workshops, training more than 4000 employees across relevant disci- plines and departments. Two other projects launched during this phase were later discontin- ued: Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera Turk. Al Jazeera America was launched in August 2013, with about 850 employees across 12 state bureaus. Al Jazeera Turk began as a website with nearly 50 employees at the start of 2014, then launched a digital newspaper, mobile app and social media accounts. Al Jazeera America’s services were discontin- ued in April 2016 and Al Jazeera Turk’s about a year later in May 2017. In an internal memo from Al Jazeera’s Acting Director General, Mo- stefa Souag, the closure of Al Jazeera America was attributed to “our business model, which was not sustainable due to economic challenges presented in the American media market… Closing the channel will be accompanied by the distribution of Al Jazeera’s digital services to ex- pand our presence across various platforms in the United States…and this will not affect the rest of the group’s media operations” (1) . To face the multiple challenges during this period, including in- creased legal and financial risks and administrative and editorial ob- stacles, the network’s upper management took several important steps. The legal department was tasked with taking the necessary measures to guarantee intellectual property rights as well as raise legal awareness of these rights. Several specialised courses and workshops to address and provide guidance and support on these issues were delivered to network employees, including those stationed abroad. The legal department also worked on protecting the network’s various segments in and outside of Qatar to avoid lawsuits and comply with local laws. This includes: - Full compliance with local and global legal and institutional reg- ulatory requirements to ensure continued network operations in accor- dance with recognised ethical and professional standards - Documenting cooperation between legal affairs and human re- sources with regards to employment and termination (locally and inter- nationally), and coordination for settlements to avoid delays and pre- vent any lawsuits
(1) Internal memo from the office of Al Jazeera’s Acting Director General Mostefa Souag, titled, “The Network expands its digital services”, 5 February 2016.
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