Al Jazeera launches documentary network
January 2nd, 2007 by Zsofia
According to Al Jazeera’s website, the network began broadcasting a 24-hour documentary channel on 1 January. The main target audience will be the Arab world, but they want to work in partnership with international filmmakers to develop content.
The press release says the channel will feature a wide range of documentary films that will analyse political, historical, scientific, artistic and “touristic” issues in the Arab world, Africa, the Caucasus and Asia. Its flagship current affairs programmes will include “Inside Israel” and “In the heart of China”.
“The channel will mainly focus on what has been called grey areas and cases,” Tawfiq Founi, director of Al Jazeera Documentary Channel, said. “We will look at stories that are distorted or ignored by the Western media on the grounds that they are marginal and insignificant from a Western standpoint, even though these issues are a priority for Arabs and Muslims.”
The director will produce a number of exclusive programmes, through in-house production units, or in co-operation with freelance producers, who have current contracts with Al Jazeera to cover Africa and Asia.
“Our future plan is to have partnership with producers of production companies and TV channels whose editorial styles comply with Al Jazeera’s. […] Our objective behind these plans is to change the way of dealing with the reality of people and their environments in the Arab world, Africa, Asia and the so-called southern world,” the director was quoted as saying.
The Qatar-based Arabic news channel has been on air for ten years and launched its English language programming in 2006. It now has offices in London, Washington and Kuala Lumpur (apart from Doha). In 2004, a documentary on the Al Jazeera channel (Control Room) became an international cult hit.
Check out Al Jazeera’s coverage of world news, and its job vacancies page.
