The US unit of the Qatar satellite TV network has established its "road map for 2015," promising new programming but warning that "it cannot ignore the pivotal role played by news events outside the US."

In a Jan. 16 staff memo, Ehab Alshihab, noted important news breaks in Ukraine, Gaza and Paris and called the network's 82 global bureaus "a unique advantage in our ability to bring in-depth coverage to stories wherever they occur in a timely manner."

Alshihabi wrote that Al Jazeera "can bring the type of balanced examinations on serious topics that have been missing in much of recent US news coverage."

He cited AJA's "close-up and personal coverage" of the racial unrest in Ferguson, Mo. as an example.

AJA, which has registered low viewership numbers, is wrapping up a multi-million dollar expansion of its Washington operations, which will officially open in the spring. Growth plans in New York will be completed in 2016.

Alshihabi reminded staffers the Arab network entered the American market "to fill a void and preserve the tradition of seriousness and excellence in news programming at a time when may of our competitors have adopted a different tradition."

Rivals, in his view, have blurred the lines between news and entertainment, news and opinion and "between news that has an immediate and direct impact on people's lives and news shaped primarily to attract and entertain audiences."

AJA vows to continue reporting in-depth news that matters.