TKNN EXCLUSIVE: AJAM President Kate O’Brian 1


Al Jazeera President Kate O’Brian loves her job. At least that was the impression she gave in my exclusive phone interview with her. Our conversation touched on AJAM’s reputation, political coverage, and how she feels about her job. After the recording ended, O’Brian even rejoined the conversation afterwards to talk about the three-part documentary, Midterms, that has been airing on AJAM. She praised AJ Schnack, the director of Midterms, saying she loves his work and said there would be more like it.

Among the other topics discussed.

O’Brian had not seen the Pew Research Center report that looked at political polarization and media sources. The report put AJAM in the bottom tier of news sources when it comes to trust. In addition, the report showed that conservatives distrust rather than trust AJAM. However, O’Brian dismisses the notion that AJAM has a conservative trust issue. O’Brian had not seen the study at the time of the interview, but an AJAM spokeswoman says that O’Brian has seen it since then.

O’Brian also firmly believes that AJAM holds a unique place in the news landscape. She said that no outfit is comparable and stood by that claim even when pushed.

Be sure to watch the interview and use the #TheTylerInterview if discussing on Twitter. You can also tweet @TKNNPolJungle with questions or comments.


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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One thought on “TKNN EXCLUSIVE: AJAM President Kate O’Brian

  • G

    Interesting! Good job Tyler! I’m still amazed that you got this interview. I have to say that she did not seem very enthusiastic about the interview. 😛 Good questions and keep it up. ~G