 | |
Type of site | News |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founder(s) | Jamal Daniel |
| URL | al-monitor |
| Launched | February 13, 2012 |
| Current status | Active |
Al-Monitor is a news website launched in 2012 by theArab-American entrepreneur Jamal Daniel.[1] Based inWashington, D.C.,[2]Al-Monitor provides reporting and analysis from and about theMiddle East.Al-Monitor is the recipient of theInternational Press Institute's 2014Free Media Pioneer Award.[3]
Al-Monitor was launched on 13 February 2012 by Jamal Daniel.[1] It was founded with the mission to foster a deeper understanding between the Middle East and the international community by diving deep with analytical pieces from some of the most trusted, independent authors from across the globe.[1]
In 2018,Al-Monitor partnered with North Base Media which was founded by former editor ofThe Washington Post andThe Wall Street Journal,Marcus Brauchli andSasa Vucinic to manageAl-Monitor in order "to provide top-level operational and financial decision-making, and work with the company to explore possible content and commercial avenues."[4]
Al-Monitor features reporting and analysis by journalists and experts from the Middle East, with special focus sections onEgypt, thePersian Gulf,Iran,Iraq,Israel,Jordan,Lebanon,North Africa,Palestine,Syria, andTurkey.
In 2015,Al-Monitor relaunched its website and expanded coverage to include further reporting onWashington, the addition of aculture section, a newpodcast and video coverage.[5][6] In 2023, Al-Monitor launched its business[7] and technology[8] coverage, released several newsletters[9] and introduced a subscription model to access its content. In 2024,Al-Monitor integrated article translation in seven languages and narrated audio to listen to articles.
Past and present editors, columnists, and contributors includeAmberin Zaman, formerly a Turkey correspondent forThe Economist;Ben Caspit, one of Israel's top national security commentators and analysts;Daoud Kuttab, columnist forAl-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse;Sultan al Qassemi, former columnist with the United Arab Emirates–basedThe National and one ofTime's 140 BestTwitter Feeds of 2011 selections;[10] Barbara Slavin, former diplomatic correspondent forUSA Today and senior fellow at theAtlantic Council; Laura Rozen, a former foreign policy reporter forPolitico,Foreign Policy, andYahoo; the lateCairo-based political analystBassem Sabry, an Egyptian writer who wrote extensively onEgypt and theArab Spring;[11] Ali Hashem, correspondent forAl-Jazeera TV; and Jack Detsch, columnist forForeign Policy;[12] and Joyce Karam, former Washington correspondent forThe National; andEdward Felsenthal, former editor-in-chief ofTime.[13]
In 2014, theInternational Press Institute awardedAl-Monitor itsFree Media Pioneer Award, stating thatAl-Monitor's "unrivalled reporting and analysis exemplify the invaluable role that innovative and vigorously independent media can play in times of change and upheaval".[3]
In 2017, theOnline News Association awardedAl-Monitor anOnline Journalism Award for Best Explanatory Reporting for the series: "Middle East Lobbying: The Influence Game".[14] TheSociety for Advancing Business Editing and Writing awardedAl-Monitor a Best in Business Award for its Middle East lobbying newsletter in 2019.[15]
In January 2013, Ian Burrell ofThe Independent calledAl-Monitor "an ambitious website that pulls together the commentary of distinguished writers from across the region."[16][17] In 2012, formerThe Washington Post foreign affairs blogger Max Fisher calledAl-Monitor "an invaluable Web-only publication following the Middle East."[18]The Huffington Post has referred toAl-Monitor as "increasingly a daily must-read for insightful commentary on the Middle East",[19] andThe Economist recommendedAl-Monitor's Egypt and Iran coverage in its What to Read section.[20][21]
Al-Monitor, alone among independent media outlets covering the Middle East, has covered the entire region – including field reporting and high-profile interviews fromIsrael,Iran,Iraq,Jordan,Lebanon, theWest Bank,Gaza,Egypt, the Gulf andNorth Africa – and all governments consistently since inception in 2012, leading to its unique standing in the region.
Its coverage of Syria has been recognized for the stellar on the ground reporting byAmberin Zaman, as well as independent and opposition-affiliated Syrian reporters inIdlib,Aleppo, and elsewhere, working under often dangerous and difficult conditions. Al-Monitor, throughout its history, has featured contributors from Israel, theWest Bank andGaza, avoiding the taint of 'bias' in its coverage of Israeli-Palestinian issues. Its inclusive and groundbreaking initiatives included a collaboration withPBS News Hour featuring a discussion with an Iranian academic (fromTehran), an Israeli reporter (fromTel Aviv), and former US officials includingDennis Ross andFiona Hill (from Washington).[22]
Al-Monitor editors and journalists are frequently cited in global media as experts on the Middle East, including by theNew York Times,[23]Washington Post,[24]BBC,[25]Fox News,[26]Al-Jazeera[27] and many others. In 2024, theBBC described the outlet as a "respected Middle East newsletter".[28]
In September 2023, on the sidelines of theUnited Nations General Assembly meetings in New York City,Al-Monitor partnered withSemafor to host the Middle East Global Summit.[29] Interviews at the summit included His MajestyKing Abullah II of Jordan; Prime MinisterMohammed Al Sudani of Iraq; Senior Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE PresidentDr. Anwar Gargash; White House Senior Advisor for Energy and InvestmentAmos Hochstein; Oman Foreign MinisterSayyid Badr Albusaidi; US Assistant Secretary of StateBarbara Leaf, as well as other senior regional ministers and private sector leaders.
