Release: Al Jazeera English Launchs
Al Jazeera English Launches
Wednesday 15th November 2006, Al Jazeera English, the first global English language news and current affairs channel with headquarters in the Middle East, launched today at 12.00 GMT to over 80 million cable and satellite households across the globe.
The channel was launched from its headquarters in Doha, with Shiulie Ghosh and Sami Zeidan the first news anchors to appear. The channel will move around the world moving to its broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC where presenters Veronica Pedrosa & Teymoor Nabili, Felicity Barr & Stephen Cole, Ghida Fakhry & Dave Marash will present the news respectively. There will be two integrated news hours with input from all four centres.
On day one the channel’s news teams are deployed doing stories in over 20 countries around the world in addition to their 60 news bureaux. In the Middle East, Al Jazeera has five correspondents deployed in Israel and the Palestinian territories; unprecedented Africa coverage with feeds from Darfur, Somalia, Harare and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, while in Latin America the channel’s correspondents will report live from Brazil and Venezuela. This reflects the emphasis the channel places on reporting from the South to the North.
Nigel Parsons Managing Director of Al Jazeera English said: “ I am absolutely delighted to have launched Al Jazeera English. I firmly believe there is a gap in the market which we will exploit, and that the world needs Al Jazeera in English to bring a new perspective and understanding to world events. I would like to thank everyone involved in the project including all those distributors who are carrying the channel from day one”
Al Jazeera’s English language website, aljazeera.net/english also re-launched at 12.00GMT to reflect the channel’s look and feel and editorial content. It showcases Al Jazeera English’s agenda setting editorial mission and will provide constantly updated coverage of news events from around the world, along with in-depth analysis and background. It will provide RSS feeds, live streams and downloadable clips from the Al Jazeera English channel, as well as interactive discussions and polling. Programme and presenter information as well as weather reports, live business data and sport will also be available via the website.
*****
About Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English is the world’s first English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Broadcasting from within the Middle East, looking outwards, Al Jazeera English will set the news agenda and act as a bridge between cultures. With unique access as the channel of reference for Middle East events, and broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, Al Jazeera English will balance the information flow from South to North, providing accurate, impartial and objective news for a global audience from a grass roots level, giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.
Al Jazeera English is building on the ground-breaking heritage of its sister Arab-language channel – Al Jazeera, which was responsible for changing the face of news within the Middle East, now extending that fresh perspective from regional to global.
|
GET MORE FROM THE AL JAZEERA PRESS OFFICE |
|
Al Jazeera’s Press Office is open for enquiries from members of the press and media. Journalists can contact us at the following address: The Press Office, Al Jazeera, PO Box 23127, Doha, Qatar The Al Jazeera Press Office Inbox is regularly checked during office hours and inquiries will be answered as quickly as possible |