Al Jazeera’s Director-General Abruptly Resigns

by Kristina C.
September 20, 2011
11:05 pm

60 comments Al Jazeera’s Director-General Abruptly Resigns

Al Jazeera’s director general, Wadah Khanfar, resigned suddenly on Tuesday and will be replaced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, a member of the Qatar royal family. Khanfar, a Palestinian-born journalist, had led the Doha-based network for the past eight years, overseeing its rise to become the “most important news organisation in the Arab world.” Indeed, Al Jazeera’s extensive and dogged coverage of the recent uprisings in the Middle East has won the network the praise of no one less than US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton who had actually “criticized American coverage of the revolution.”

Al Jazeera, which is owned by the emir of Qatar, was set up in 1996. Khanfar began as a correspondent with Al Jazeera in locations such as Africa, Afghanistan and Iraq. Under his leadership, Al Jazeera became a network unlike other Arab media organizations which are subservient to, and bankrolled by, their country’s governments.

The replacement of Khanfar by a little-known executive at QatarGas, a state-affiliated company, has immediately fueled speculation that Qatar intends to impose greater control over the network. TheGuardian says that Khanfar had become “too independent a figure for the Qataris, and that he had come under pressure from them.” The New York Times attributes Khanfar’s departure to a leaked Wikileaks document. A leaked cable suggests that Khanfar had close ties with the US government and even censored some of Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Iraq war, removing graphic photos — of wounded children in a hospital and of a women with a serious face wound — from a slideshow, with the intent of minimizing anti-American sentiment in Arab countries.

But Foreign Policy argues that this cable is being “taken out of context”:

[The cable] was seized upon by the network’s critics as evidence of a CIA-Qatari conspiracy to manipulate Arabs in the service of U.S. foreign-policy goals.

Middle East Online is running with the headline “WikiLeaks topples Al Jazeera director.” But if Khanfar somehow had to resign because of the cable controversy, which has hurt Al Jazeera’s credibility in certain quarters, it doesn’t wash that his replacement would be a member of the Qatari royal family. Middle East Online also reports that unnamed Qatari officials were already looking to cashier Khanfar over a supposed dispute with Azmi Bishara, a Palestinian intellectual and former Knesset member who lives in Doha (and appears frequently on Al Jazeera).

Foreign Policy even says that, for the past few months, Al Jazeera’s independence seemed to be wavering to the point that it “at times seemed like the official network of the Qatari Foreign Ministry.” Its coverage of Libya has been “utterly over-the-top, enthusiastic cheerleading for the rebels,” at the same time as Qatar just so happened to be “heavily engaged in overthrowing” Muammar el-Gaddafi. Furthermore, coverage of Qatar’s neighbor Bahrain has been “noticeably lacking.”

The Guardian also cites “Arab sources close to the Qatari government” who say that Khanfar’s departure was already in the works six months ago but “had to be delayed after a leak from Syria suggesting Khanfar’s removal was imminent – to avoid the impression of caving in to pressure from Damascus.”

Khanfar is said to have been “emotional” when telling Al Jazeera staff of his resignation. But he also said that “People can think what they like.” Al Jazeera’s own story about his resignation does not mention the leaked cable and quotes from his farewell note in which he spoke of the network’s accomplishments:

“Al Jazeera gained the trust of its audience through consistently speaking truth to power, and channeling peoples’ aspirations for dignity and freedom.

“Our audience quickly saw that Al Jazeera was of them and their world - it was not a foreign imposition nor did it seek to impose a partisan agenda. We were trusted to be objective and to be the voice of the voiceless.

“This newsroom showed the world the first images of the Asian Tsunami and of the famine in Niger. In 2011, the eyes of the world watched the aspirations of millions unfold as our newsrooms broadcast, tweeted and published the events unfolding in the liberation squares from Sidi Bouzid to Jissr Al-Shughur.”

Without the director who oversaw its rise over the past eight years, will Al Jazeera maintain its independence and still be “objective” and the “voice of the voiceless”?

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Photo of Wadah Khanfar by Joi

Karen L L.

6:16pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

I stayed glued to my computer (don't have a television) day and night watching the events in Tahrir Square and throughout Eqypt as the people of that country worked and fought fo justice and freedom. After that, I was an avid follower of Aj, learning a great deal about the Middle East and Arab countries, people, and politics. These are not the kinds of information one learns from mainstream news outlets in the United States. Even BBC frequently referred to Aj's coverage during these times. I certainly hope Al Jazerra does not change dramatically and cease to be the leader in bringing news of the Middle East to those worldwide who would learn to know more about the world's peoples, cultures, and concerns.

Wanda K.

6:12pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

That is a shame. I found Al Jaz to be the best at reporting the Libyan Uprising and seemed to have no bias. Most people in the world, apart from notable despots such Mugabe,Assad etc, would have been hoping that the rebels would prevail. Al Jaz had some good reports, different than the other News channels. I hope that it does not change with the new management.

JW H.

5:23pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

Its all propaganda coming from al j - of course so is cnn

Past Member .

4:52pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

I am sorry to hear this...Al Jazeera is one of the very few news outlets that I respect. We can hope there will be no change.

Mohammad Y.

4:21pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

This man has given name and fame to Aljazeera. His resignation will prove a set back.

Jonathan Y.

3:20pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

This is bad news. Al-Jazeera has been fairly independent. Will be interesting to see if there's a new slant.

Ria T.

2:24pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

Al Jazeera was an example of actual journalism. They looked for facts, not statements by pundits who may know absolutely nothing, or worse, be paid by someone to espouse the views they do.

The only channels to which I have access are the mainstream and our reporting has deteriorated to the point of being infomercials gnerally. Al Jazeera had the kind of integrity I have encountered from Arab men. Obviously no group can all be characterized one way, but, what struck me about the Arab men I met is how they placed integrity above all else. How refreshing!

May we all be kinder to ourselves and each other.

Caryll F.

1:19pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

I cannot believe that some of the commentators who have posted here have ever watched Al-Jazeera at length, or even at all. It has some of the world's most professional, committed and courageous reporters, camera-people and presenter, who get to places that others don't. Its documentaries, notably from Asia, are outstanding and the people speak for themselves. It reports on Syria every day (from Jordan, being banned from Syria) and has covered the Bahrain protests, also alleged rebel as well as Gaddafi supporters' atrocities in Libya.

Robert H.

12:37pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

Roger, it isn't the press' job to condemn anyone. It is their job to report and "print" the news.

Lynn S.

12:31pm PDT on Sep 21, 2011

I first heard of Al Jazeera a number of years ago when tapes were dropped off of kidnappers and terrorists holding and murdering hostages. I jumped to the conclusion, without checking any further, that they were in league with the terrorists. But over time, my view changed and I recognised a certain integrity in their reporting. I can only conclude now that that was the influence of Mr Khanfar. I do not believe any one source of news. Just as when two people argue, somewhere in the middle is the truth of the situation, neither one nor the other but a combination of the two views. And so we must individually use our intellect to discern the truth and not forget that it is our truth. Fact based evidence is also necessary, but even that can be interpreted in different ways.

One of my grandfathers was a paraplegic all his life. In later years, he confined himself to the house and worshipped at the altar of Walter Cronkite. I mean no disrespect to Mr Cronkite. He had a long career and was known to Americans for his integrity. But my grandfather was of the view that if Walter said it, then it was God's truth. We cannot give up our intellect to one source, our ability to see through the morass of conflicting information.

As someone commented earlier "So ???... Who cares ?......." We all should care because with each point of view lost, another view to help us discern the truth is gone.

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