Talk:Al Jazeera Media Network: Difference between revisions

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I hadn’t seen what happened until now, but it’s very much unclear why the 4 sources from academic scholarship that described AJ’s editorial independence were removed from the lead and then replaced with lower quality news articles. It might be useful to collect all of the relevant sources on the question (editorial independence) in a list and determine specifically what to write based on the sources. Katzrockso (talk) 22:51, 6 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I removed two sources yesterday in lede because someone placed a dubious tag on sources. Maybe I replaced with the wrong ones? I will look into it later this week. Some sources were definitely removed long ago by غوّاص العلم Cinaroot  💬 01:17, 7 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I suppose you’re referring to the sources in this version of the article [1]. They all have various problems, the biggest of which is that three of them don’t say that AJE is editorially independent. They were added on 23 December 2025, so they don’t reflect the consensus. Let’s use this thread to find reliable sources that discuss the editorial independence of AJE and then amend the article.

Note that the following are different claims

• AJE is editorially independent
• AJE is editorially independent from AJA
• AJE is more editorially independent than AJA
• AJE is editorially independent from the government of Qatar

Alaexis_¿question? 09:12, 9 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding your edit

This has led to a backlash from those who see something unique in Al Jazeera. Most other channels pump out sterile state-approved reports, but Al Jazeera is an independent broker of information. economist article

Guardian title its article as `Al-Jazeera’s political independence questioned amid Qatar intervention` – that also speaks to its independence

In September 2011, Wadah Khanfar, a Palestinian widely seen as independent, suddenly left as director-general after eight years in the post

In his resignation letter, Khanfar said, after noting that the channel had been criticised by Donald Rumsfeld and hailed by Hillary Clinton, that “al-Jazeera is still independent and its integral coverage has not changed”. Cinaroot  💬 05:42, 10 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I’ll edit this post as i find more.

1) Al-Jazeera, the independent, all-Arab television news network based in Qatar, emerged as ambassador to the Arab world in the events following September 11, 2001. [2] Cited 291 times on Google scholar

2) It is not yet financially independent but is considered a private company, not a government station. Human Rights Watch – It represents HRW’s institutional analysis and position.

3) Al-Jazeera also demonstrated its independence of the political mainstream in the Arab world and its resilience to political coercion, when, within days of being granted permission to reopen its bureau in Amman, the network carried some reports that were politically embarrassing to Jordan. Al-Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel – H Miles – 2005 Cinaroot  💬 05:57, 10 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Most of your sources seem to be about AJ in general rather than about AJE (only the Guardian article discusses AJE). I’d say that none of them supports the statement in question.

Re the Economist article you didn’t quote the next sentence (emphasis mine) Most other channels pump out sterile state-approved reports, but Al Jazeera is an independent broker of information. Or at least it was.

Re the Guardian article, it literally says Al-Jazeera’s editorial independence has been called into question. Do you really think that it supports the statement that AJE is seen as independent? Khanfar is not an independent source and we can’t take his words at face value. Note that this is a quote and The Guardian doesn’t say it in its own voice.

The HRW report doesn’t say anything about the editorial independence. It would be an improper WP:SYNTH to use it as a source.

Miles (2005) and El-Nawawy&Iskandar (2003) published their works before AJE was founded so they aren’t relevant. By the way, El Nawawy&Iskandar paint a fairly nuanced picture and dedicate the whole chapter AL-JAZEERA: TRADITION VERSUS PROGRESS (p. 83) to the influence of Qatari government. It ends with these words See the The station’s ability to divorce itself from the government of Qatar—in terms of finances as well as editorial decisionmaking—will determine the network’s long-term viability..

Finally, if we want to make a statement in the present tense, then 20+ years old sources are not ideal. Alaexis_¿question? 15:09, 10 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Im aware it’s about AJ – not AJE. We can remove statement about AJE – and make it about AJ. Economist article is trying to be balanced. Al Jazeera is an independent broker of information is presented as a flat assertion of fact, but Or at least it was – does introduce some doubt. I was trying to find text that supports the independence. Obviously Independence is not a binary condition – and is debated. Scratch HRW source. Can be used for something else. Cinaroot  💬 16:33, 10 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I’m not against removing the statement about AJE from the lede for the time being. I do think that there is a consensus in RS that AJE is more independent than AJA but I’m neutral on whether this should be mentioned in the lede.

“Obviously Independence is not a binary condition – and is debated” this is precisely my point. We should follow the sources per WP:BALANCE and describe all major viewpoints. Alaexis_¿question? 12:37, 11 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

yes it say in WP:ALJAZEERA – that community perceive Al Jazeera English to be more reliable. This [3] is a interesting read.

Its difficult to find quality sources that directly AJE more independent. But using synth – we may be able to talk about Al jazeera’s independence and opposing views

Afraid of losing the information war, the US tried to muzzle AlJazeera. American officials lobbied the Emir of Qatar to tone down the coverage of Al Jazeera, stop the airing of news the US considered unfavorable and curb the anti-American rhetoric; however, Qatar showed a reluctance to interfere in the editorial independence of the channel (although later it agreed to share with the Americans Al Qaeda taped messages before airing them. Cited by 355 on GS

The same scenario seems to recur in the case of Qatar and Al Jazeera: each time a government complains about a particular program on Al Jazeera, Qatar consistently maintains that it cannot interfere because of the editorial independence of the channel. However, such a position is usually met with a general skepticism equally on the part of Arab governments and American officials. Unlike Great Britain, Qatar is not known for its democratic tradition, nor does it have a long history of free press. Not surprisingly, Al Jazeera has caused innumerable diplomatic crises.

For some, the channel’s quasi-inexistent coverage of Qatar’s affairs is a sign of independence since Al Jazeera spares the viewers long reports on the daily activities of the Emir of Qatar, which is a real change from what is usually aired on the overwhelming majority of Arab TV channels, including satellite channels

Although there is evidence to support Al Jazeera claims of editorial independence, there are also noteworthy parallels between its allocation of editorial time to issues of women’s empowerment and the efforts of Qatar’s Emir to empower Qatari women.

Al Jazeera may claim independence, but the network has only relative independence; it is not government-controlled, but is nonetheless government owned. To what extent state funding affects the independence and editorial decision-making of the network remains a pressing issue. Cinaroot  💬 04:03, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

We should be avoiding WP:SYNTH, not using it. Katzrockso (talk) 07:37, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

what do you mean? Cinaroot  💬 08:46, 14 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

“Al-Jazeera is structured to receive funding from the government of Qatar but maintains its editorial independence” and “the editorially independent AJE was launched to reach worldwide audiences” are two quotes that directly speak to editorial independence. I did not add, but also did not remove the long-standing Samuel-Azran citation in the article. Katzrockso (talk) 06:53, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I will collect some sources that more directly talk about editorial independence here, per your suggestion above. I am not saying any of these support or oppose any version of the article, just collecting sources. Additionally, I am not (yet) commenting on the DUEness of these pieces. Additionally, some of these comment on Al Jazeera specifically while others comment on Al Jazeera English.

This ended up getting too long, so I put it in my userspace Katzrockso (talk) 07:36, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Alaexis @Cinaroot feel free to add sources to this list. Katzrockso (talk) 08:44, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Katzrockso, I think that we should exclude Mapping the Al Jazeera Phenomenon Twenty Years On as a non-independent (and thus non-reliable) as one of its authors works at AJ and it doesn’t look like a peer-reviewed book. Alaexis_¿question? 21:41, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Alaexis thanks for spotting that, so far I just collected quotes I didn’t investigate any of the sources themselves or how reliable they are yet. We might want to sort/annotate them with your comments.

Let’s be clear that non-independence does not always imply unreliability, non-independent sources are sometimes the best/most reliable source for a claim. In this case I agree that we need to be careful on how to use that source. It could be usable, but if we use it, it should be attributed. We would need to determine the reliability of Al Jazeera Centre for Studies. Katzrockso (talk) 23:59, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Non-independence does imply unreliability for our purposes, since this is what the policy that I linked says Articles should be based on reliable, independent, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. Al Jazeera Centre for Studies is not independent of AJMN.

Having said that, the reliability is not black and white and I can see this source being used for uncontroversial facts, but definitely not for anything related to the editorial independence. Alaexis_¿question? 07:25, 14 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I don’t know if it’s better to discuss the sources from your list here or there, but Al-Jazeera, Phoenix Satellite Television and the Return of the State says that Al-Jazeera has enjoyed a margin of editorial independence unprecedented in the Arab world. I don’t think that this claim is contested. We can’t use this source to support any statement about its independence in general, not just compared to the media in the Arab world. Alaexis_¿question? 21:47, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Like I said above, I’m collecting sources so we can properly develop the editorial independence section, and then once we develop that section create an encyclopedic summarization of that section in the lead (WP:LEADFOLLOWSBODY). I am not wedded to any particular sentence, let the sources guide us. Katzrockso (talk) 00:01, 14 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just wanted to point it out. Alaexis_¿question? 07:57, 14 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Omer Ibrahim work is a master’s thesis, so unless it can be shown to have significant scholarly impact it’s not considered a RS. Alaexis_¿question? 21:51, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Same goes for Banan Abdulrahman Assiri’s thesis. Alaexis_¿question? 22:05, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Regarding the Worlds of Journalism, I don’t have access to the book but judging by the excerpts it compares (favorably) AJ to other media in Qatar and the Middle East in general. We can use it for that but not for absolute claims. Alaexis_¿question? 22:15, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for creating the list! I’ve added a few more sources that are already in the article. Let’s make sure we only keep RS and then we can decide whether the current phrasing reflects the consensus. Alaexis_¿question? 22:42, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, I will review the list and add sources. Let’s gather sources, reach consensus and then update the article. Alaexis_¿question? 08:57, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

However, reports have suggested his son and successor Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani was less prepared to fund a network whose English language service has insisted on editorial independence and antagonised other states in the region with its coverage. [4] Cinaroot  💬 07:53, 17 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@Paprikaiser proposed in ANI that we should restore to a version before غوّاص العلم started editing. Most edits since then were made to counteract or clean up issues arising from their edits. There are some constructive changes, but those can be manually reapplied after the revert.

This proposal has support from @Ravenswing and @Toddy1 – I think additional support would be appropriate before proceeding. Cinaroot  💬 04:38, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Now that the ANI discussion is over, we need to move on and fix the problems raised. The sooner this is done, the sooner the problems with the old text that editors raised at ANI will be fixed. So please make the revert today.— Toddy1 (talk) 07:38, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I’m not sure this was the right decision… But by all means let’s reapply constructive changes. Alaexis_¿question? 08:58, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I’ll do it slowly, but anyone else is free to do it. I think the most important thing right now is to clean up editorial independence language. So let’s focus on that. Cinaroot  💬 09:15, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for your help with this. It is hard for me to sort through the mess of edits, but I am in agreement with WP:BOLDly removing any sort of POV additions. NotBartEhrman (talk) 18:47, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

After reading several sources – regarding the launch of Al Jazeera – i think it was misrepresented previously -there are two sides – Emir wanted to “nurturing free speech”, “lifted censorship of the media by disbanding the Information Ministry”, given the mandate of independence, etc.. then there is opposing views that claim Emir launched Al Jazeera to challenge Saudi Arabia, enhance regional influence of Qatar, legitimize their ruling etc… Its all too political – i don’t want to add either sides. Rather just mention events happened and no POV. What do you guys think? 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 07:36, 21 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Yes and no. Yes, the lead should just mention events. No, for the body of the article, which needs to represent “fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views that have been published by reliable sources” on this topic as per Wikipedia:Neutral point of view.— Toddy1 (talk) 08:32, 21 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

How do i determine – if those are significant views and if its due?

npov states The neutral point of view does not mean the exclusion of certain points of view; rather, it means including all verifiable points of view which have sufficient due weight.

Shawn Powers whose views were integrated previously work in state department since 2016 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 05:18, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I got the book by Hugh Miles today, lol. I couldn’t get an online copy – so I had to buy it. I wanted to know what he thought.

Exactly what the Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, had in mind when he decided so firmly to establish a satellite news channel – whether it was for financial gain, or from a desire to make political capital over his long-term rivals the Saudis, or out of a genuine yearning for democratic reform – is a matter of opinion. He first put forward the idea as early as August 1994, when his father was still on the throne. The initial plan had been to upgrade Qatari state television and begin transmitting it via satellite.

So, I think it’s not correct to write it like this. Thats simply a POV – and violates NPOV. 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 06:24, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The article on Hugh Miles (journalist) is somewhat related to Al Jazeera (he wrote on the subject). Please could people add it to their watch lists, and if they bump into relevant material whilst improving AJ-related articles, please use it to improve the article on the journalist (or post the link on the article talk page).— Toddy1 (talk) 15:29, 12 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

@NotBartEhrman @Toddy1 @Alaexis @Katzrockso
I made some updates to lede – you may wish to review.

I would like to start integrating more from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Katzrockso/sandbox/ajm to Al_Jazeera_Media_Network#Editorial_independence section. 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 08:40, 18 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the heads up! The lede changes are alright.

Regarding the editorial independence section, the page you linked contains a list of quotes from various sources. Do you prefer to share your proposed changes here first, or to edit the article and proceed in the WP:BRD fashion? Alaexis_¿question? 12:41, 18 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Yes – I haven’t worked on it – will do it when I get time. I will do BRD. You guys can edit to improve or revert. 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 17:05, 18 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks – I agree with most of the changes. I’ve made one edit, hopefully the edit summary is clear. If you disagree let’s revert the 3rd paragraph of the lede to the status quo ante and discuss it here. Alaexis_¿question? 14:38, 21 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I reverted it – contested assertions should not be in WP:VOICE – Criticism that it is influenced by Qatar should be attributed. If the network’s credibility in the Arab world is also being contested, then that can be attributed as well. There are a lot of reliable sources that discuss Al-Jazeera’s editorial independence. We are not giving equal weight to that in the lead. The main issue for which Al-Jazeera is being criticized is its financial dependence on Qatar and Qatar being a monarchy. It is subject of criticism because of its controversial reporting that angers governments around the world.

This is something i picked up from the book – The Al Jazeera Effect

The relationship between media ownership and news product integrity is a global issue, whether it involves the Emir of Qatar and Al Jazeera or the U.S. government and Al Hurra or, for that matter, the Disney Company and ABC News. In the Middle East, where trust is a limited commodity, the issue is particularly significant for any news organization trying to enter or expand in the market. 🐈 Cinaroot  💬 04:36, 22 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]