Testing ‘the truth’

: an evaluation of the extent to which the content and professional practices of Al Jazeera English meet the criteria set out in its vision statement

Abstract

Since its creation in 1996, Qatari-owned Al Jazeera has been the focus of much attention in the media and academic world. Researchers have argued its merits or biases from the outside, but this study focuses on the output and the working practices of the news operation and its sister station beIN Sports, from an insider’s perspective. It evaluates not only the content of Al Jazeera English’s news and sports channels, but also the network’s professional practices and processes, which determine and shape the content for broadcast. It does so in the context that Al Jazeera’s vision was to be fearless in the pursuit of truth and to be the voice for the voiceless. Working within the organisation in Doha, this qualitative research details empirical participant observations carried out over a period of eight years and analyses the network’s working protocol through a series of extensive semi-structured interviews with its staff. It asks the question whether Al Jazeera English’s output is governed by the culture of journalism or by the culture of the organisation and the country where it is based. The notion of editorial independence and its history in the region is discussed at a time when Qatar’s near neighbours of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE, set up a blockade of Qatar, and called for the abolition of Al Jazeera. Out of these tensions evolved a ten point template for further study in the Gulf.

Date of Award	13 Oct 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Winchester
Supervisor	Alec Charles (Supervisor) & Inga Bryden (Supervisor)