Serving Professionalism through Quality Abdullah al-Tahawi
Introduction In the Dafna area of Doha, just a few kilometres north of Al Ja- zeera’s headquarters, there is a two-storey building in which a special- ised media team works. Its main task is to supply the network man- agement with instant constructive data around the clock on its media output. At the end of every day, this feedback is compiled in a report detailing the editorial and creative strengths and weaknesses of broad- casts. The report also checks how compatible the coverage is with the values and professional guidelines of the network. This team is called Quality Control Department, and it is respon- sible for guaranteeing the editorial standard of the network’s news con- tent. On the occasion of Al Jazeera’s 25th anniversary, we present this unique model of monitoring and evaluating quality in an Arab media environment. In this chapter, we do not intend to examine the processes of quality control in media organisations in general. Instead, we will focus on Al Jazeera’s experience in this field, as well as its own way of transferring, configuring, and localising standards in the Arab world. This unique experience, which accumulated over a quarter a century, represents a distinctive addition to Arab media, and an important build- ing block that enhanced the global media experience in this respect. This is not an easy task. The biggest challenge facing institution- alising ideas is to transform them from abstract concepts to operational systems and practical modes of work. In the following sections, we will present the different phases of Al Jazeera’s experience in anchoring a system of quality control, from brainstorming and preparation to im-
107
EN2.indd 107
20/02/2022 4:14 PM
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter