Al Jazerera, the major Middle Eastern based news/current affairs network, is launching a 24 hour online news network, according to our sources. We can expect Al Jazeera Plus, that online network, to launch sometime in 2014.
The new online channel is expected to cover news, current affairs, as well as human interest. In other words, like other news networks, they’re going to tell you how to think and how to feel (I sure to heck hope not!). But Al Jazerra Plus has hubs literally all over the world, from? Johannesburg to Beijing. They’ll also have an office in San Francisco, California where English and Arabic language services will be available for everyone. Panelist will come from all over the media world, like CNN’s Peter Bale and Facebook’s Jon Steinberg.
I know some of you are going to look at the name Al Jazerra and all kinds of crazy images and stereotypes are going to come up. Let me change that perception. Several years ago, Al Jazeera was voted one of the most influential global entities, ranking alongside Google and and Apple. This says something about our changing times. More people are turning off mainstream news and more people are turning on online news and alternative media.? An online news site called Russia Today? which has over a million subscribers on You Tube alone. I’ve seen RT and I love how it tackles issues American mainstream media won’t touch. I think online news sites are doing well because they don’t give you a bunch of Hollywood fluff. So if Al Jazeera Plus is going to be successful, they must go this route. Give people something new and challenging. Make people think, don’t tell them what to think. The audience is already there, all they have to do is? captivate them. How do you think Al Jazeera Plus will do?