Investments, formed by Sheikh Tamim. Not only did BeIn Sports bid furiously for sports rights, satellite channels were opened in Arabic for the MENA region, English for North America and Australia, French and Spanish. Then BeIn Media Group bought independent US film producer Miramax.

As a news network Al Jazeera’s reputation was built on conflict coverage, from the war in Afghanistan to the Arab Spring. While most international news organizations lacked native Arabic-speakers Al Jazeera placed news crews on the ground. A major revenue source became exclusive video distribution to Western channels. The Al Jazeera English news channel debuted in 2006 to great international fanfare.

Kabul bureau chief as the Taliban’s hold on Afghanistan collapsed in 2001 was Wadah Khanfar. He then became Baghdad bureau chief as Saddam Hussein’s regime fell. He became managing director of Al Jazeera in 2003 and general director in 2006. His biggest test, arguably the turning point for Al Jazeera, was the Egyptian revolution in early 2011 that ignited considerable regional distress. The Egyptian government closed down the network’s operation and transmissions after an interview with an opposition cleric was broadcast. Two years later the next Egyptian government put three Al Jazeera reporters on trial.

Widely regarded as shaping Al Jazeera, both Arabic and English channels, as serious international news organizations, Mr. Khanfar was, arguably, relieved of his position in late 2011. He was replaced as general director by Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family who stayed on for a few months before being named Minister of Economy and Trade. During his brief tenure with Al Jazeera, Sheikh Ahmed acquired US cable channel Current TV, which became the hub for Al Jazeera America.

"We have a partnership agreement with Al Jazeera Arabic and have been puzzled by the cuts," said German public TV network ZDF deputy news director Elmar Theveßen, quoted by tagesspiegel.de (March 30) "However, we have the impression that the Arabic department is in search of itself, shaken by criticism for a long time, especially after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

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