2. Profile:
• Type:
Satellite television network
• Country:
Qatar
• Availability:
Worldwide
• Owner
Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani
• Key people:
Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer al-Thani, Chairman
Wadah Khanfar Director-General
Ahmed Sheikh Editor-in-chief
• Launch date:
1996
• Official Website:
aljazeera.net
3. • Bureaus:
more than 30
• Viewers:
40-million in the Arab world.
Viewers in the research ranged between the ages of 15 to over 40 years
old.
The majority of the viewers of Al Jazeera live in populated urban cities
while a very small percentage report living in rural areas.
4. History:
• Al Jazeera is the largest and most controversial
Arabic News Channel in the Middle East,
offering news coverage 24 hours a day from
around the world and focusing on the hottest
regions of conflict. Founded in 1996, and
based in Qatar, the Al Jazeera news network is
the fastest growing network among Arab
communities and Arabic speaking people
around the world.
5. Programs:
• Programs on Al Jazeera are devoted to various topics of
relevance to the Arabic audience. While the programs
offered mainly focus on global news and events of the
day, they also offer an assortment of programs
covering a range of topics.
• With programming focusing primarily on news
coverage and analysis, the station has earned the loyalty
of a large audience. It has also earned the enmity of
various critics who argue that Al Jazeera is overly
sensational, with a bent on showing bloody footage
from war zones as well as giving coverage to violent
groups.
6. Organization & Funding
• The original Al Jazeera channel was started in 1996 with a US$150 million grant
from the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa The channel began broadcasting
in late 1996, with many staff joining from the BBC World Service's Saudi-co-
owned Arabic language TV station, which had shut down in April 1996 after two
years of operation because of censorship demands by the Saudi Arabian
government.
• Following the initial US$ 150 million grant from the Emir of Qatar, Al Jazeera had
aimed to become self-sufficient through advertising by 2001, but when this failed
to occur, the Emir agreed to continue subsidizing it on a year-by-year basis (US$30
million in 2004, according to Arnaud de Borchgrave. Other major sources of
income include advertising, cable subscription fees, broadcasting deals with other
companies, and sale of footage. In 2000, advertising accounted for 40% of the
station's revenue.
