Al Jazeera surprises with lean to the right on its new conservative platform – Saskatoon StarPhoenix

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Al Jazeera says Rightly is an option for Republicans who 'feel left out of mainstream media'

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Al Jazeera is pivoting to the right with a new platform for conservative audiences, a sea change from its original intent of becoming a go-to source for liberal news and ideas. The Qatar-based news network is launching Rightly, for Republicans who feel left out of mainstream media, Politico reported, and will be led by a former Fox News journalist.

In 2013, Qatar-based Al Jazeera launched its left-leaning Al Jazeera America news channel and website. The state-backed network closed the TV channel three years later, but its AJPlus video network and its international channel Al Jazeera English are still popular in the U.S., the Guardian says.

In launching on Thursday, Al Jazeera will join a move to the right by many news outlets, though to less of an extreme than many conservative U.S. news sources.

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Former Fox news staffer Scott Norvell will be Rightlys editor-in-chief. Fox News has swung even further right to combat oncoming ultra-conservative TV channels NewsMax and One America News. He was said to have taken Foxs Heat Street website to the right when it was onstream in 2016 and 2017.

Scott Norvell played a part in transitioning Heat Street from libertarian, youth-oriented site as originally envisaged to pro-Trump alt-right Breitbart clone, a former Heat Street staffer told the Guardian, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Norvell did not respond to a request for comment.

The first Rightly show will be called Right Now with Stephen Kent, according to Politico. He currently presents Beltway Banthas: Star Wars, Politics & More, a podcast about the intersection of fandom and politics.

Kent also has a book deal with Center Street, a conservative book company that has published works by far-right authors including Donald Trump JrandCorey Lewandowski.

Neither Al Jazeera nor Kent immediately responded to requests for comment. Kent retweetednews of the platform on Tuesday morning.

The Guardian noted that privately, some Al Jazeera staff wondered how Rightly would square with the networks previously stated commitments to giving voice to marginalized communities.

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Al Jazeera surprises with lean to the right on its new conservative platform - Saskatoon StarPhoenix