Al-Jazeera Media Network

Al-Jazeera Media Network is a media conglomerate founded in Qatar in 1996. While headquartered in Doha, the network has bureaus in more than 50 countries worldwide. While it maintains editorial independence, it receives funding from the Qatari government. Al-Jazeera played a significant role in the reporting of many conflicts in the 21st century, especially those centred around the Middle East, such as the Second Intifada, the Iraq War and the Arab Spring, due to its ability to provide on-the-ground coverage in these conflict areas (Al-Jazeera, n.d.).

Its commitment to “an editorial policy based on the principle of providing alternate opinions” (Al-Jazeera, n.d.), has led to clashes with many governments throughout its publishing history. Most recently, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE blocked access to Al-Jazeera for three years in the aftermath of the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis (Wintour, 2021). The UAE previously lobbied for the news agency to be registered as a foreign agent in the United States Federal Communications Commission (Light, 2019).

Delegates representing Al-Jazeera are encouraged to utilise the multitude of media subsidiaries that are available under its portfolio. Delegates should note that its original Al-Jazeera Arabic (AJA) news channel and website (aljazeera.net) slants more conservatively compared to its English language counterpart, Al-Jazeera English (AJE) (aljazeera.com) (Al-Arabiya, 2020.). Notably, staff from both sides were divided on how to respond to the Charlie Hebdo shootings in 2015 (Jenkins, 2015). In addition to AJA and AJE, delegates may consider podcasting with Al-Jazeera Podcasts, or producing social media-style content targeting millennials under the banner of Al-Jazeera Plus (AJ+), such as infographics, polls and short videos (Al-Jazeera Plus, n.d.).