[1] It was founded with the mission to foster a deeper understanding between the Middle East and the international community by diving deep with analytical pieces from some of the most trusted, independent authors from across the globe.

"[4] Al-Monitor features reporting and analysis by journalists and experts from the Middle East, with special focus sections on Egypt, the Persian Gulf, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, North Africa, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey.

Past and present editors, columnists, and contributors include Amberin Zaman, formerly a Turkey correspondent for The Economist; Ben Caspit, one of Israel's top national security commentators and analysts; Daoud Kuttab, columnist for Al-Monitor’s Palestine Pulse; Sultan al Qassemi, former columnist with the United Arab Emirates–based The National and one of Time's 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2011 selections;[10] Barbara Slavin, former diplomatic correspondent for USA Today and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; Laura Rozen, a former foreign policy reporter for Politico, Foreign Policy, and Yahoo; the late Cairo-based political analyst Bassem Sabry, an Egyptian writer who wrote extensively on Egypt and the Arab Spring;[11] Ali Hashem, correspondent for Al-Jazeera TV; and Jack Detsch, columnist for Foreign Policy;[12] and Joyce Karam, former Washington correspondent for The National; and Edward Felsenthal, former editor-in-chief of Time.

[22] Al-Monitor editors and journalists are frequently cited in global media as experts on the Middle East, including by the New York Times,[23] Washington Post,[24] BBC,[25] Fox News,[26] Al-Jazeera[27] and many others.

[28] In September 2023, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York City, Al-Monitor partnered with Semafor to host the Middle East Global Summit.