Wadah Khanfar oversaw the creation of Al Jazeera English and was credited with revolutionising the Arab media landscape before he stepped down as director general in September 2011.
Having begun his career with the Arab news organisation analysing African affairs, he took on the director general role in 2006 and was to steer Al Jazeera as it responded to the tumultuous events that began sweeping across the Arab world in January 2011. Commentators compared the Arab Spring for Al Jazeera to CNN’s coming of age during the early days of the Gulf War in 1991.
With an increasing global presence, Al Jazeera, which is based in the Qatari capital Doha and owned by the state’s emir, has also been criticised for pulling its punches over the uprising in the Gulf state of Bahrain and for its lack of coverage on events in Qatar itself. Banned in the United States, it has also been criticised for biased reporting and for being anti-American and pro-Islamic.
Wadah Khanfar will be joining us at the Frontline Club in conversation with Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow to discuss the rise of Al Jazeera, the role he played in its development and where the news organisation can go from here.
In association with The Middle East Monitor
Picture credit: jurvetson/Flickr
