Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
on regional issues for the world at large. Its call-in shows were particularly revolutionary, airing controversies not
usually open for discussion in the autocratic Gulf countries.
Al-Jazeera's Origins
Al-Jazeera, which means 'The Island' in English, was launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV
channel, funded with a grant from the Emir of Qatar. It has been subsidised by the emir on a year-by-year basis
since, despite the airing of criticism towards his own government. The station was originally staffed by many
former members of the BBC World service, whose Saudi-based Arabic language TV station collapsed under
Saudi censorship; a close relationship with the BBC continues to this day.
The station has always been viewed with suspicion by ruling parties across the Arab world: its website notes
one occasion in the early days (on 27 January 1999), when the Algerian government pulled the plug on the capit-
al's electricity supply to prevent the population from hearing a live debate that alleged Algerian military collusion
in a series of massacres. Critics closer to home accuse Al-Jazeera of boosting audience ratings through sensation-
al coverage.
International Significance
Al-Jazeera only became internationally significant after the September 11 attacks on New York in 2001. The sta-
tion broadcast video statements by Osama bin Laden (incidentally earning the station $20,000 per minute in re-
sale fees) and other Al-Qaeda leaders who defended the attacks. The US government accused the station of a pro-
paganda campaign on behalf of the terrorists; however, the footage was broadcast by the station without comment
and later parts of the same tapes were shown by Western media channels without attracting condemnation. Al-
Jazeera continued to air challenging debate during the Afghanistan conflict, bringing into sharp focus the devast-
ating impact of war on the lives of ordinary people. In 2003 it hired its first English-language journalist, Afshin
Rattansi, from the BBC's
Today Programme
. It has since been accused by American sources of sustaining an
anti-American campaign, something the channel denies.
Al-Jazeera has earned its spurs on the frontline of journalism and is today the most widely watched news chan-
nel in the Middle East. In November 2006 a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week news channel called Al-Jazeera English
was launched and it currently broadcasts to more than 260 million households in more than 130 countries, making
it one of the most widely watched channels in the world. It has won many international awards for risk-taking
journalism both on TV and through its website (
www.aljazeera.net
in Arabic and aljazeera.net/english - with 20
million visits every month, one of the most frequented websites in the world), launched in January 2001. In 2012
Al-Jazeera won the prestigious Royal Television Society Award for news channel of the year.
Unafraid of controversy, the stated aim of Al-Jazeera is to seek the truth through contextual objectivity (in as
much, of course, as that is ever possible): 'Truth will be the force that will drive us to raise thorny issues, to seize
every opportunity for exclusive reporting'. For many Western governments at least, that's proving to be an unex-
pected thorn among the first blossoms of democracy.
Punching Above its Weight
When Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, visited Qatar in 2000 he commented, in
reference to the coverage of Al-Jazeera news channels: “All this noise is coming out of
this little matchbox!” Emboldened by extraordinary wealth, Qatar is far bigger in terms of
influence in the region than its small size (geographically and in population) would sug-
gest.
