Since its launch in 2013, the work done by the team at Al Jazeera America has been recognised with almost every major award an American news organization can receive.
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The government of Qatar, a Middle East country that has quickly become renown for its vast oil wealth, owns Al Jazeera Media Group, which is the company that owns Al Jazeera America.
The controversial network launched in August 2013 with a plan to offer serious-minded news coverage.
“I’m not sure it was inevitable, but it’s certainly not surprising”, said Philip Seib, a University of Southern California journalism professor and author of the book “The Al Jazeera Effect”, in an interview with Reuters.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Al-Jazeera Media Network said in a statement that it will expand its digital content and distribution services, including in the United States.
News of the shutdown, which is scheduled to take place on April 30, was announced on Wednesday afternoon during a staff-wide meeting.
Anstey noted that the reorganization would help Al-Jazeera invest in expanded digital operations.
The company’s Chief Executive, Al Anstey, announced the closure in a memo to staff.
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“The Al Jazeera America Board made this decision based on the fact that the Al Jazeera America business model is simply not sustainable in light of the economic challenges in the US media marketplace”, the spokeswoman wrote in an email to Reuters. Al Jazeera also could not overcome suspicion among some potential viewers about its motives bred in the years after the 2001 terrorist attacks. Al Jazeera America is committed to conducting this process in a way that is consistent with its respect for colleagues.
