Al Jazeera has added five presenters to its newscasts over roughly six weeks: Ranim Boukhzam, Ali Nashwan, Jaafar Salamat, Anas Al-Sabbar and Hussein Harb. The move refreshes its on-screen lineup by combining the recruitment of media professionals from Arab channels with the transfer of journalists from internal positions to television presenting.
A policy of diversifying on-screen faces since 2019
Al Jazeera’s drive to diversify its on-screen faces dates back several years. In June 2019, the network discussed a policy to rejuvenate its staff and attract younger viewers by diversifying presenters’ ages, nationalities and academic backgrounds. Abdullah Al-Najjar, then executive director of corporate identity and international communications, welcomed a new group of presenters as part of the approach.
The additions resumed in summer 2023 with the appearance of Iraqi presenter Nashwan Taleb, who joined from Alhurra TV in Washington, Jordanian presenter Mohammad Alawneh and Lebanese presenter Ghinwa Ibrahim. They were joined by Mona Al-Omari, who followed an internal path that began with field journalism in the West Bank and Ramallah, continued with work on Athir podcast, and culminated in presenting the news.
Boukhzam, Nashwan and Harb from Arab screens
Ranim Boukhzam joins Al Jazeera after roughly 16 years at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, where she worked as a presenter and reporter, including as a correspondent in Riyadh. She moved from Beirut to Doha in summer 2026 and holds a master’s degree in political science, in addition to experience managing interviews and news coverage.
Ali Nashwan is a Libyan media professional and news presenter who previously worked for Libya Al-Ahrar TV. During his time there, he presented newscasts and news coverage and followed political affairs and field events inside Libya before moving to the Al Jazeera network in Doha.
Hussein Harb joined Al Jazeera’s screen after working at Jordan’s Al Mamlaka TV, where he presented news on a public channel with a regular news cycle. The available information does not provide comparable details about any previous field experience or a particular journalistic specialisation.
Al-Sabbar and Salamat move up within Al Jazeera
Anas Al-Sabbar represents one of the network’s two internal pathways, having become known to Al Jazeera viewers as a correspondent in the United States covering American affairs from the field. He later moved to Doha to present newscasts, bringing his experience in coverage, sourcing and political contexts to the demands of managing a broader range of topics on air.
Jaafar Salamat worked as an editor at Al Jazeera from 2019 before appearing as a presenter. The Algerian journalist began his career at Mitidja Radio, then moved to Algeria’s Channel One and Dzair TV before joining Al Jazeera in Qatar. His experience in radio and editing enabled him to work on news production before moving into presenting.
The makeup of the new group points to two parallel paths in renewing the newscasts: recruiting presenters with previous experience on Arab screens, as in the cases of Boukhzam, Nashwan and Harb; and moving journalists from reporting and editing within the network to the presenter’s chair, as in the cases of Al-Sabbar and Salamat.
This model brings back into focus the experience of Mona Al-Omari, who moved between fieldwork, podcasting and news presenting. However, the available information does not indicate that the channel has announced a specific programme for turning editors and reporters into presenters, nor does it clarify whether these moves are directly linked to programmes at the Al Jazeera Media Institute or to the training and fellowship initiatives run by the network.
