Television news channel Al-Jazeera announced that they would be launching a new media platform for conservatives called “Rightly.”
The digital platform will air its first show on Thursday called “Right Now with Stephen Kent,” an opinion news program.
Rightly’s editor in chief is a longtime journalist and blogger from Fox News, Scott Norvell, as first reported by Politico.
‘American conservatism has never been monolithic,’ Norvell, Rightly’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement announcing the platform.
‘With Rightly, we are hoping to create a platform that amplifies the voices of an array of personalities that more accurately reflects the racial, cultural and generational diversity of center-right politics in America than existing outlets.
‘We aim to bring new Americans, young Americans, and Americans of color together and present conservative ideas that transcend the barriers which identity politics aim to put between us.’
Norvell is a Fox News veteran and worked at the network is varying capacities between 1996 and 2009.
Stephen Kent described his show in an email to NPR as not being simply another forum for the fight between Republicans and Democrats.
“This show is a forum about the fight within the right over its commitment to liberalism, the ethic of accommodation, and openness,” Kent said.
“That tradition is under attack on the left and right,” he added. “But I can’t settle the left’s increasingly complicated relationship with liberalism. So my focus will be on the right and building the case over time for why the liberal tradition is worth defending.”
Michael Weaver, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Growth at Al Jazeera Media Network’s Digital Division, released a statement further elaborating the mission of the new media outlet.
“Al Jazeera is excited to expand its digital footprint with Rightly to provide fresh voices that are too often left out of the mainstream media a space to engage and debate the issues that matter most to them,” said Weaver.
“Rightly will also be a platform where the full spectrum of political voices can expect to have, or find, a thoughtful debate on the future of the United States,” he added.
According to The Guardian, the new platform is already facing criticism from within Al Jazeera’s staff.
Privately, some Al Jazeera staff expressed dismay at the launch of Rightly, wondering how it squared with the network’s previously stated commitments to giving voice to marginalised communities.
Al Jazeera has been seen suspiciously by many on the right for what appeared to be left-wing bias when reporting the news. The channel is also funded by the Qatari government.
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