All of Al Jazeera America's TV and digital operations have been terminated.edited

[elleng]

Last edited Wed Jan 13, 2016, 04:39 PM - Edit history (3)

Breaking news. All of Al Jazeera America's TV and digital operations have been terminated. @AlJazeera

FB posted by Steve Clemons

EDIT: Expanding Digital Services: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027526586

[el_bryanto]

1. Apparently accurate

Here's the story. I guess I can understand the difficulties.

Bryant

[ananda]

2. Going off tv in April but will continue online.

.. Low ratings and other problems seem to be the reasons.

[guillaumeb]

3. Here is some information Ellen

Executives of Al Jazeera America (AJAM) today are holding a meeting at 2 p.m. Eastern Time to tell their employees that the company is terminating all news and digital operations in the U.S. as of April 2016, resulting in the loss of hundreds of jobs. The announcement marks a stunning and rapid collapse of what, from the start, has been a towering failure.

AJAM began when Al Jazeera purchased Current TV in late 2012 from founder Al Gore for $500 million, and the channel launched six months later. From the start, the project was beset with massive failures, from bitter internal strife and employee discrimination lawsuits to minuscule ratings and distribution failures. AJAM and Gore ended up in a protracted, embittered lawsuit with one another. Ratings were so low as to be almost unquantifiable; even by 2015, the network was averaging a tiny 30,000 viewers in prime-time and at some points had literally a zero rating in the key 25-54 demographic.


https://theintercept.com/2016/01/13/al-jazeera-america-terminates-all-tv-and-digital-operations/

[elleng]

4. Thanks. Interesting.

I recall a bit about the Current and Gore stuff.

[hunter]

5. Cable and satellite television "networks" will eventually become worthless.

It's an obsolete business model.

[brooklynite]

11. Whether it's a network or not...

People have to be willing to pay for the content. How many people here pay subscription fees to online sites vs. claim that "information should be free"?

[hunter]

13. People pay for Netflix.

Movies and television news are expensive to produce. Perhaps that sort of subscription model would work.



My wife and I and our adult children simply don't watch traditional television news. My wife and I do subscribe to the local newspaper (which is severely struggling), and pick up the local weekly. I don't watch any television at all. The only televisions advertising I see is posted here on DU, like the Campbell's Soup ad.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027521893

Written news and internet radio or podcating are well within the means of middle class people in first world nations to produce.

My mom worked in radio, as an on-air personality and behind the scenes. The radio business is nothing like it was in the 'sixties and 'seventies. In college I was a reporter for the campus daily. (I write too slowly to make a career of it, and I really don't give a shit about style or grammar or building an audience )

What's the future of jounalism? I don't know.

Even the BBC has a YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/user/bbcnews/videos

[CrispyQ]

6. Well crap.

We've found them to be much better than any of the other TV networks, including MSNBC. I'm really upset about this.

[elleng]

8. 'AJAM has been losing staggering sums of money from the start.

That has become increasingly untenable as the network’s owner and funder, the government of Qatar, is now economically struggling due to low oil prices. The decision was made recently to terminate AJAM, which allows the network to terminate all of its cumbersome distribution contracts with cable companies, and re-launch its successful Al Jazeera English inside the U.S.'

https://theintercept.com/2016/01/13/al-jazeera-america-terminates-all-tv-and-digital-operations/

[grntuscarora]

9. +1

nt

[leveymg]

7. Al-Jazeera is owned by the Qatari Royal Family. This is a political decision, not economic.

Reflects the luke-warm relations with the current Washington Administration more than operating losses and small market share.

[Bluenorthwest]

10. I'd never give custom to Qatar in any way. They are extremely anti gay and should not be legitimized

They flog and imprison people for being gay, including tourists and workers visiting from other countries. It's their royal family that owned this outfit.

[jwirr]

12. Is this because of money?