Reflections on Al Jazeera as it turns 25

On Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 19:30 GMT:
The Al Jazeera Media Network turns 25 years old this month and looks back at a history marked by obstacles, threats and attacks; none of which deterred it from pursuing its journalism with fairness, accuracy and a focus on telling the world’s unheard stories.

Al Jazeera launched as an Arabic-language satellite news channel in 1996, broadcasting from Qatar’s capital Doha, with a mission to challenge the manner in which the dominant international news channels at the time framed global events from a Western perspective.

The first independent news channel in the Arab world, it featured an array of voices, including perspectives from all sides – a policy that drew ire from many. Since then, it has grown into a network of multiple channels and digital platforms, including Al Jazeera English and AJ+.

Al Jazeera has been the news source for several of the biggest stories over the past quarter of a century – the Gulf War, the Arab Spring, multiple conflicts in Gaza, and historic events in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. Then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011 said the state department was getting most of its information on the Arab Spring from Al Jazeera.

“Viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it’s real news,” she said.

In this show, we gather a panel of voices from Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English and AJ+ to discuss the highs and lows of the past 25 years and to take questions, and hear thoughts from the network’s audience.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Josh Rushing, @joshrushing
Presenter, Fault Lines
Presenter, Al Jazeera English

Abderrahim Foukara
Al Jazeera Bureau Chief, Americas
Host, Min Washington

Dima Khatib, @Dima_Khatib
Managing Director of AJ+ Channels