Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Al Jazeera Goes International



Al Jazeera plans to go international with a new channel, "Al Jazeera International." It will be separate from the original Al Jazeera with different camera crews, editors, and on-air talent. The program will start broadcasting in the English-language. This network will bring news to viewers in the East who are "frustrated with Western coverage of their world."

Al Jazeera will break from the traditional mode of covering news by reporting on the developing world with correspondents from those areas. There has been speculation about whether or not the network can actually steal viewers from other large international networks.

My question about this whole plan is: Is this possible? And, can Al Jazeera International work? There seems to be a conflict of interest here because the new channel is trying to break from the brand image of the original network with a different look, people, and audience, but managing director, Nigel Parsons, says, "We're very proud of our brand." He seems to be launching the new operation with the same brand identity?

Is a network like this--both loved and hated--able to succeed?

To read the New York Times article, "A New Al Jazeera With a Global Focus," go here

POSTED BY: TD

2 Comments:

At Wednesday, November 15, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

If the new Al Jazeera does what it says its going to--covering the stories and regions of the world that go largely ignored--it should be a success. It sounds like the world version of the channel will be considerably different from the original, but I think it's a good strategy. Having correspondents reporting from around the world, in places they know and understand,is a great idea.

In my opinion, any attempt at more comprehensive global news is a good thing. It's a major weakness of most of the U.S. media.

 
At Saturday, November 18, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In media, being loved or hated, bring a lot of publicity, which in turn brings success, no?

Well, maybe initially and only temporarily...

 

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