nalist Jamil Azar was a prominent Contributor to this effort, as were several other respected journalists who used to post immediate feed- back and corrections to language and terminology. This feedback used to generate reactions about the daily work struggles, pressures and new factors. In general, the media environment is not stable, it needs con- stant adjustment because of work circumstances and demands, and is marked by newsroom leadership turnover. In 2004, the introduction of a professional code of conduct brought more changes to this environment at Al Jazeera. Along with the importance of these scattered directions, the Quali- ty Control team’s work is sometimes subject to the influence of the var- ied professional backgrounds and diverse media and cultural schools of thought of the network’s thousands of journalists, who account for the nearly one hundred different nationalities (1) . With all of this diversity, and the absence of a shared building, it is normal to experience some “crowding” in all these different directions (2) . Given these circumstanc- es, standards in media are implemented based on prior experience, the biggest possible level of agreement, and a balance between desired sta- bility but also flexibility so that change can occur when necessary. In all of this hustle, the Quality Control unit was born. Workshops were held to look at past papers, study them and benefit from them. The team then created new a text that stemmed from the older texts on this matter; and during long sessions that took months, many of these updated reports were sent to administrators at the channels (news, En- glish, documentary, digital) so they could offer feedback. It is important to note here the contact made with Western experiences in this regard. The team of quality experts visited a number of Arab and global me- dia channels and institutions in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, Japan, and Morocco, and they found these visits fruitful and beneficial to their work.
(1) “Editorial Standards”, Ibid., p. 14.
(2) Bourdieu, Television, Ibid., p. 45. Bourdieu believes that the world of journalists is typical- ly defined by divisions, given its internal differences, conflicts, competition, and oppositions, and this is why it is imperative to form and agree upon standards.
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