The not so-slow motion train wreck that is Al Jazeera America (AJA) continues to roll on. The Qatar-owned cable news network is, though, the proverbial tree in a forest that implodes with no one around to hear. The implosion stories are dramatic and entertaining. They also don’t matter. AJA doesn’t matter. No one watches. The network has zero impact on the news cycle.
The New York Times:
Almost two years later, the ratings have not come, nor have the profits. The station has been a nonfactor in news, drawing about 30,000 viewers a night. To make matters worse, in the last week, a lawsuit and an exodus of top executives have brought to the surface a series of grievances that employees say reflects a deep dysfunction in management of the newsroom, undermining the network’s mission. …
“I didn’t want to be there anymore because I didn’t like the culture of fear,” said Marcy McGinnis, the network’s former senior vice president for news gathering, who resigned on Monday. “People are afraid to lose their jobs if they cross Ehab.” …
Ms. McGinnis, who formerly worked at CBS News, was the third top Al Jazeera official in the last week to announce a departure. On Thursday, the chief of human resources, Diana Lee, and the executive vice president for communications, Dawn Bridges, resigned. On the same day, a former employee sued the company, claiming he had been fired after he complained to human resources about a powerful colleague. The complaint contains accusations of anti-Semitism, sexual discrimination and episodes of retribution against employees.
Allegations of sexism and anti-Semitism at a network owned by a government where Islam is the state religion?
The hell you say.
The story isn’t that AJA is imploding.
The story is that it is not a story that a 24 hour cable news network with billions invested in it is imploding.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC