Executive Producer: Julian Ingle

Julian Ingle is the Executive Producer of Empire and has been with the programme since August 2012.

Ingle is a television and radio journalist with more than seventeen years experience in production, programme making and reporting. He began his career in his native UK as a reporter for the BBC , later becoming a newsreader and eventually, a senior producer for the network.

In late 2005, he joined Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar as part of the launch team for Al Jazeera English . Ingle took on the role of programme editor in the news department and led coverage of special events in Beirut, Jerusalem and Damascus.

Since late 2007, he has been based in the US with Al Jazeera English . As head of the channel’s political unit in Washington DC, Ingle led the US 2008 presidential election campaign coverage.

In 2011, he helped launch a new debate show  Inside Story Americas , before joining Empire , when it relocated from London to New York City in 2012.

Can you explain the philosophy behind the show?

Empire is a current affairs show which questions transnational power. We investigate any form of power, whether it be geopolitical power, cultural power, or financial power where it impacts masses of people who often don’t have a voice. We question the use and misuse of power, through short films and discussions. The guests we invite on Empire might be public intellectuals, authors, poets, filmmakers, or academics, many of whom are not the regular TV pundits you see on other networks. All of them bring different perspectives and ideas. For this reason, we believe  Empire is one of the most educational and probing television shows on English language television.

What goes into the making of an episode of Empire ?

Pulling each episode together from conception to transmission is a very difficult, but fun process. Many ideas for episodes begin with a brainstorming session with the whole team. Next comes the treatment plan. How are we going to structure the episode? What questions do we need to ask? Who should we invite onto the show? How can we be different from other media outlets? These are just some of the questions we ask ourselves. Once a treatment plan is written and agreed upon, we then start the pre-production. This involves masses of research – we have a great research team who summarise many articles and books. This leads onto more brainstorming sessions and eventually the structure of a show emerges. The next step is executing the plan: writing scripts, editing the films, inviting guests, fixing up a location, filming the elements, and finally several longs days in the edit suite to put it all together so it’s ready for transmission.

How does Empire embody the Al Jazeera spirit of journalism?

Empire is at the heart of what Al Jazeera is about. Our approach is adversarial, bold and brave, and it is in our fearless and relentless questioning that we challenge power in ways that many other outlets are afraid to do.