The prominent network has been seen as a foreign policy tool during Qatar’s attempts to play an influential role in the region. But many say Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has pursued a quieter approach to diplomacy since becoming Emir.

The closing of Al Jazeera America, expected in April, is a sad conclusion to a project that was by turns uplifting and inspiring as well as troubling and depressing. Its demise offers a lesson in both the limitations of public diplomacy and the obstacles to providing high-quality television journalism.

The closing of Al Jazeera America, expected in April, is a sad conclusion to a project that was by turns uplifting and inspiring as well as troubling and depressing. Its demise offers a lesson in both the limitations of public diplomacy and the obstacles to providing high-quality television journalism.

The broadcast of video footage prepared by extremist groups is on the increase. Every gruesome act is accompanied by a video tape or posting online describing those who carried it out and explaining why. What most social scientists and media analysts are asking is, to whom is the message directed?

From the start, people at the Al Jazeera America cable-news network knew they faced an uphill battle for ratings and acceptance. It wasn’t just that they were taking on entrenched competitors such as CNN and Fox News with an unfamiliar, foreign brand name. Insiders knew that it would take ample distribution, lots of promotion, and audience goodwill to establish a foothold. On Wednesday, Al Jazeera America’s owners acknowledged they had achieved none of those things.

The assignments arrive on slips of paper, each bearing the black flag of the Islamic State, the seal of the terrorist group's media emir, and the site of that day's shoot.His footage quickly found a global audience, released online in an Islamic State video that spread on social media and appeared in mainstream news coverage on Al Jazeera and other networks.