Aela Callan has been named the 2017 winner of
the Jane Cunningham Croly Award
for Excellence in Journalism Covering Issues of Concern to Women for her film broadcast on Al Jazeera’s 101 East programme.
Callan won the award for “Good Morning Pakistan”,
a film about female reporters risking their lives to deliver the news in one of
the most dangerous countries for journalists. The documentary aired on 101 East, Al Jazeera’s weekly Asian
current affairs programme.
The Jane Cunningham Croly Award
recognises journalists who best capture the courage,
vision and spirit of Jane Cunningham Croly, a pioneering journalist who devoted
her life to helping women improve their lives and expand their rights.
The award organisers said Callan’s film “demonstrated a
concern for the rights and the advancement of women in society and made a bold
statement about the challenges women journalists face”.
Callan is the first international award
winner.
“It’s an honour to win this award,” said Callan. “It’s a chance to
again highlight the brave young women who risk their lives reporting on
Pakistan’s tribal areas. In a society shaped by conservative attitudes and
where threats by armed groups have shut down most media outlets, these reporters
take incredible risks to tell stories that only women can tell.”
Callan’s film focuses on the women working for Tribal News
Network, a radio station that broadcasts across Pakistan’s troubled border
region with Afghanistan. She meets the team making women’s voices heard in a
part of the world where they are not often seen in public life.
“Good
Morning Pakistan” also recently won a Gold Medal at the New York Festival Film
and Television Awards.
Callan was presented with the Croly Award at
a gala ceremony on June 26 in Palm Springs, California.
Callan reports international stories, from Nepal and
Myanmar to Cambodia and France, Callan has been
producing films for 101 East since
2011. She was a Knight Fellow for Journalism Innovation at Stanford University
in 2013-2014.
The social
media campaign reached more than 53 million views and engagement on twitter,
Facebook and YouTube during the first week alone, with 32 million views of the
aligned campaign video since its launch on the 3rd July.
The campaign
was launched by Al Jazeera Media Network to support Media Freedom and
expression, in response to the unreasonable demands presented by the blockading
countries to Qatar, which included closure of Al Jazeera Media Network and its
channels, following blockage of all its websites and applications in their
respective countries.
The campaign video was produced in the Arabic, English, Bosnian & Spanish
languages showing a number of Al Jazeera presenters and correspondents requesting
demands pertaining to Media freedom, which aim to challenge the rising
antagonistic statements issued by the blockading countries against freedom of
expression in the region, including the illogical demand to close Al Jazeera and
terminate broadcast as a precondition to lift the blockade on Qatar.
In its
campaign launch press release, Al Jazeera Media Network has depicted that the
attack and fabricated campaign against Al Jazeera is not merely an attack on a
leading media organization that has enhanced its global reach to millions of
viewers in over 150 countries during its 20 years of service, but in reality is
an assault on the foundations of media freedom.
The campaign
has attained extensive support from global media organizations, including CNN,
BBC, and the Huffington Post which have shared the campaign video. A number of
Rights groups, journalism associations and media organizations defending media
freedom have also commended the campaign and aligned slogan.
Renowned and
prominent media figures; amongst which are presenters, columnists, and social
media activists; have shared the campaign video on their digital accounts,
condemning the attack on media organizations set forth by countries boasting
their lack of support for press freedom.
As part of
the campaign, Al Jazeera will be organizing a series of events in Geneva, London
and other capitals, with participating media professionals and analysts to
discuss the intimidation and threats faced by the Network, as well as the
status of media freedom in the Arab World. The first event will be organized in
Geneva on the 13th July in collaboration with the Geneva Press Club,
the second event titled “Al Jazeera Case” shall be organized in collaboration
with the Frontline Club in London on the 17th July, followed by a
briefing for British parliamentarians shall be conducted on the 19th
July.
Since the release
of the demands put forth by the blockading countries; extensive media coverage on
the closure of Al Jazeera has been reported by numerous international media
platforms and publications; such as The Guardian, New York Times, El Pais,
Washington Times, TV Tokyo, the Norwegian and Swedish broadcasting
corporations, CCTV, BBC, France 24, Channel 4, Deutsche Welle, AP, AFP and Reuters
to mention a few.
The demand
for the closure of Al Jazeera Media Network has been met with international
condemnation, whilst the United Nations and international human rights
organizations have expressed their support for media freedom and solidarity
with Al Jazeera.
It is worth
mentioning that Al Jazeera Media Network has won various awards in recognition
of its news coverage, programs and documentaries, and its journalists have
suffered intimidation and arrest, whilst others have lost their lives, while
covering conflict zones.
Once again we
reiterate “Journalism Is Not a Crime”.
Ayoub
Kara, Israeli Communications Minister, announced the decision of his government
to close Al Jazeera Media Network’s bureau in Jerusalem, revoke media
credentials of Al Jazeera journalists, and to shut down Al Jazeera’s cable and
satellite transmissions. During the press conference held on Sunday, Kara
accused the network of inciting violence and presenting unprofessional
journalism. He then requested from the relevant authorities to act upon this
decision and carry out the necessary measures to put it into effect, but did
not set a date for implementing the decision.
Al
Jazeera Media Network denounces this decision, which comes in the context of a
campaign that was initiated by a statement made earlier by Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he accused Al Jazeera of inciting
violence during its coverage of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Other Israeli
ministers and officials had previously made similar statements following a
break into Al Jazeera bureau by a number of settlers.
Al
Jazeera denounces this decision made by a state that claims to be “the only democratic
state in the Middle East”. It also finds the justifications made by the
minister of communications as odd and biased as they are in unison with the
actions carried out by a number of Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain,
Egypt, and Jordan) that have closed the network’s bureaus, shut down its cable
and satellite transmissions, and blocked its websites and applications. During
the press conference, the minister could not substantiate his comments by
referring to a single news bulletin or situation that proved Al Jazeera had not
been professional nor objective during its coverage in Jerusalem.
Al
Jazeera stresses that it will watch closely the developments that may result
from the Israeli decision, and will take the necessary legal measures towards
it. The network also reiterates that it will continue covering news and events
in the occupied Palestinian territories in a professional and objective manner
in accordance with the common journalistic standards set by the relevant
international organizations, such as the British Broadcasting Code of Ofcom.
Al
Jazeera Media Network expresses its dismay at Snapchat’s decision to block its
Discover channel in Saudi Arabia. It is deplorable that a renowned global
social media platform like Snap Inc. start censoring media content in order to
submit to pressures from Saudi authorities. This action is a direct attack
against the freedom of expression and will have detrimental consequences to the
media industry.
Al
Jazeera Media Network’s Dr Mostefa Souag, Acting Director General, said: “We
find Snapchat’s action to be alarming and worrying. This sends a message that
regimes and countries can silence any voice or platform they don’t agree with
by exerting pressure on the owners of social media platforms and content
distribution companies. This step is a clear attack on the rights of
journalists and media professionals to report and cover stories freely from
around the world.”
He
further stated “We at Al Jazeera, object to any form of censorship and
restrictions to freedom of the media and the right to access information. We
call on Snap Inc. and other global media organisations to reject demands of
oppressive regimes to silence journalists. We would like to remind Snap Inc.
that this decision violates the US constitution, American laws, and values of
democracy. By blocking Al Jazeera’s Discover Channel, our followers in Saudi
Arabia are denied the ability to follow our broad range of stories and
coverage.”
This
comes at a time where Al Jazeera Media Network and other media institutions are
under attack in the Middle East and face calls for their shut down by some Arab
countries.
Al
Jazeera launched its Arabic Channel on Snapchat ‘Discover’ in May 2017 and
continued to provide a wide variety of stories to its audiences in the MENA
region with growing number of followers.
Al Jazeera Media Network
launches today, Thursday September 28, its new daily content on the key
interactive medium Instagram, with the aim of providing dedicated, creative and
captivating content to Arab youth.
The launch of the channel on
Instagram comes days after Snapchat had blocked Al Jazeera’s ‘Discover’ service
in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain; submitting to pressure and
censorship requests from these authorities; in a move seen as a clear violation
to media freedom and the individual right to access of information.
Commenting on the launch, Dr
Mostefa Souag, Al Jazeera Media Network’s Acting Director General said: “It is
surprising that governments and global technology companies believe they can
block access to media content and news material in today’s open information
sphere. Al Jazeera Media Network has achieved great success in attracting
millions of followers worldwide due to its professional coverage. We will not
be deterred and will continue to produce and provide professional media content
to Arab youth through various social media platforms”.
Al Jazeera’s Executive
Director of Digital, Dr Yaser Bishr, said “Today we launch our Instagram
channel to reach out to our audiences with new and captivating content produced
by young journalists from diverse backgrounds. This comes as part of Al
Jazeera’s digital transformation strategy to reach users on all available
platforms and to prove to the world that press freedom and access to
information are basic right which regimes cannot take away as they did in the
past.”
Dr Bishr also said: “The
content Al Jazeera is providing to its followers on Instagram is both carefully
chosen and specifically produced content that takes into account the nature of
interaction and the speed of access to both credible information & current
news”.
As the case with Snapchat and
other digital platforms, Al Jazeera’s Instagram channel will provide stories
that cover important regional and international current affairs events that are
of interest to Arab youth and general users of the platform.
Al Jazeera’s followers on
Instagram stand at 1.6 million followers, preceding all news channels in the
MENA region; while Instagram users stand at 700 million active users worldwide,
inclusive of 400 million users of the platform’s stories feature.
As part of its digital
strategy, Al Jazeera continues to launch new digital channels and services, in
line with the rapid technological development witnessed by the media industry.
Al
Jazeera’s journalism has been vindicated in four landmark rulings issued by
Britain’s Office of Communications, known as Ofcom. The lengthy decisions
published on the regulatory body’s website addressed a number of complaints
made against Al Jazeera’s award-winning Investigative Unit, which produced the
January 2017 undercover series “The Lobby.” The films made front-page
news headlines across Britain and worldwide after it exposed the Israeli
Embassy’s covert influence campaign to smear and attack British citizens
critical of Israel and its practices—including against British Foreign Office
Minister Sir Alan Duncan.
Al
Jazeera’s Investigative Unit covertly filmed Shai Masot, the Israeli Embassy’s
then Senior Political Officer, in discussion with a British civil servant,
plotting to “take down” Sir Alan Duncan. In the past Sir Alan had
criticized illegal Israeli settlement activity. The threat against him cost Mr
Masot his position at the Israeli Embassy, resulted in the resignation of the
civil servant, Maria Strizzolo, who entertained it, and triggered a UK
Parliamentary Inquiry into foreign interference in British politics that is
ongoing. The Israeli Ambassador to Britain, Mark Regev, formally
apologized to the British Foreign Office while Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
conceded Mr Masot’s “cover" was “well and truly blown.”
Ofcom
received complaints in the aftermath of the series from a number of pro-Israeli
British activists, including one former Israeli Embassy employee. These complaints
levelled a range of charges against Al Jazeera extending from anti-Semitism and
bias to unfair editing to infringement of privacy. In each
instance, Ofcom has dismissed these charges, and the complaints as a whole
without reservation.
The
findings come at a time when the State of Israel is seeking to close Al
Jazeera’s Jerusalem Bureau and deny its reporters access for allegedly causing
“incitement.” Joining Israel in attacking the Network are at least four
Arab states who have demanded the wholesale closure of Al Jazeera, amid a
blockade against the State of Qatar, where Al Jazeera is based.
An
Al Jazeera source hailed the Ofcom verdict: “This goes to show that no matter
what Al Jazeera’s critics say, its journalism meets and exceeds the highest
standards of objectivity and balance. We feel vindicated by the rulings and
evermore committed to exposing human rights violations by anyone—regardless of
geography, religion, or the power of their lobbies.”
101 East, which is Al Jazeera’s weekly Asian current affairs program won
the best Politics and Business category award for “Duterte: A President’s Report Card”, while “Voyage to Antarctica” won the award for the Best Interactive Category.
Commenting on the two awards, Giles Trendle, Managing Director of Al
Jazeera English said: “We are delighted to win the AIB Awards for our 101
East episode Duterte: A President’s Report Card and Voyage to Antarctica. These
awards are a testament to the quality of our journalism and the talent of our
teams. They show Al Jazeera English is competing with, and beating, the very
best in the news and current affairs market; and it is additionally gratifying
to see our journalism receive such recognition from our peers in a world in
which journalism is under attack.”
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB)
is an industry association and global knowledge network for the international
broadcasting industry with members from all around the world.
Al
Jazeera’s Rosiland Jordan and Azad Essa won the Ricardo Ortega Memorial Prize
and International Prize at the UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) Global
Prize during UNCA’s Awards Gala on Friday December 15, 2017 in New York.
Azad
was awarded the UNCA International Prize Silver Medal for his yearlong
investigation into accusations of sexual abuse and exploitation against the UN
and what is being done to stop them, ‘Why some peacekeepers rape?’.
Rosiland
Jordan was awarded the Ricardo Ortega Silver Medal for her story on the UN
Secretary-General’s efforts to highlight near-famine in Somalia. UNCA
established the prize in honour of Ricardo Ortega, formerly the New York
correspondent for Antena 3 TV of Spain, who died while on an assignment in
Haiti in 2004.
Commenting
on her win, Rosiland said “It is humbling to be honoured by my colleagues. I only
wanted people to see what I saw during a trip with the Secretary-General, António Guterres, to
Baidoa, Somalia: People who were doing the unthinkable in order to survive
drought and to save their families. I hope we can all do more to highlight
their situation and motivate the international community to help them.”
Rosiland
Jordan is a State Department / Specials Correspondent for Al Jazeera English
based in Washington D.C., while Azad Essa is a Doha based journalist working
for the Al Jazeera English website.
Al Jazeera Media Network continues in its demand for the immediate release of its journalist Mahmoud
Hussein who has undergone a
full year of detention in Egyptian prison without trial. Al Jazeera condemns the unjust renewal of his
detention for the tenth time, most recently on Thursday, 14 December, 2017.
Mahmoud was detained in December last year by Egyptian authorities upon his
arrival in Cairo while on annual vacation visiting his family.
During the course of this year-long detention Mahmoud’s physical health has
deteriorated having first been held in solitary confinement from 23 December
until 20 March 2017. On June 13th, while in prison he sustained a fracture in
his left elbow. To date, he has not been allowed access to the required medical
treatment by the Egyptian authorities, even though Al Jazeera would cover all
costs.
Al Jazeera strongly condemns the actions of the Egyptian authorities which
are a clear and blatant violation of his basic human rights which are
supposedly guaranteed by Egyptian laws and international binding treaties. Al
Jazeera holds the Egyptian authorities responsible for Mahmoud’s safety and
well-being.
Al Jazeera reaffirms its commitment to its journalistic mission and
adherence to its code of ethics to objectively and professionally report all
sides of the story from Egypt and beyond.
We believe that the protection of journalists must be held in the
highest regard - no journalist should be subject to intimidation, persecution,
or imprisonment while carrying out their duties. Press freedom is a basic
fundamental of democratic values – “Journalism is not a crime”.
Al Jazeera Media Network condemns the arrest of Reuters
reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and expresses its solidarity with Reuters and
its journalists. The two detained journalists worked on reporting the military
crackdown against the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state of Myanmar.
According to Reuters the exact whereabouts of the two
reporters is still unknown. Mr Abdulla AlNajjar, Executive Director of Al
Jazeera’s Global Brand and Communications stated, “Attacks on individual
journalists, media organizations, and press freedom are at a critical
point. The endeavor of uncovering the truth is under assault everywhere
and every measure must be taken to ensure journalists’ freedom and safety. We
call upon the Myanmar authorities to release Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and we
stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Reuters and elsewhere across the
world.”
Al Jazeera Media Network today launched a news website in
the Mandarin language, coinciding with the 17th anniversary of the
Aljazeera.net website. The new
Mandarin website will be the first of its kind from an Arabic news provider,
targeting a Chinese population of one and half billion people.
The Mandarin website comes as part of Al Jazeera’s strategy
to engage with Chinese audiences following the successful launch of its content
on popular Chinese social media platforms
Weibo, Meipai and WeChat. The project was overseen by Al Jazeera’s late bureau
chief in Beijing, Dr. Ezzat Shahrour, who passed away on Saturday 23 December
2017.
Commenting on the launch, Dr. Mostefa Souag, Acting Director
General of Al Jazeera Media Network said “Today we are witnessing another of Al
Jazeera’s milestones in expanding our services to a large Chinese audience”.
He further stated, “with the launch of Al Jazeera’s Mandarin website, we
continue to increase our global reach with unique editorial content, while
building bridges among cultures and enhancing the exchange of information,
which our late colleague Dr. Ezzat Shahrour always
sought to achieve through his television reports and his work as a Bureau Chief
for Al Jazeera in China.”
Dr. Yaser Bishr, Al Jazeera’s Executive Director of Digital,
said “The website aims to fill the media gap in China to build bridges between
Arab and Chinese people. It will act as a gateway to
more than 700 million internet users in China to promote values of tolerance,
respect, rights, and liberties while adhering to professional principles.” He
also added “This project comes as part of Al Jazeera’s digital strategy to
reach our followers and audiences wherever they are.”
Mohammed Al Mukhtar Al Khalil, Manager of Al Jazeera Net
website, said on the launch “The Mandarin website focuses on providing its
Chinese audience with news from the Middle East as well as local and
regional news. In the coming days, we will be launching a website in the Bahasa
Indonesian language from Jakarta. We will be evaluating the success of these
projects as we consider launching in new languages.”
Earlier today it was brought to Al Jazeera’s attention that
certain individuals and groups are continuing to seek to undermine Al Jazeera
Media Network’s credibility by forging fake social media handles with
misleading and false news content. In the latest attempt, a fake twitter
account @Aljazeerairan was used to spread misinformation and inaccurate news
pertaining to on-going protests in Iran. Al Jazeera condemns such activities
and has asked Twitter Inc. to take down the fake account, and requests all our
followers to be vigilant about such fake and fraudulent accounts. We take this
opportunity to inform our dedicated audience that the Network continues to
bring impartial and balanced news content through all its platforms.
The Yemeni military force belonging to the Higher Security
Command in Taiz, Southern Yemen, stormed Al Jazeera Media Network’s offices in
the city and forcefully ordered its closure earlier today Tuesday 9 January
2018.
Al Jazeera Media Network condemns this atrocious and
unwarranted action. The Network calls on the authorities in the City of Taiz to
reverse its decision and allow Al Jazeera’s journalists to carry out their
professional responsibilities duties without any hindrance or intimidation.
The Network reiterates its
commitment to providing impartial and balanced coverage of these developments
in Yemen.
The
Egyptian authorities have again extended the detention of Al Jazeera journalist
Mahmoud Hussein for the 11th time, 404 days after he was first arrested on
spurious charges.
Hussein
was stopped, questioned and arrested by authorities on December 20, 2016, after
travelling to Cairo for a holiday with his family.
Since
his unwarranted arrest, he has endured arduous months in solitary confinement,
being denied his medical, human, and legal rights. He is yet to be formally
charged.
On
Saturday, January 27, Egyptian authorities arbitrarily decided to extend his
detention for a further period of 45 days.
Al
Jazeera has condemned the repeated renewals of his unjustified detention,
denies all the allegations against him, and calls for his immediate and
unconditional release.
Furthermore,
the network holds the Egyptian authorities completely responsible for Hussein’s
safety and well-being.
Human
rights and press freedom organisations have also condemned Hussein’s detention,
with his family saying he is suffering from poor health after not receiving
proper medical attention since breaking his arm.
Al Jazeera Media
Network has obtained the ISO-9001:2015 certification for its Human Resources
and Administration Division’s quality management system. The certification was granted
upon meeting requirements of the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) following an in-depth audit and assessment of the Division’s
procedures and documents by the British Standards Institution (BSI) certification
body.
Ajay Sharma,
the British Ambassador to Doha and Jamal Dalli, representative of the
British Standards Institution, attended the event on January 28th at
Al Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha for the official presentation of the ISO
certificate.
In his speech at the
event, Dr. Mostefa Souag, Acting Director General of Al Jazeera Media Network,
underlined the vital role of the Human Resources and Administration Division in
the Network’s daily functioning.
Khalid Johar,
Executive Director of Human Resources and Administration, thanked the Human
Resources and Administration Division staff for their efforts and their dedication
to improve services provided by the Division for which the ISO 9001:2015 certificate
was acquired. He highlighted how the
Network applies human resources and administrative best practices in order to
improve its employees’ performance and provide them with resources required to
succeed in their jobs.
Ambassador Ajay
Sharma expressed his enthusiasm for Al Jazeera Media Network’s commitment to
continuous improvement of the Human Resources and Administration Division’s quality
management system.
Al Jazeera previously
has obtained ISO certificates for its Information Security and Safety.
Lyon, France – 6 February 2018 –Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN) appoints
Euronews Group as its content and brand syndication agent to represent Al
Jazeera’s digital flagship brand AJ+ at a worldwide scale.
Euronews Group is now in charge of marketing and
promoting AJ+ digital channels to third party clients and specifically to its
well
established worldwide network of content and syndication partners.
Since 2014, AJ+ is available on its
own social networks and through its mobile app in English, Arabic, Spanish and
soon in French. Euronews has proposed its expertise to AJMN to develop the
online infotainment brand. Euronews will make AJ+ content available on new
media partners’ digital products and will propose creating new programmes
tailored to specific markets and partners.
Michael Peters, CEO, Euronews
“We are proud to have been chosen by
AJMN to participate to AJ+ future development, which has gained worldwide
recognition among young people at a very fast pace since its launch.
Our experience in marketing content
licence agreements in coordination with a fantastic product such as AJ+
provides a solid platform for the success of this collaboration. This
partnership is an exciting milestone for both our companies in terms of global
commercial roll-out and paves the road for potential additional collaboration
with AJMN in the future.”
Dr. Yaser Bishr, Executive
Director of Digital, Aljazeera Media Network
“Al Jazeera has made great strides
over the last few years to organically target younger segments of audience
through its digital native AJ+. The growth has been organically fuelled through
social media, but it is time to consider strategic partnerships for direct
scaling of our message. We are very pleased to partner with Euronews to explore
untapped distribution opportunities through their impressive &
multicultural network within Europe and globally. This collaboration cannot
come at a better time as we flourish AJ+ into a diverse audience centric
digital network with the recent launch of its French and 4th
language edition.”
Abdulla
Alnajjar, Executive Director, Global Brand and Communications
“I am delighted by this strategic
engagement with Euronews, which will further extend the reach of the AJ+ brand
to new markets and diverse audiences across the globe. This marks the beginning
of a strategic commercial relationship between our organisations and I look
forward to continuing this fruitful collaboration into the future.”
The Euronews/AJ+
partnership agreement has been led by Harold Marraud.
Based in Paris,
Harold is Euronews Group Head of Business Development in the team of Kostas
Oikonomou, VP Partnerships & Distribution.
Launched in 2014 by AJMN,
AJ+ is a global community for digital natives (18-35 years old), that promotes
the different thinking of other cultures and understanding of news in a first
person perspective. AJ+ content is available on all digital platforms and
produces videos in Arabic, English and Spanish. French will soon be launched in
Q1 2018. AJ+ generates more than 500 million monthly videos views on Facebook.
Euronews Group operates two international, multilingual, multiplatform
and independent news media: Euronews and Africanews.
Euronews, based in Lyon,
France and launched 25 years ago in January 1993, offers a unique perspective
on world events in 12 languages thanks to a team of 450 journalists from 30
countries. Euronews, a well-established brand in Europe, is available worldwide
in more than 400 million households in more than 160 countries.
In June 2017, NBC
News and Euronews closed a transaction in which NBC News acquired 25% of the
company to make a significant financial investment in Euronews to support
expanded news coverage and programming. The company’s TV and digital output
will ultimately be co-branded EuronewsNBC.
Al Jazeera Media Network has provided multi-award winning
news coverage and current affairs programs for more than twenty-one
years. It is shocking to hear calls being made by a number of US
law-makers to register Al Jazeera as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agent
Registration Act. Al Jazeera views such calls as a direct attempt to curtail
media freedom and restrict journalists from carrying out their duties, a right
enshrined in the constitution of the United States of America. This call comes
at a time when attacks on journalists and media organizations around the world
are at an all-time high.
Although the professionalism of Al Jazeera has been
questioned in prior cases; in no case has any evidence been submitted or
brought forward. More recently, Al Jazeera’s journalism has been vindicated in
four landmark rulings issued by the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom,
following a complaint against its investigative program “The Lobby”. These
complaints levelled a range of charges against Al Jazeera extending from anti-Semitism
and bias to unfair editing to infringement of privacy. In each instance, Ofcom
has dismissed these charges and the complaints as a whole without reservation.
Since its establishment in 1996, Al Jazeera has continued to
maintain its editorial independence from any governmental institutions, Qatari
or otherwise, and it steers away from any political or ideological agenda. Our
mission is to “inform and empower people with the accurate, in-depth content
that upholds the values of truth and elevates the human spirit.” Speaking truth
to power, as Al Jazeera does, is one of the roles of free media. This has
resulted in harsh criticism from a number of the most oppressive and despotic
regimes who want the media to portray only their side of the story - and have
even called for the closure of the Al Jazeera Media Network. We are alarmed
that some US lawmakers are aligned with such despotic regimes, rather than
acting as gatekeepers for free speech and free media.
We take pride in our unique institution, registered as a
private entity for public good, an authentic voice for the voiceless across the
world and an international platform for dialogue and debate.
At Al Jazeera we ensure that our news reporting, investigative
journalism, programs and all our content maintain strict adherence to editorial
and legal guidelines and procedures to ensure the balance between public
benefit vs. personal privacy.
Al Jazeera’s professional journalism over the past twenty
one years has enabled it to receive several hundred leading awards for its news
coverage and programs from renowned leaders and professionals in the media
industry. It is this professionalism and dedication to reporting objectively,
impartially and independently that has led other leading world organizations to
seek and request partnership with Al Jazeera. We are honored to have been asked
to cover important international events such as the hosting of the United
Nations Secretary General Candidates debate, the coverage of the Nobel Peace
Prize and the offering of exclusive interviews with the Prize winners for the
second consecutive year. In addition, Al Jazeera was chosen by the US State
Department as their only International Media Partner, during Global Entrepreneurship
Summit hosted by President Obama at Stanford University in California.
We, at Al Jazeera, renew our commitment to global audiences
with news coverage and programs which provide in depth analysis of news and
current affairs. We will continue celebrating the achievements brought by our
diversity of staff who hail from almost 100 different countries. It is this
diversity of values and cultures that enriches our work and provides our
audiences with the award-winning content on all our platform.
We urge democratic forces all over the world, especially in
United States, to stand with free media institutions to promote and protect the
values of democracy, liberty, human rights, freedom of media and the
right to free speech.
Don’t shoot the messenger, journalism is not a crime.
-END-
Al Jazeera Media Network, launched in 1996, Al
Jazeera was the first independent news channel in the Arab world dedicated to
providing comprehensive news and live debate. It challenged established
narratives and gave a global audience an alternative voice—one that put the
human being back at the centers of the news agenda—quickly making it one of the
world’s most influential news networks.
Since then, it’s added new channels and services while
maintaining the independent and pioneering spirit that defined its character.
Each subsidiary follows the same principles—values that inspire it to be
challenging and bold, and provide a ‘voice for the voiceless’ in some of the
most underreported places on the planet. From its headquarters in the Middle
East, to the broadcast centers and more than 80 bureaus around the world, Al
Jazeera strives to deliver content that captivates, informs, inspires and
engages.
New
York, March 9, 2018: Al Jazeera Media Network has been awarded the UN Women for
Peace Association “Awareness Award” for its focus on critical women’s
issues in the media network’s programmes and news output, including the role
its documentaries have had in promoting understanding and awareness of the
plight of women and girls around the world.
The
award was given by the UNWFPA on International Women’s day, to coincide with a
panel discussion at the UN headquarters in New York to discuss the role of
media in empowering women worldwide. The panel consisted of leading figures
including Joan Lunden, award-winning journalist and author, Sherwin
Bryce-Pease, President of the UN Correspondents Association, Joanna
Coles, Chief Content Officer of Hearst Magazines, Edie Falco,
actress, Cicely Tyson, actress, and Cyma Zarghami, President of
Viacom Inc.’s Nickelodeon Group.
Barbara
Winston, President of UNWFPA, said, “In our inaugural year of the UNWFPA
Awareness Award, it is my distinct pleasure to give the award to Al Jazeera for
their extensive work on women’s and girls issues across the planet. The
programming on Al Jazeera on women and girls issues is exemplary and we’re
happy for the work that Al Jazeera has done and continues to do. Often
going into dangerous war zones to get their stories, Al Jazeera journalists,
many of whom are women themselves, risk their lives to bring to the world the
stories that matter“.
Abdulla
Al Najjar, Al Jazeera’s Executive Director of Global Brand and Communications,
stated that Al Jazeera’s commitment to covering women’s issues is part of the
core mission of the Network. “Throughout its history, Al Jazeera has been
committed to covering issues that affect women from all backgrounds, faiths,
and regions of the world. Women are so often victims of violence, abuse and
persecution, and media needs to be courageous in covering their stories. We are
very grateful to the UNWFPA for this honor, and are committed to continuing
telling women’s stories from around the globe.”
Accepting the award for the
network were Al Jazeera’s Washington correspondent Patty Culhane, and Malika
Bilal, co-host and digital producer of Al Jazeera’s ‘The Stream’.
The
United Nations has a series of events to mark International Women’s day,
focused on accelerating the 2030 targets to ensure equal access to education
for boys and girls around the world, to end discrimination against women and to
eliminate all forms of violence and harmful practices against girls and women
worldwide.
UN
Secretary General, Antonio Guterres has called gender equality and the
empowerment of women “the greatest human rights challenge in our
world”.
ENDS
About
Al Jazeera Media Network
Al
Jazeera Media Network, launched in 1996, Al Jazeera was the first
independent news channel in the Arab world dedicated to providing comprehensive
news and live debate. It challenged established narratives and gave a global
audience an alternative voice—one that put the human being back at the
centers of the news agenda—quickly making it one of the world’s most
influential news networks.
Since
then, it’s added new channels and services while maintaining the independent
and pioneering spirit that defined its character. Each subsidiary follows the
same principles—values that inspire it to be challenging and bold, and provide
a ‘voice for the voiceless’ in some of the most underreported places on the
planet. From its headquarters in the Middle East, to the broadcast centers and
more than 80 bureaus around the world, Al Jazeera strives to deliver content
that captivates, informs, inspires and engages.
About
UN Women for Peace Association
The UN
Women for Peace Association, Inc. was founded in 2008, under the patronage of
H.E. Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, the wife of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We help
to advance the goals of academic and charitable organizations that provide
opportunities for women to partake in the global peace building process through
social, cultural, educational and women empowerment programs.
The
UNWFPA is committed to the prevention of violence against women and girls, to
the provision of services to those affected by violence, to strengthening the implementation
of laws and policies against violence, and to the empowerment of women in
countries and societies where they are under-advantaged.
Much
of our energy is directed toward raising funds for the United
Nations Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women. The UN Trust Fund, established by the General Assembly in
1996 and managed by UN Women, focuses in particular on developing countries,
countries in conflict, and post-conflict settings. Our contributions to the
Trust Fund directly fund these efforts.
The UN
Women for Peace Association is dedicated to activities that promote tolerance
and respect toward the creation of a peaceful world. We envision a world in
which women everywhere have the same opportunities:
·
Access to education;
·
Opportunities to impact the societies
around them in a meaningful and positive capacity;
·
Freedom to live in peace, in an
environment characterized by tolerance, respect, empowerment, and hope; and
·
Protection from violence and freedom from
the threat of violence.
Al Jazeera Media Network’s Creative Directorate has been
presented with the Silver Promax Europe award – one of the most prestigious
awards in the field of TV artistic production.
The Network won this award in the category of ‘News &
Programs’ for its promotional production of the occasion of the 100th day of
Trump’s presidency that was aired on Al Jazeera English Channel.
Ramzan Alnoimi, Director of Al Jazeera Media Network’s
Creative commented “We are excited to be receiving this award. Although it is
not the first time for Al Jazeera to be presented with a Promax award, it
reaffirms the distinguished work of Al Jazeera. I would like to take this
opportunity to thank my colleagues in Al Jazeera English’s Creative Department
for the production of this outstanding promotion.”
The Promax Award is Europe’s top
celebration of excellence in entertainment, marketing and design, honoring
outstanding campaigns, social media and innovations within the industry. Over
10,000 individuals and organizations compete for the award annually.
-END-
Al Jazeera Media Network, launched in 1996, Al
Jazeera was the first independent news channel in the Arab world dedicated to
providing comprehensive news and live debate. It challenged established
narratives and gave a global audience an alternative voice—one that put the
human being back at the centers of the news agenda—quickly making it one of the
world’s most influential news networks.
Since then, it’s added new channels and services while
maintaining the independent and pioneering spirit that defined its character.
Each subsidiary follows the same principles—values that inspire it to be
challenging and bold, and provide a ‘voice for the voiceless’ in some of the
most underreported places on the planet. From its headquarters in the Middle
East, to the broadcast centers and more than 80 bureaus around the world, Al
Jazeera strives to deliver content that captivates, informs, inspires and
engages.
Al Jazeera Media Network today
renewed its partnership agreement with Dlala Holding, for sponsoring programs
and airing advertisements on Al Jazeera screens and websites. Under the
agreement, Dlala Holding will sponsor Al Jazeera News Channel (Arabic) “Economy and
People” program and “The Stock Market” program of Al Jazeera Mubasher Channel.
In addition, employees of Dlala will be entitled to participate in Al Jazeera
Media Institute’s courses and diploma programs.
“The Stock Market”
program provides viewers with latest updates of stock markets, exchange prices
and latest prices of oil and materials in a simplified and visually attractive way.
The “Economy and People” program strives to shed light on economic conditions
in Arab countries and its impact on Arab populations.
Abdulla AlNajjar, Al
Jazeera’s Executive Director of Global Brand & Communications Division,
said the agreement with Dlala Holding was a great success and an example of a
mutually beneficial partnership. As part of its mission, Al Jazeera welcomes
cooperation with institutions interested in enhancing understanding and the
knowledge of viewers around the world.
Mr. AlNajjar also said, “The
collaboration with Dlala has benefited and enriched the awareness of our
audiences with knowledge of economic issues and investment. Today, we are
increasing the collaboration to include sponsoring more programs, more
advertising and specially designed training courses. We hope to further expand
these partnerships into the future.”
Dr. Abdul Aziz Al
Hammadi, Dlala CEO, commented on the agreement, “Dlala has decided to partner
with Al Jazeera Media Network based on the credibility and media expertise the Network
enjoys internationally.” He further stressed that “Dlala has made great gains
from this partnership with Al Jazeera, hence it was keen to renew the agreement
and expand its scope.”
