05 October 2006 - Presenter Darren Jordon was today confirmed as the latest recruit at Al Jazeera International, the new 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, headquartered in Doha.
Darren will present the news from the channel's headquarters based in Doha which will be supported by three broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC.
"Darren is one of the finest TV presenters around," said Director of News, Steve Clark, "His appointment reflects our commitment to bring viewers the highest standards of journalism."
Speaking on his appointment Darren Jordon said, "I think the world will benefit from a news channel like Al Jazeera International which will become the much needed channel of reference for Middle Eastern events with unique access to the region. We will set the news agenda rather than following others."
Before joining Al Jazeera International, Darren was one of the main presenters at the BBC, where he presented a range of primetime programmes: Breakfast on BBC 1, BBC News 24, the One O'Clock News on BBC 1, the BBC's 6 O'Clock News and the flagship 10 O'Clock news bulletin.
Darren presented the One O' Clock News, which is watched by an average of 3 million people, according to the BBC, together with weekend news bulletins on BBC1. He was previously the weekend presenter for Breakfast, on BBC1 and BBC News 24. Prior to his appointment to breakfast news in 2001, he was a Special Reporter for the One O 'Clock News.
Darren's career in journalism began as a sports presenter in South Africa in 1995. Darren joined BBC Sport as a broadcast journalist in 1998, as part of the BBC News 24 Sports team. Additionally he was one of the main sports presenters on BBC World. In May 1999 he made the switch to TV News, and became a news presenter on BBC News 24. He also worked on BBC World where he anchored many international world news events.
Darren was educated in the West Indies and at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in England.
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About Al Jazeera International
Al Jazeera International is the world's first English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Broadcasting from within the Middle East, looking outwards, Al Jazeera International will set the news agenda and act as a bridge between cultures. With unique access as the channel of reference for Middle East events, and broadcast centres strategically placed around the world in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC, Al Jazeera International will balance the information flow from South to North, providing accurate, impartial and objective news for a global audience from a grass roots level, giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.
Al Jazeera International is building on the ground-breaking heritage of its sister Arab-language channel - Al Jazeera, which was responsible for changing the face of news within the Middle East, now extending that fresh perspective from regional to global.
For further information please contact:
UK: : Katie Bergius: +44 207 201 2819
Email: katie.bergius@aljazeera.net
Sheila Thompson or Deborah Coleman: +44 207 591 9610
Email: aljazeerainternational@blj.co.uk
Doha: Charlotte Dent or Lana Khachan: +974 489 2320/1
Email: press.int@aljazeera.net
US: Molly Conroy: +1 212 486 7070
Email : aljazeera_intl@brownlloydjames.com
© Press Release 2006
