Al Jazeera America Says Good Night



A few months away from its third anniversary, Al Jazeera America is officially shutting down.

The American arm of the global news organization ceased to broadcast after airing a farewell special on Tuesday. The three-hour special, broadcast twice in a row, looks back at some of Al Jazeera’s reporting over the years.

Following the special’s broadcast, the channel will go black. What will replace the channel differs for each carrier.

The last words for the channel were “Good night and goodbye.”

AJAM announced in January that the news organization would shut down in April. The Al Jazeera Media Group, AJAM’s parent company, was facing budget cuts and AJAM presented an opportunity to make those cuts. The cable news channel had low ratings, so low that the ratings company Nielsen could not accurately measure the audience.

Executives were confident that there was an audience for the hard news that they were offering. AJAM President Kate O’Brian told TKNN that the offerings were unique from other competitors.

In a memo to staff, O’Brian and CEO Al Anstey wrote, “We all know good journalism is critical. It ensures information is reliable, and can be trusted. Good journalism doesn’t mean opinion or spin. It is a responsibility which every media organization should carry with determination and resolve. We are proud to have done so since our first to our final moment on air.”


About Tyler

Tyler is the chief media reporter for TKNN, with the news organization since its founding in November of 2010. He has previously served as chief political reporter and chief political anchor for TKNN.

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