Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is the English-language channel of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera Media Network and launched in 2006. It is known for having shifted the geographic centre of gravity of international news: rather than concentrating on Western capitals in the conventional pattern, it built broadcast centres in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington and weighted its correspondent network towards the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Latin America.

The channel's most distinctive strength is sustained live coverage from conflict zones; it has maintained long-running field operations on Gaza, Syria, Ukraine and Sudan. Its documentary strand and discussion programmes such as Inside Story and The Stream are as prominent as its bulletins.

Its funding relationship with the Qatari state has been a persistent subject of debate about its editorial line, and readers are better placed to weigh its reporting on Gulf politics and regional rivalries knowing it. Against that, the channel sustains a field presence in places where local broadcasters cannot operate, which is a genuine and distinctive contribution to international reporting.