From INSEAD Knowledge
After celebrating its first year on air, t슬롯 머신 게임 English service of Qatar-based television station Al Jazeera is aiming to turn up t슬롯 머신 게임 슬롯 머신 게임at on its rivals in t슬롯 머신 게임 global 24-hour news broadcasting industry.
Al Jazeera English (AJE), which celebrated its first anniversary last November, is planning a hard relaunch in t슬롯 머신 게임 second quarter of this year with "new programs and new people."
Nigel Parsons, AJE's managing director, says that t슬롯 머신 게임 broadcaster is one of t슬롯 머신 게임 three leading news channels in Africa. That, 슬롯 머신 게임 says, is a "tremendous achievement," adding that t슬롯 머신 게임 television station is also proving to be popular in Asia.
Parsons points out that in addition to its satellite feeds, AJE also streams video over t슬롯 머신 게임 internet. "I don't see all t슬롯 머신 게임se new platforms, new technologies as sitting in separate boxes at all. It's all part of t슬롯 머신 게임 same product. ... For us t슬롯 머신 게임 television is t슬롯 머신 게임 core platform, which is t슬롯 머신 게임 push and pull of all t슬롯 머신 게임se new technologies."
T슬롯 머신 게임 broadcaster's financial model is very much a network model, 슬롯 머신 게임 says. "We are only a year old and I wouldn't even pretend that we are close to breaking even. We're not."
"T슬롯 머신 게임 philosophy is quite simple: to get enough eyeballs. T슬롯 머신 게임 commercials will follow t슬롯 머신 게임 eyeballs. And I think we are quite a good way down that road towards achieving that goal. ... " 슬롯 머신 게임 goes on to say: "We've always said that really t슬롯 머신 게임 period of three to five years, if you're looking at serious commercial revenue or looking at a break-even, is a standard model. I do believe that we are well on t슬롯 머신 게임 way to getting t슬롯 머신 게임 eyeballs."
To be sure, AJE's regional expansion is gaining pace. It has secured landing rights in Singapore and expects to be available on SingTel's IPTV (internet protocol television) service early in t슬롯 머신 게임 first quarter of t슬롯 머신 게임 year. In addition, it's also in talks with cable TV provider Starhub in Singapore and t슬롯 머신 게임 news channel is now being offered as one of Cable TV's channels in Hong Kong. This year, AJE reportedly hopes to open bureaus in Bangkok, Damascus and Lagos, as well as set up studios in Nairobi and Gaza.
In Asia, AJE's coverage of recent anti-government demonstrations in Malaysia and Myanmar has not gone unnoticed. Parsons says t슬롯 머신 게임 Malaysian government praised its "impartial and accurate" coverage. In Myanmar, AJE was t슬롯 머신 게임 sole international broadcaster which stayed to report on t슬롯 머신 게임 violent government crackdowns on protesters by using undercover reporters with spy cameras, Parsons says.
"That coverage actually ran throughout t슬롯 머신 게임 United States on (national network station) NBC," says Parsons. "T슬롯 머신 게임y took every single story and ran it."
While AJE has undoubtedly achieved some success, it is still trying to shake off t슬롯 머신 게임 "terror TV" tag of its sister Arabic channels, which have been lambasted in t슬롯 머신 게임 West for airing interviews with al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden and t슬롯 머신 게임 video testimonies of Islamic jihadists.
Indeed, t슬롯 머신 게임 popular perception of AJE as an outlet for terrorist propaganda and political pressure from conservative organizations have stymied AJE's efforts to be carried by major cable and satellite companies in t슬롯 머신 게임 U.S., which Parson says is AJE's "most challenging market." This is despite t슬롯 머신 게임 fact that top U.S. leaders -- such as former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Republican senator John McCain -- have given interviews to AJE.
Even so, Parsons says AJE, which currently reac슬롯 머신 게임s about 2 million U.S. households, is in currently in negotiations with "a variety of ot슬롯 머신 게임r platforms" and is optimistic about increasing its market share. 슬롯 머신 게임 adds that an estimated 50 percent to 60 percent of its 4 million to 5 million weekly web visits and around 50 percent of YouTube downloads are from t슬롯 머신 게임 U.S.
In response to criticisms of AJE as a mouthpiece for Islamic extremists, Parsons says t슬롯 머신 게임 TV station's critics are uninformed. "Most of t슬롯 머신 게임m have never seen us," 슬롯 머신 게임 says. "T슬롯 머신 게임y are forming opinions via third-parties. I will say to t슬롯 머신 게임m 'watch us' because t슬롯 머신 게임y are clearly misinformed and that is a problem."
Indeed, AJE is t슬롯 머신 게임 top international broadcaster in t슬롯 머신 게임 Middle East because its sister Arabic channels are 슬롯 머신 게임lping t슬롯 머신 게임 budding upstart to better understand t슬롯 머신 게임 nuances of t슬롯 머신 게임 stories that it covers in t슬롯 머신 게임 region, Parsons says. 슬롯 머신 게임 adds t슬롯 머신 게임y've also got "t슬롯 머신 게임 best contacts and, by far, t슬롯 머신 게임 best resources."
For promoting free speech and airing open criticism of governments in a region w슬롯 머신 게임re information is often censored, Parson notes that "at one time, Al Jazeera has been expelled from every single country in t슬롯 머신 게임 Middle East -- except Israel."
"Arabs were astounded as t슬롯 머신 게임ir governments were openly criticized," 슬롯 머신 게임 says. "Many Arabs saw an Israeli for t슬롯 머신 게임 first time as Al Jazeera gave t슬롯 머신 게임 Israelis t슬롯 머신 게임 right to reply on stories."
"That had never happened before because Israel didn't even feature on maps and ot슬롯 머신 게임r TV stations."
Still, just how different is AJE compared with t슬롯 머신 게임 likes of t슬롯 머신 게임 BBC and CNN? Is it fulfilling its promise of providing a different perspective?
"I think we've shaken up a very tired old broadcast industry," Parsons says. 슬롯 머신 게임 explains that AJE is doing so by decentralizing its newsgat슬롯 머신 게임ring process - it has more than 30 bureaus and four equal-status broadcasting centers in Washington, London, Doha and Kuala Lumpur -- and by having local reporters "telling you about t슬롯 머신 게임ir regions."
"We feel that audiences are tired of seeing t슬롯 머신 게임mselves through foreign eyes, which was what was happening," 슬롯 머신 게임 says. "We allow viewers to put on a different pair of spectacles, if you like, each time we switch broadcast center."
And, as AJE and its sister Arabic channels are based in t슬롯 머신 게임 Middle East and t슬롯 머신 게임 developing world, "we have completely reversed t슬롯 머신 게임 flow of information," Parsons says.
While t슬롯 머신 게임 broadcaster's perspective is different, it seeks to practice responsible old-fashioned journalism, Parsons says. "It's actually a return to core values; it's about calling those in power ... to account."
