Al Jazeera America To Shut Down LA Bureau, US Operations
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Cable news network Al Jazeera America is closing up shop after less than three years in the U.S. market, company officials announced Wednesday.
Citing "the economic landscape of the media environment", Al Jazeera America CEO Al Anstey said the Qatar-based news agency will "wind down its operations and conclude its service" by April 30, 2016.
At its launch, the company boasted 12 bureaus in U.S. cities - including Los Anglees - three broadcast centers, a headquarters in New York City, and around 900 journalists and staff, according to reports.
"I greatly respect the unrivaled commitment and excellent work of our team, which has created great journalism," said Anstey. "We have increasingly set ourselves apart from all the rest, and the achievements of the past two-and-a-half years should be a source of immense pride for everyone."
The Los Angeles bureau of Al Jazeera America made its debut with the stated goal of covering of Southern California, the Inland Empire, and Central Coast along with "Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii, and the area of Baja Mexico," according to the network's website.
In 2013, the Pan-Arab news channel - which long struggled to win space on American cable television - acquired Current TV for $500 million, boosting its reach by nearly nine-fold to about 40 million homes.
Perhaps one of its biggest news achievements came in late 2015 when the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit alleged it had secret recordings that suggested Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning had obtained performance-enhancing drugs. Manning vehemently denied the report as "completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage."
