Al Jazeera is launching a conservative news platform with a cutesy millennial name
At long last, Americans on the center-right may finally have a media home.
Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based international news organization, is planning a U.S.-focused digital media platform "reaching center-right folks who feel left out of mainstream media," Politico first reported Tuesday. It has a cutesy name reminiscent of 2013, and seems to target an audience that hasn't had much power since then either.
Rightly will be launched with longtime Fox News commentator Scott Norvell as editor in chief, Politico reports. Its first opinion show, "Right Now with Stephen Kent," will drop Thursday; Kent hosts a podcast called "Beltway Banthas" where he talks about both Star Wars and politics.
The launch comes amid a surge in popularity for right-wing media and the far-right altogether. Networks such as NewsMax and OANN have reached growing audiences with far-right talking points, and have gotten big boosts from former President Donald Trump and his followers. Meanwhile Fox News has verged from its previously center-right path, entertaining more far-right commentators and ideas as it seemingly tries to win back defectors after taunts from the former president.
Al Jazeera previously tried to position itself in left-wing U.S. media with Al Jazeera America, a news channel it shut down in 2016, The Guardian notes. Some Al Jazeera staffers told The Guardian they were disappointed by news of the launch, especially as the organization committed to covering more marginalized voices.
More stories from theweek.com
The MyPillow guy might be Trump's ultimate chump
It's been 1 year since Trump infamously tweeted the 'coronavirus is very much under control' in the U.S.
Lawyers have reunited 105 separated migrant kids with their parents in the last month
