Al Jazeera’s responsiveness to the influence of sweeping digiti- sation goes beyond simply keeping up with the monumental develop- ments in this field. The channel understood and built its media network project according to the needs of its vision and the aforementioned dig- ital mindset. The network continued to give great importance to the issue of digitisation, anticipating the importance of digital news service and the role of digital outlets and platforms to publish media content from its channels. In light of this vision and related factors, this chapter seeks to: - Highlight Al Jazeera’s digital leadership and define its vision in this sector as well as explore the importance of digital production for any global media organisation aiming to increase its coverage and have an impact. - Explain the factors of Al Jazeera’s media vision in its interaction with its users. As the network was established to be, “The Opinion and the Other Opinion”, it provided the opportunity for its audiences by giving a “voice to the voiceless” on news and talk programmes. Its digital platforms and outlets solidified this user-centred interactive and participatory vision in producing media content. - Examine Al Jazeera’s unique and specialised digital media net- work model with its multiple platforms and electronic outlets as well as a variety of digital and niche services. - Follow Al Jazeera’s path of digital development through the launch of innovative and pioneering digital journalism models and ser- vices, such as AJ+, to meet the cultural and political needs of consum- ers, especially in light of the decline in “written culture” (newspapers) and traditional media in general, and the rise of “screen culture” (smart phones and tablets). This chapter follows the descriptive approach to show Al Jazeera’s digital leadership and analyse the factors behind the channel’s vision that led to its leadership in this sector. This chapter will also examine the reality of this digital leadership and how it came to be, highlighting its components and media types, the indicators of its reach and its rela- tionship with its platforms. We will analyse the direction it took by rely- ing on internal documents and reports prepared during different phases
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