NEW YORK, April 16, 2015 – Al Jazeera America announced today that the channel is launching a new primetime program focused exclusively on foreign policy issues entitled, “Compass with Sheila MacVicar.” The half-hour, twice-monthly program will air every other Sunday at 9:30PM ET/6:30PM PT with host Sheila MacVicar.
Beginning Sunday May 10th, “Compass with Sheila MacVicar” will combine Al Jazeera America’s commitment to original, unfiltered reporting with award-winning international journalist Sheila MacVicar’s ability to put news into a global context and make connections to U.S. foreign policy goals. This unique foreign policy program will also aim to uncover the hidden agendas, strategic failures, political power plays and special interests that may influence America’s foreign policy, and play a role in regional politics around the world.
“Compass’ is about the world, and people’s place in it. With Al Jazeera’s unparalleled reach, and our ability to report from places no one else covers, we’ll go straight to the source of today’s most pressing international news,” said MacVicar. “With interest in global affairs so strong, and people showing a marked preference for original reporting from the source, this show meets the needs of today’s news consumers and delivers on the channel’s overall mission of increasing knowledge about global affairs.”
Host Sheila MacVicar is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist who also serves as a correspondent for Al Jazeera America’s flagship primetime nightly news magazine, “America Tonight.” A native of Montreal, she worked for CBS News from June 2004 until 2011 as the network's London correspondent. MacVicar has also worked as a journalist for CBC Television, ABC News and CNN, and was based overseas for more than twenty years. Throughout her career, she has covered wars, terrorism, humanitarian crises, natural disasters, international diplomacy and defense policy, focusing extensively on the Middle East, South East Asia, the Balkans and Africa.
Upcoming episodes of “Compass with Sheila MacVicar” will cover foreign policy topics including Europe's efforts to cope with the unprecedented flood of people from conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa, how climate change is impacting economies and regions around the world, and the frontlines of the shadowy air war between NATO and an increasingly assertive Russia. The show will cover these topics with on-the-ground reporting from Al Jazeera bureaus and field reporters around the globe.
The launch of “Compass with Sheila MacVicar” is a part of a revitalized and renewed programming line-up rolling out in May 2015 on Al Jazeera America. The programming updates will include the new half-hour current affairs program “Ali Velshi on Target,” airing weeknights at 10:30pm ET/7:30pm PT, and the soon-to-be announced “Third Rail” with host Imran Garda, an hour-long, guest-driven debate program focused on under-reported stories and hot-button topics airing Sundays at 9PM ET/6PM PT. Weekday evenings, Al Jazeera America will continue to present live, up-to-date coverage of top international and domestic news with anchors Tony Harris (7pm-8pm ET), John Seigenthaler (8pm-9pm ET) and Antonio Mora (9pm-10pm ET). In March, Al Jazeera America extended its live news programming in the morning with a new morning news block from 6AM-12noon ET, as well as an additional hour of midday news coverage.
About Al Jazeera America
Al Jazeera America is the U.S. news channel that provides both domestic and international news for American audiences. Headquartered in New York City with bureaus in 12 cities across the United States, Al Jazeera America is available in more than 64 million homes in the U.S. on Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV Channel 347, Dish Network Channel 216, Verizon FiOS Channel 614 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 1219. The name “Al Jazeera” means “peninsula.” Al Jazeera America’s distinctive logo is a calligraphic design spelling “Al Jazeera” in Arabic. To find Al Jazeera America in your area, visit www.aljazeera.com/getajam.
Visit Al Jazeera America online at http://www.aljazeera.com/america for the latest updates. You can also like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/aljazeeraamerica, follow us on Twitter @AJAM (www.twitter.com/ajam) and join the conversation using #AlJazeeraAmerica.
For more information, contact:
Al Jazeera America
Jocelyn Austin
212-273-4912
