In 2011, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton giving evidence to the US Congress admitted Al Jazeera was a provider of “real news” in contrast to US networks. The channel, she said, was “changing peoples’ minds and attitudes. And like it or hate it, it is really effective.” US news media, she said, were not keeping up. Although the network is tried, tested and trusted, and a legally private institution, it remains open to charges of political bias because it is funded by the Qatari government. Mostefa Souag, the current head of the network and former head of the Arabic channel insists that it is completely editorially independent. To give meaning to this Al Jazeera has developed a range of internal standards, codes and editorial guidelines; guided by global standards of journalism, professional ethics and human rights. It has created partnerships with the world’s leading media support groups, including the International Press Institute, the International Federation of Journalists, and the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) which I founded almost ten years ago. Working alongside Al Jazeera’s Public Liberties and Human Rights Centre – itself a unique innovation in global journalism – the EJN has helped to strengthen Al Jazeera’s editorial work.
This has included extensive engagement with Al Jazeera’s journalists and editors to help them navigate the tricky dilemmas they face in their daily work. The focus has included actions to combat hate speech and promote diversity, promote safety, and to find practical ways to ensure the core values of journalism: accuracy, independence, impartiality, humanity and accountability in editorial departments. The human rights centre, led by Sami Al Haj, former correspondent in Afghanistan who was detained for years at Guantanamo Bay, is a vital part of the Al Jazeera machine and its leadership understands from personal experience what happens when rights are abused. Times change, but the problems and threats of the past do not disappear, they just resurface in new forms and as new challenges. There is much to admire in the courageous and committed journalism of Al Jazeera Media Network, but as we applaud some remarkable achievements in this jubilee year, we well recognise that in perilous times it is needed more than ever. Aidan White is a UK journalist, formerly of The Guardian, was General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists for 24 years. He founded the International News Safety Institute in 2003 and the Ethical Journalism Network in 2011.
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