Al - Jazeera, a 24 - hour Arabic satellite news station broadcasting from the Persian Gulf state of Qatar, (
reaching more than 35 million, primarily Arabs
viewers around the
world including 150,000 in the United States) came under severe criticism by White House staff as an Arab propaganda media and the news media in the USA were asked to use discretion in using news items, especially those released by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.
Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 38 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an additional 43 daily and 74 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group, which include the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune; nearly 200 magazines
around the
world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations, which
reach a combined 18 % of U.S.
viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, History and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a minority joint venture interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.