Al Anstey

Chief Executive Officer

Al Anstey is the CEO of Al Jazeera America. Anstey oversees the business and editorial operations for the U.S. cable news channel that covers both domestic and international news across multiple digital platforms. He is based in New York.

Anstey joined Al Jazeera English in 2005 and has held a range of leadership positions with the organization. Since 2010, Anstey served as managing director. In that role he led the channel and oversaw its day-to-day operations across its 65 international bureaus. Previously, he was the director of news where he was in charge of the editorial content and news division. Anstey was a key member of the start-up team of Al Jazeera English that designed the editorial vision, recruited its editorial staff, and set up the channel’s worldwide bureau network. 

During his tenure as managing director of Al Jazeera English, the channel became a leader in international news, winning various awards including an International Emmy and the Royal Television Society News “Channel of the Year.” Under Anstey’s leadership the channel reached over 250 million households in more than 130 countries.

Prior to joining Al Jazeera, Anstey was the Head of Foreign News at ITN in the United Kingdom. Before that, he served as the Asia Editor for APTN and was responsible for the bureaus and news coverage across the continent.

Earlier, Anstey joined the start-ups of Associated Press Television News, based in New Delhi and Sydney, and before that, Reuters GMTV in the U.K. He began his career as a producer at CBS News. 

Anstey has lived and worked in Asia, America, Europe and the Middle East.

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