Al-Jazeera English hit by staff losses

Al-Jazeera English, the troubled sibling of the Arab-language news service, has been hit by some high-profile defections. Steve Clark, a former senior executive at ITN and Sky News who was a driving force behind al-Jazeera English's launch in November 2006, resigned at the end of last week. The news channel's senior Washington anchor David Marash (pictured), a former CBS Nightline presenter, has also quit.

The channel has been the subject of speculation in recent months, with talk of a split between the management of the original Arabic channel and those in charge of the English-language spin-off. There are complaints that the newcomer has dulled al-Jazeera's focus and sapped resources. Meanwhile management at the English-language channel's headquarters in Doha, Qatar have reportedly been struggling to contain a staff revolt. More than 15 staff are said to have quit in recent months.

Staff are complaining about a lack of direction and speculation over a relaunch later this year. It is also claimed that English-language advertising revenue has not been coming in at the required rate. A number of staff are also thought to be involved in contractual disputes, while channel insiders say Clark's exit was expected after his wife, Jo Burgin, al-Jazeera English's former head of planning, launched a claim for sex, race and religious discrimination. (Continued below)

The channel made a number of big-name signings to promote the English-language service, including the BBC's Iraq invasion reporter Rageh Omar and Sir David Frost, who interviewed the then Prime Minister Tony Blair in the channel's opening week.

Frost sidestepped the issue of whether he had been affected by the troubles at al-Jazeera. "It sounds sort of Pollyanna-ish I suppose, but not really at all," he told the Guardian this week. "I'm sure some of those stories have some basis in truth. But from my vantage point, I was confident there would be total editorial freedom and they have totally delivered."