Al Jazeera English on 'contradicting the mainstream narrative'

The issue of impartiality in news is not an easy one for multinational outlets, where audiences in one corner of the globe might have a different perspective on stories than readers elsewhere.

Such is the challenge for Al Jazeera, which broadcasts in more than a hundred countries.

The Qatari-based outlet, which is entirely funded by the House of Thani, the ruling family of Qatar, faced criticism over its coverage of the Arab Spring, which some said showed bias in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Kelly Jarrett, executive producer at Al Jazeera English, refuted the criticism during a session at the News Xchange conference in Prague.

"The narrative we present at Al Jazeera contradicts the narrative of the mainstream, and that upsets a lot of people."

"You're doing something right if you're being criticised," she said, adding that there were "multiple views" in any news story.

Speaking about the Arab Spring uprising, Jarrett said that it "came as a surprise to the world".

"It didn't come as a surprise to Al Jazeera, because we have been there for years... so we knew that this would be coming."

With regards to mainstream reporting, she said most of what Al Jazeera does exists to "challenge those views".

"We're not supposed to challenge the rest of the media sphere in that way," she said.

"But we do, time and time and time again. We're audacious... that's where we're at."

However, she said Al Jazeera had been "priced out of the market" in places like Syria because of the cost of sending security crews to accompany reporters, something which has become a necessity as journalists increasingly become targets in conflict zones.

"So we've been priced out of our own region," she said.

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).