290. Name: Mohammed A. Al-Hamadi Title: Al Jazeera’s AJ+ and the Public Sphere Institution: Hamad Bin Khalifa University Country: Qatar Date: 2020 Language: English Abstract:
Since its launch, Al Jazeera gained the attention of scholars, other media outlets, governments, and, most importantly, the people. Al Jazeera was associated with the newly emerging Arab public sphere. Some criticize its influence on the Arab public sphere, some say it is a reflection of the Arab public sphere, and some say it is an essential element along with other media outlets to the Arab public sphere. After the Arab Spring, the Arab public sphere changed and evolved, and so did Aljazeera. In the digital era, the Arab public sphere started to face new challenges and Aljazeera launched its digital arm AJ+. This study explores the content of a sample of videos from AJ+ English, AJ+ Arabic, and AJ+ Kabreet to see if AJ+ remains true to its Al Jazeera roots. It focuses on three main elements, the subject of the videos, their inclusion, and the engagement levels. Theoretically, the study draws on Habermas’s foundational work on the public sphere and builds on Marc Lynch’s conceptualization of the new Arab public to elaborate on the idea on the new Arab public sphere.
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