Al Jazeera's prominent Marwan Bishara, the presenter of the current affairs show Empire, has fired off an email to Al Jazeera bosses outlining what he considers serious mistakes which Al Jazeera is making as a news channel, before the launch of the new Al Jazeera America channel.
Marwan Bishara's email on 10 July to Al Jazeera executives reveals serious concerns from inside Al Jazaara about the launch of Al Jazeera America, with Ehab Al Shihabi, the executive director of international operations who's told to "stay clear out of content" and that "personal ambitions are leading you astray".
Marwan Bishara, and others at the news network, are upset that Al Jazeera America won't be including content from Al Jazeera English on the new channel which will be launching in August in the place of Current TV in America, the channel which the United Kingdom and South Africa already lost when it went dark.
Empire will for instance not be seen on Al Jazeera America.
"It has become clear to me over the last few days and weeks that some terrible decisions have been taken that separate Al Jazeera America and Al Jazeera English from the new channel on the basis of faulty and ill-thought assumptions," writes Marwan Bishara.
"Silence is understood as agreement. It shouldn't. As I said in the last episode of Empire, 'Secrecy corrupt the system. That's why it's high time to speak out and to discuss the almost secretive ways in which Al Jazeera matters and interests have been handled in America."
"Colleagues in New York City and in Doha are trying to do their best and some are trying harder to carry out and improve on instructions they don't agree with for reasons that I and all of you should understand. But their dedication shouldn't be understood as concensus," writes Marwan Bishara.
"Have we signed a deal where Al Jazeera America program content must be substantially different from Al Jazeera English? Really! What does substaintially mean?"
Marwan Bishara then writes that "something has got to give and soon. Otherwise, if the same closed mindset and superficiality continues to dictate our decisions, we might end up with a far greater crisis in the future."
"It's high time for a serious reflection about where we are heading editorially with Al Jazeera America and other potential projects."
He writes that "if we fail America around the launch time, it will be ever more difficult to salvage a tarnished image and compromised credibility."
