Current TV, a progressive media outlet that has employed numerous UCLA alumni since its founding in 2005, was recently bought by Al-Jazeera, an award-winning news organization in the Middle East that is owned by the government of Qatar.
Current TV has aired news shows like “The Young Turks,” the largest online news show according to their website, an in-depth documentary series on the world’s biggest issues, as well as user-generated freelance reporting.
The network, which was co-founded by Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt, was an attempt to blend internet and television with topics such as politics and entertainment, said Adam Fish, a UCLA alumnus who worked at Current TV for four years following its inception in 2005.
Many UCLA alumni worked at Current TV, including Eric Macris, a founding member of the network, David Neuman, its programming chief, and Laura Ling, a journalist whose detainment in North Korea in 2009 garnered widespread media attention.
But over the years, Fish said he noticed that the network’s attempt to create innovative content failed, which led to a shift in the network’s philosophy.
The addition of liberal commentator Keith Olbermann in 2011 reflected the shift in favor of a more traditional format of personality-based news shows and less viewer-generated content such as “The Young Turks,” he added.
With Al-Jazeera’s recent buyout of Current TV, some Current TV employees may transfer into the new channel, said Fish, who is now working as a lecturer at Lancaster University in Europe.
“Journalistic television becomes compromised by economic imperative,” Fish said.
Al-Jazeera has been expanding globally for several years, said Steven Spiegel, a professor of political science and director of the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.
To accommodate its recent expansion, Al-Jazeera announced plans to double its American employment to 300 people, and expand their offices in New York City, Washington D.C., Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago in the coming year. The company plans to launch Al-Jazeera America, formerly known as Current TV, sometime in 2013.
“(The sale) was something that was going to happen at some point or another,” Spiegel said, referring to Al-Jazeera’s newfound presence in the American market. He added that the network has done some very important work in the Middle East, particularly during their coverage of the Arab Spring, that has contributed to the company’s growing popularity.
Current TV’s failure, Fish said, was due to the inability to attract the viewership of 18 to 35 year-old males.
Josh Samani, a physics graduate student, also said he had not heard of Current TV nor its purchase. Still, he might look into the new channel.
“I still think its good to have more options to choose from,” Samani added.
By purchasing Current TV, Al-Jazeera will now have access to approximately 60 million American households, according to the Al-Jazeera America website.
Spiegel said it is too early to tell whether Al-Jazeera’s new channel will be successful among American viewers, though he thinks the channel will be judged by the quality of its programming, not where it comes from.
In the meantime, Fish said he is interested in seeing how Al-Jazeera America will affect the news landscape in America.
“These networks are finding ways to present news that, in some cases, can be rather critical of the U.S.,” Fish said. “It is an exciting development to watch,” he added.