Al Jazeera 500 million Qatari riyals (US$137 million) from the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa. By securing its funding through loans or grants rather than direct government subsidies, the channel seeks to maintain independent editorial policy. The channel began broadcasting in late 1996, with many staff joining from the BBC World Service's Saudi-co-owned Arabic-language TV station, which had shut down on 1 April 1996 after two years of operation because of censorship demands by the Saudi Arabian government. The Al Jazeera logo is a decorative representation of the network's name written using Arabic calligraphy. It was selected by the station's
Al Jazeera Investigates Al Jazeera Investigates Al Jazeera Investigates is a one-hour current affairs and investigative journalism program that is aired on Al Jazeera English and while in operation Al Jazeera America that focuses on a specific topic per episode through in-depth documentaries. Formed in 2010, in its own words: "the role of Al Jazeera Investigations is not to report the news, but to make the news". The Unit, also known as 'the Investigations Team' or, simply, 'Al Jazeera Investigations' is based at the Network headquarters in Doha, but also has representation in London, Washington, DC and San Francisco. The unit is a