Al Jazeera America

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Al Jazeera America
Al Jazeera America Logo.png
Launched August 20, 2013 (2013-08-20)
Closed April 12, 2016 (2016-04-12)
Network Al Jazeera
Owned by Al Jazeera Media Network
Slogan "There's More To It"
"Your Global News Leader"
"Change The Way You Look At News"
"Where The News Is The Star"
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area United States
Headquarters Manhattan Center
New York City, New York
Replaced Current TV
Sister channel(s) Al Jazeera English
AJ+
beIN Sport

Al Jazeera America (AJAM) was an American basic cable and satellite news television channel that is owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013 to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, and in certain markets, RT America. The channel was Al Jazeera's second entry into the U.S. television market, after the launch of beIN Sport in 2012. The channel, which had persistently low ratings, announced in January 2016 that it would close on April 12, 2016,[1] citing the "economic landscape".[2]

The channel was headquartered and run from studios on the first floor of the Manhattan Center in New York City.[3][4][5] It also had a total of 12 bureaus located in places such as Washington, D.C., at the channel's D.C. studios at the Newseum and Al Jazeera's D.C. hub, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Los Angeles, Seattle, New Orleans, Dallas, Denver, Miami, and San Francisco (former headquarters of Current TV and current headquarters of online channel AJ+).[6][7]

The channel was the sister channel of Al Jazeera's international English language news channel Al Jazeera English. Although operated and managed completely separately with America's management based in the United States, the two shared United States studios and bureaus such as the D.C. hub and Al Jazeera America ran some of Al Jazeera English's programming and many of its live newscasts alongside its own.

History

The creation of Al Jazeera America was announced on January 2, 2013, along with the announcement that the network had purchased the user generated content channel turned progressive-oriented cable television channel Current TV, which had long been struggling in the ratings and after two format changes had announced in October 2012 that it was considering a sale of the channel.[8] It was reported that Al Jazeera planned on shutting down Current TV, keeping its production staff and possibly some programs, and using the company's distribution network to broadcast Al Jazeera America.[9] Current TV, by coincidence, was formerly Newsworld International, an international news channel similar to Al Jazeera America run by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

On July 22, 2013, Al Jazeera America named former ABC News Vice President Kate O'Brian as president of the network, and Ehab Al Shihabi as interim CEO in charge of business affairs. In addition, former CNN veteran David Doss was named Vice President of News Programming and former CBS News executive Marcy McGinnis was named Vice President of News Gathering. Former MSNBC executive Shannon High-Bassalik was named Senior Vice President of Documentaries and Programs.[10]

Al Jazeera said it received more than 21,000 job applications for 400 positions at its U.S. network. Approximately 200 Current TV employees, including some 50 in editorial, were absorbed by the new operation.[4] It planned to have a total of 800 employees at the channel's launch. Al Jazeera America also announced that the channel would employ well-known veteran journalists, anchors, and producers.[11]

On July 3, 2013, Ali Velshi confirmed that Al Jazeera America's launch would take place on August 20, 2013.[12] The launch took place at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on that date, with an hour-long preview special entitled This is Al Jazeera. News coverage began immediately afterward at 4:00 p.m. Al Jazeera America's website launched on August 8, 2013.[13]

Closure

On January 14, 2016, the Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it would be shutting down Al Jazeera America's cable TV and digital operations on April 30, 2016, citing plummeting oil prices and the highly competitive nature of the American media market.[14] It was also reported that this closure would lead to the loss of about 700 jobs.[15] During its two-year history, Al Jazeera America won several media awards including the Peabody, Emmy, and Shorty Awards and citations from groups such as the National Association of Black Journalists and Native American Journalism. However, the network experienced low viewership ratings, averaging between 20,000 and 40,000 viewers on a typical day.[16][17] Following the network's shutdown, Al Jazeera Media Network is planning on expanding its digital presence in the United States though ventures such as United States-based AJ+.[18][19]

On February 26, 2016, the Al Jazeera America website ceased operations.[20]

On February 11, 2016, writing in the television trade magazine, Broadcasting and Cable, industry pundit Joe Mohen proposed a provocative thesis that the business failure of Al Jazeera America was only because it chose the wrong distribution channel, namely cable. Mohen argued that by the time of Al Jazeera America's launch, the demographics of cable news viewers in the United States market were people in their 60s, whereas the natural audience of Al Jazeera was people under 34 years old; had the parent company instead launched the linear news channel as a Netflix type app (much like how RT America has done), with full digital distribution, then it could have grown its audience using search, and sold its commercials programmatically.[21]

On March 27, 2016, CNN correspondents Brian Stelter and Tom Kludt wrote an in-depth analysis of Al Jazeera America's closure. Among the many reasons for the closure cited in the article were low viewership and falling oil prices. But the article also pointed to more "deeper-rooted problems." These problems included poor decision making and management on behalf of Al Jazeera higher-ups- specifically CEO Ehab Al Shihabi. The article stated that they lacked a business plan, and made faulty branding choices such as refusing to change the name "Al Jazeera." Stelter and Kludt also suggested that political issues could have played into the channel's demise. During the Bush administration, the President and other officials openly criticized Al Jazeera for airing messages from Al-Qaeda figures.[22] This could have been part of the reason why Al Jazeera America struggled to get major cable providers like Comcast and DirecTV to carry the channel.[23]

On April 12, 2016, Al Jazeera America signed off for the final time with its last program ever to air on the network, a live three-hour retrospective titled, Your Stories. Antonio Mora & Richelle Carey, the first two anchors to appear on air when it launched August 20, 2013, were the last two anchors to appear as the network signed off for the final time at 8:59 p.m. ET.

Content and programs

Originally 60% of the channel's programming would be produced in America, while an additional 40% would come from Al Jazeera English. That was later changed to almost all of the channel's program content being sourced from the United States. In an interview with The New York Times, head of international operations Ehab Al Shihabi said Al Jazeera America's content on "most days will primarily be domestic news. But Al Jazeera’s seventy bureaus around the world will mean that we will have an unparalleled ability to report on important global stories that Americans are not seeing elsewhere. We will do that when it is warranted".[24] Al Shihabi said that the channel would feature less political discussion and celebrity news, and that news gathering will take priority over maximizing profits (the network will air only six minutes of commercials per hour, a rate far fewer than competing networks).[25][26] Former AJAM meteorologist Nicole Mitchell said, "I loved being able to tell people you wouldn't see a Kardashian story on our channel."[23] Its three-hour morning program had a different format focusing on hard news and not "a group of anchors chatting on a couch".[27]

Al Jazeera America aired live programming at all hours, including half-hour news bulletins at 2 or 3 a.m., while other cable news channels run rebroadcasts of the previous evening's primetime programs.[4] A three-hour morning show, talk shows and taped documentaries were also planned. Three Al Jazeera English programs that were based in Washington, The Stream, Inside Story and Fault Lines were included on the launch schedule, as well as The Frost Interview and Listening Post. The flagship nighttime show was called America Tonight. It was a weeknight news magazine that presented the day’s news in Al Jazeera's long-form style with "stories that are not covered elsewhere".[28]

Al Jazeera America's original senior executive producer for news and special projects was Bob Wheelock, a former senior producer for ABC and NBC News. Wheelock left the network shortly after the launch to head up a political campaign in Delaware. CNN chief business correspondent and the anchor of Your Money, Ali Velshi was the first major name to join Al Jazeera America. He hosted a daily, half-hour show originally called Real Money with Ali Velshi,(later called Ali Velshi on Target).[29] The show was originally going to be once a week until the end of 2013 when it was re-launched as a daily show.[30]

The channel had a 16-person investigative unit and hired veteran National Headline Award-winning journalist Edward Pound (formerly of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report and the National Journal) to lead its investigation division. Josh Bernstein of Denver Fox affiliate KDVR was hired as the lead investigative reporter, along with Trevor Aaronson, an award-winning author and investigative journalist and the former co-founder and associate director of the nonprofit Florida Center for Investigative Reporting who served as the networks investigative digital reporter based in Washington, D.C.[31][32] It later hired Andrea Stone, most recently of The Huffington Post, and Tony Karon, most recently of TIME Magazine, to manage both U.S. and global coverage for the channel's website and other digital platforms. The two were responsible for determining the overall editorial direction for the site and were based in New York City.[33]

Newseum Home of Al Jazeera America's premiere D.C. studio and America Tonight

The channel also hired Kim Bondy, a former executive producer with CNN to produce its flagship news program America Tonight, a newsmagazine program that is hosted by original CNN International anchor and former CBS News correspondent Joie Chen, produced from Al Jazeera America's Newseum studio in Washington, D.C., and featuring correspondents Adam May, Lori Jane Gliha, former CBS, ABC and CBC news correspondent Sheila MacVicar and former Current TV correspondent Christof Putzel.[34][35][36] The program presented in-depth segments each night on the economy, government, education, healthcare and the environment, and include breaking news stories. The program also featured work by the Al Jazeera America investigative unit and covers stories in depth from across America, revealing new insights on the news of the day and breaking stories with its own original reporting. America Tonight also incorporates social media interaction on screen and off to reflect the views of its American audience. On July 1, 2013, longtime CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien was hired to be a special correspondent for America Tonight, as well as a deal with her production company Starfish Media Group to produce long-form documentaries for Al Jazeera America.[37]

An American version of the popular Al Jazeera English program The Stream was originally featured on the channel. Produced from Al Jazeera's Washington, D.C. hub, and hosted by veteran journalist and former ABC News correspondent Lisa Fletcher. The show formatted to allow viewers to interact with Fletcher and her guests during the program via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ Hangouts and Skype. The show's social media team and second screen technology enabled viewers to engage 24 hours a day with new content, comments, user-generated videos and a variety of posts. The Stream relied heavily on a variety of online resources and social media tools to connect with people across the United States and around the world. This includes "Storify", which allowed the aggregation of additional information, links, and photos about show topics on the website; "Video Genie", which enables viewers to leave video questions for the show 24-7; and Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit. It also hosted Google+ Hangouts and uses Skype rather than satellite feeds for nearly all guest interviews.[38] Less hard-news orientated than Al Jazeera America's other shows, guests included everyone from civil rights group leaders to Kathy Griffin.

On July 21, 2013, the network hired former Fox News, MSNBC, and Current TV veteran David Shuster to host a show during "the evening hours".[39] Shuster was an analyst on the midday and evening news on the channel as well as a fill in host.

On July 26, 2013, the network announced that former Good Morning America host and award-winning journalist Antonio Mora would host a current events talk show called Consider This, a program which showcased "hard-hitting interviews and panel discussions on issues important to American viewers". Consider This also featured interactive segments where the audience will join the conversation via social media.[40] The first episode of the show highlighted the hunger strike and court-approved force-feeding in California's prison system. Mora later anchored the late news. The show was replaced by a similar program Third Rail.

The channel announced plans to produce and acquire documentaries. Kathy Davidov and Cynthia Kane were hired as the senior executive producer and senior producer for its in-house documentary film unit. Davodov came from the National Geographic Channel, where she produced shows such as Border Wars and the Explorer special. Kane came from ITVS, where she managed over 150 projects and worked with the Sundance Channel.[41]

On April 13, 2014 the channel began showing Borderland, a documentary series on illegal immigration which follows six Americans as they retrace the fatal journey of three undocumented migrants who died attempting to cross into the United States. Borderland was the first Documentary series for the channel. A second one called The System focused on the U.S. prison system.

News staff

Al Jazeera America's news anchors included Randall Pinkston (formerly of CBS News), John Seigenthaler (formerly of NBC News and WSMV in Nashville), Antonio Mora (formerly of ABC News), Richelle Carey (formerly of CNN and HLN), Jonathan Betz (formerly of WFAA in Dallas and WWL-TV in New Orleans), Tony Harris (formerly of sister station Al Jazeera English and CNN), Del Walters (formerly of WJLA in Washington, D.C. and WMAR of Baltimore, MD) and Stephanie Sy.[42][43]

Other people

Mike Viqueira was hired on June 5, 2013 to be Al Jazeera America's first White House correspondent.[44]

In November 2013, Al Jazeera America hired Ray Suarez, formerly of PBS Newshour, to host Inside Story.

Programming

The morning and afternoon hours contained live news (between 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern Time). International morning and midday news segments were provided by Al Jazeera English with Newshour.

Former programming

In addition to those listed below, Al Jazeera America, like its international sister channel, ran various programs that were either entirely non-recurrent or consist of just a limited number of parts (miniseries format known as special series).

Produced by Al Jazeera America

  • Ali Velshi on Target (formerly Real Money with Ali Velshi) – A show hosted by Ali Velshi from New York City that focuses on current affairs which provides context and analysis around current political and economic issues along with interviews.
  • Inside Story – Hosted by Ray Suarez from Washington D.C. Show provides analysis, background and context on the top stories of the day. Each episode features a panel of expert guests who examine and debate domestic and international topics ripped from the headlines.
  • America Tonight – Al Jazeera America’s flagship show, Hosted by Joie Chen from the Newseum in Washington D.C., a 30-minute-long news and current affairs magazine. Segments feature in-depth reports on subjects such as the economy, government, education, healthcare, and the environment, as well as breaking news featuring correspondents from across the country.
  • Your World This Morning – Hosted by Stephanie Sy, Del Walters, and Nicole Mitchell (Weather) from New York City, Morning block of national and international news.[45]
  • News – Domestic and international News from New York City, hosted by various anchors including Tony Harris, Antonio Mora and John Seigenthaler.
  • Talk To Al Jazeera – Interview program with prominent world figures by various anchors and journalists.
  • Fault Lines – Hosted by Josh Rushing, Zeina Awad, and Sebastian Walker, A show that takes viewers behind a particular story and reports on it in-depth using in-depth interviews and investigative reporting.
  • TechKnow – Hosted by Phil Torres and others from Los Angeles, a Fast-paced, 30-minute show that explores and exposes how the latest scientific discoveries are changing our lives.
  • Compass With Sheila Macvicar – Hosted by Sheila MacVicar, program focuses on foreign policy issues.
  • Third Rail – Hosted by Ali Velshi (formerly Imran Garda), weekly current affairs program tackling controversial issues and probe perspectives with moderated debate, three-person panels and reports from Al Jazeera correspondents around the world.
  • Al Jazeera America Presents – Documentary and investigative series focused on a specific topic such as Borderland and The System.

Produced by Al Jazeera English

  • News from Al Jazeera English:
    • World news live from Al Jazeera's Doha broadcast centre
    • World news live from Al Jazeera's London broadcast centre
    • Newshour — an hour of world news and sport hosted from both of Al Jazeera English's broadcast centres in Doha and London.
  • Listening Post – Hosted by Richard Gizbert from London, Current affairs program that critiques journalism and the media industry around the world.
  • 101 East — the weekly documentary series for issues of particular importance in Asia. Presenters or hosts have included Teymoor Nabili and Fauziah Ibrahim
  • People & Power — a biweekly programme, originally hosted by Shereen El Feki.
  • Witness — the daily documentary-slot for films by the best of the world's independent film-makers. The strand aims to shine a light on the events and people long-forgotten by the global media and on those which never merited a mention in the first place.

Produced jointly

Imported

Also airing at various times are the Al Jazeera English programs Earthrise, Al Jazeera World and Al Jazeera Correspondent along with shows brought in from other channels in the UK and Australia.

Programs from Al Jazeera English not shown on Al Jazeera America (such as Empire and UpFront) are unblocked and can be seen on Al Jazeera English's website.

  • Consider This – Weeknight current affairs talk show with Antonio Mora from New York City. Show featured interviews with prominent newsmakers, panel discussions that provide insight through varied perspectives and involvement of the show’s audience using social media.
  • Power Politics – Hosted by David Shuster from New York City, a political analysis show featuring in-depth looks into issues topping the poles (produced during U.S. election seasons).
  • The Stream (American Version) – Hosted by Lisa Fletcher and Wajahat Ali from Washington, D.C., Current events discussion and debate show formatted to allow viewers to interact with the hosts and guests during the program via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ Hangouts and Skype.
  • The Frost Interview (previously Frost Over The World) was hosted by David Frost. Frost died in 2013, and show still aired posthumously with the family's consent.[citation needed]

[46][47]

Notable staff

Management

On-air staff

A complete list of hosts and correspondents is located in the box at the bottom.

Anchors and hosts

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Correspondents

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International correspondents (Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera Balkans)

Al Jazeera Office, Kuala Lumpur

Al Jazeera America shared International correspondents and resources primarily with Al Jazeera English, the international English language sister channel, which along with other AJMN channels has correspondents and bureau locations in the following places:

Middle East and the Maghreb

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Sub-Saharan Africa

Europe

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Americas (outside of United States)

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Asia-Pacific

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North East Asia
ASEAN region
Australasia

Al Jazeera Investigative Unit

Formed in 2010, in its own words: "the role of Al Jazeera Investigations is not to report the news, but to make the news".

The Unit, also known as "the Investigations Team" or, simply, "Al Jazeera Investigations" is headquartered at the Network headquarters in Doha, but also has representation in London, Washington, DC and San Francisco, the last two the base of the Al Jazeera America branch. The unit is a Al Jazeera Media Network asset and its reports will appear equally on the other channels, tailored appropriately for the relevant language and audience.

The Unit's investigations resulted, amongst others, in the documentary What Killed Arafat? This film won a CINE Golden Eagle Award. In 2013, the Arafat findings were indeed reported as a news–item on other networks. The documentaries are often presented under their own strand, as: Al Jazeera Investigates.

The original Unit chief was Ahmad Ibrahim, but the current Manager of Investigative Journalism for the Al Jazeera Media Network is Clayton Swisher. Other leading figures include: Ed Pound, Karen Wightman, Trevor Aaronson, Frank Bass, Josh Bernstein, Simon Boazman, Will Jordan, Phil Rees, Ken Silverstein. At its launch, the unit had three separate teams.

Awards

In 2014, Al Jazeera America and producer Reed Lindsay won a Gracie Award in the “Outstanding Hard News Feature” category from the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for the story “Fists of Fury,” which aired on America Tonight.[48] The award was the first award ever for the channel.

Al Jazeera America has also won a Shorty Award for "Best News Twitter Account".[49]

The crew of "Made in Bangladesh" at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards

The Al Jazeera America show Fault Lines won two Peabody Awards in 2013 for the episodes "Haiti in a Time of Cholera"[50] and "Made in Bangladesh".[51]

The channel and Fault Lines also won a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for "Made in Bangladesh".[52]

On September 30, 2014, Fault Lines won an News & Documentary Emmy Award in the Investigative Journalism News-magazine category for "Haiti in a Time of Cholera".[53]

In early 2015, Al Jazeera America's digital team was recognized with an Award of Excellence for Photo Editing Portfolio in the Pictures of the Year International competition.[54]

In April 2015, Al Jazeera America won 16 National Headliner Awards including 7 first place wins in various categories including "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators environmental reporting" where It held all three top nomination spots with the Fault Lines episode “Water for Coal” winning overall, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators investigative report" and "Best of TV" where the Fault Lines episode "Deadly Force" won, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators documentary or series of reports" where the documentary "Killing the Messenger" won, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators coverage of a major news event" where they also held the top three places with their coverage of "The Downing of MH14" winning, "Broadcast television networks, cable networks and syndicators newscast" where their coverage of the "Crisis in Yemen" and "ISIL on the Turkish Border" won and "online slideshow" for its digital team.[55]

Incidents

While covering the Ferguson protests in 2014, officers from the Ferguson Police Department shot rubber bullets and tear gas at an AJAM news crew including correspondent Ash-har Quraishi, who after yelling, "We're the press" caused them to abandon their recording equipment and run to safety.[56] The incident was caught on camera by KSDK-TV, a local NBC affiliate who was filming from across the street. An officer was captured on video turning the reporters' video camera toward the ground and dismantling their equipment.[57] Other incidents, including the arrests of two print journalists for The Washington Post and The Huffington Post, also occurred during the same time period.[citation needed]

Controversies

On April 28, 2015, Matthew Luke, Al Jazeera America's former Supervisor of Media and Archive Management, filed a US$15 million lawsuit against his former employers over unfair dismissal. Luke alleged that he had been unfairly dismissed by the network after he had raised concerns with the human resource division that his boss, Osman Mahmud, the Senior Vice-President of Broadcast Operations and Technology, discriminated against female employees and made anti-Semitic remarks.[58] In response, Ehab Al Shihabi, the head of Al Jazeera America, has announced that the network will contest the lawsuit in court. Mahmud has also denied Luke's charges and has alleged that Luke was a difficult employee. In an unrelated development, two female Al Jazeera America employees—Diana Lee, the Executive Vice-President for Human Resources, and Dawn Bridges, the Executive Vice President for Communications, had resigned that week.[59][60][61]

On May 4, 2015, Marcy McGinnis, a senior Al Jazeera America's executive and former CBS news anchor, resigned from the company for undisclosed reasons amidst internal dissension with AJAM's management.[62] On 5 May 2015, Al Jazeera Media Network demoted Al Shihabi to Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Al Jazeera America. He was demoted from CEO after a report from the New York Times of an altercation between him and host Ali Velshi where he attempted to fire and sue the channel's top host.[63] He was replaced by Al Anstey, the former managing director of Al Jazeera English.[64] On 11 June 2015, Shannon High-Bassalik, AJAM's former senior vice president of programming and documentaries, filed a multi-million lawsuit against the channel; alleging a biased pro-Arab coverage and the mistreatment of employees. AJAM has responded that they would contest the lawsuit in court.[65]

On November 8, 2015, it was reported that Al Jazeera America's general counsel, David W. Harleston, did not have a license to practice law. Harleston had previously dealt with several lawsuits involving DirecTV and Al Gore, several wrongful termination cases by former employees, and the departure of the company's chief executive, Al Shihabi.[66]

Reactions to "The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers" documentary

On December 27, 2015, Al Jazeera English and Al Jazeera America released a report conducted by the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit called "The Dark Side: Secrets of the Sports Dopers" which investigated professional athletes' potential use of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) naming Peyton Manning and other prominent athletes like Ryan Howard, Ryan Zimmerman, James Harrison, and Clay Matthews III, as having received drugs from Charles Sly, a pharmacist who had worked at the Guyer Anti-Aging Clinic in Indianapolis during the fall of 2011.[67][68][69] The Huffington Post leaked the reports a day before Al Jazeera's publication.[70] Then, Manning told ESPN's Lisa Salters about the reports, despite the documentary wasn't even published yet, on an interview on the morning of the 27th for ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown:

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“Disgusted is how I feel. Sickened by it. I’m not sure I understand how someone can make something up about somebody, admit he’s made it up and yet somehow it gets published in a story. I don’t understand that. Maybe you can explain it to me, somebody else can. It’s completely fabricated, complete trash, garbage. It makes me sick it brings Ashley into it. Her medical history, her medical privacy being violated. That makes me sick. I don’t understand that. It’s not right. I don’t understand it.”[71]

Salters pointed other cases have been seen in which athletes deny first and then eventually admit allegations and Manning answered he can't speak for others and he know how hard he worked.[72] Nevertheless, Manning also stated he had visited the Guyer Institute 35 times during 2011 and that he had received both medication and treatment from Guyer during this time.[72] Sly recanted his story and requested the report not to be aired via a YouTube video following the release of the report.[73][74] Sly later said he had never seen the Mannings[75] and told ESPN's Chris Mortensen that he is not a pharmacist and was not at the Guyer Institute in 2011, as Al Jazeera claimed, but state licensing records indicate that someone named "Charles David Sly" was licensed as a pharmacy intern in Indiana from April 2010 to May 2013 and that his license expired May 1, 2013.[75] Al Jazeera later confirmed that Sly had worked at the Guyer Institute during the Fall of 2011.[76] Sly also claimed to ESPN that the reporter involved, Liam Collins, had taken advantage of him during a vulnerable time in his life as Sly's fiancée had allegedly died, although Sly refers to his fiancée, "Karen", several times in the present tense during his conversations with Collins and gave no indication to Collins that she had died.[68] Moreover, Dale Guyer, the owner of the Guyer Clinic was linked to doubtful businesses in the past.[77]

Manning took response and hired former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer to manage the issue.[78] He also threatened to sue Al Jazeera but then backed up.[79] Later, Fleischer confirmed that Ashley Manning did receive shipments from the Guyer Institute, but refused to confirm if the shipments had included HGH.[80]

Media reactions were varied.[79] Fox News' contributor Jesse Watters claimed on The O'Reilly Factor the PED allegations reported by Al Jazeera were a plot to go "after American icons and US institutions," citing the allegations against Manning as the prime example.[81] NBC News on Today gave Al Jazeera's reporter Deborah Davies space to specify details about the reports and provide Al Jazeera's version of the story.[82] CNN's Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter reported Al Jazeera was in contact with a second source who confirmed that the clinic sent HGH to Ashley Manning in Florida and elsewhere, and according to Davies was “absolutely impeccably placed, knowledgeable and credible”.[83] After Salters' interview with Manning, former NFL coach and current ESPN pundit Mike Ditka expressed on the same Sunday NFL Countdown episode: “Al Jazeera is not a credible news organization. They’re out there spreading garbage.”[84][85] Sports Illustrated sportswriter and NBC Sunday Night Football contributor Peter King called Al Jazeera on his column The MMQB a day later "a quite credible and respected international news organization" and "the CNN of the Middle East spreading its news-gathering around the world in recent years", and also contacted Davies to ask about information related to the Guyer Clinic and Sly.[85] King also said on Football Night in America "Al Jazeera is in control of the story... by now".[79] CBS sportscaster and NFL on CBS #1 Play-by-play commentator Jim Nantz refused to acknowledge the report while on the air, referring to it as a "non-story".[86][87]

On February 5, 2016, two men visited Sly's parents, and according to a 911 call from Sly's parents' house during the visit, one of the men initially said he was a law enforcement officer, but didn’t have a badge. The two men later acknowledged that they weren't law enforcement officers and stated they were looking for Sly and not his parents.[88] In response to the 911 call, the police went to the Sly house, but meanwhile, after the investigators identified themselves as private investigators, the parents decided to talk with them, and the police left. Sly's parents informed the investigators that their son was due to come home for the holidays the next day. The investigators spoke with Sly on December 23, 2015, though they refused to identify specifically who they were representing.[89][90]

As part of the backlash, on January 5, 2016 it was announced that Ryan Howard and Ryan Zimmerman had filed a lawsuit suing Al Jazeera for defamation following the publication's release of the documentary which linked them.[91] The NFL, the MLB, and later the USADA initiated investigations into the allegations made by Sly.[92][93][94] On April 1, 2016, Taylor Teagarden, one of the players linked to the documentary, was suspended 80 games for violating the MLB's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.[95]

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  14. Kaplan, Emily Al Jazeera, HGH and the NFL: Where Things Stand Sports Illustrated. January 29, 2016
  15. Stetler, Brian and Tom Kludt The final days of Al Jazeera America CNN Money. January 27, 2016
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  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. 23.0 23.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
  51. 73rd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2014.
  52. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Winners
  54. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. 81st National Headliner Awards winners
  56. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. 68.0 68.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. 72.0 72.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. 75.0 75.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/guyer-clinic-linked-notorius-ponzi-schemer-article-1.2481062
  78. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  79. 79.0 79.1 79.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  80. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  81. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  82. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  83. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  84. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  85. 85.0 85.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  86. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  87. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jim-nantz-cbs-punt-peyton-manning-hgh-story-article-1.2484590
  88. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  89. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  90. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  91. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  92. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  93. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  94. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  95. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

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