Al-Jazeera : a New Actor in Arab Society.
The conditions that surrendounded the emergence of the Qatar-based satellite channel al-Jazeera are quite blur, as far as financial aspects are concerned. It was launched in 1996, with a 5-year financial program consented by cheikh Hamad Ben Khalifa Âl Thani (who had just arrived to power after the 1995 "non-violent" coup d'état against his father).
One could have thought that this financial link with the official authorities would have had an effect on the quality of the message. Yet, if the channel remains quite "shy" to tackle with qatari internal affairs (mainstream treatment of these news prevails), al Jazeera has built its reputation on the free tone used by its journalists when treating major Arab affairs (relationships withy Israel, opposition figures from different parts of the arab world,...).

Human Resources

This freedom of speech and professionalism are said to be inherited from the BBC Arabic service, for a filiation is often made between the latter and al-Jazeera. Indeed, in 1995, as the BBC redaction broadcasted a critical documentary about the Saudi royal family, the king of Saudia decided to shut down the service. Since the Kingdom financed the BBC throught one of its channels, Orbit and is Arab-Sat's main shareholder, the move was easy to make.
By then, Âl-Thani attracted these journalists with avantageous work conditions (wages, freedom of speech, no governemental interference). As a sign of his good willing, Âl-Thani abolished the omnipotent and censorial Ministry of Information (1995). Hence, most of the journalists working for this channel were formed in the BBC newsroom, reknowed worldwidely for its professionalism and eagerness for objectivity.

Concerning this competition between the two states, a geopolitical aspect of the question has to be highlighted. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has always had hegemonic ambitions in the region. Some emirates, like Qatar, Bahrein or the UAE have tried to prevent any Saudi moves by allying with the USA. Even in the crucial field of telecommunications, the KSA dominated the regional communication order by investing colossal amounts of money to finance "off-shore" TV channels (like MBC, that has recently moved from London to Dubai Media City or Orbit and ART in Roma).
The creation of al-Jazeera can be analysed, retrospectively, as a reaction to this situation. So as to make it even more competitive than its Saudi competitors, Âl-Thani garanteed a large manoeuvre margin for the journalists to give an information of good quality.

Once the newscast gathered, a transponder was needed to launch the channel. The only one available on Arab-Sat was a transponder with a weak signal. But in 1998, al-Jazeera changed its transponder for a more powerful one. This really put it on the map: by using the commonly used C-band transponder , the channel was more convenient to reach: most of the largest satellite channel are oriented on this one (zapping is therefore more appropriate since the dish does not have to move to capt the satellite signal).

Freedom of speech and competition.

The emir of Qatar had this ambitious political move to keep his word and to let these journalists work as they intend to. In this regard, the choice for live talk shows is quite eloquent. The two popular programs of this channel are "al-Ittijah al-Moua'kis" (Opposed Directions) and "Arraï wa arraï al-oukhra" (the opinion and the other's opinion). The now famous animator of the former show, Fayçal al-Qassim often tackles with controversial subjects like religion, relationships with Israel, islamism. Opposition movements had found the tribune to expose their views. Very few subjects are tabooed : the legitimacy of a regime or even religion are often debated. The movement has been impulsed and newcomers on the market will have to follow the same motto :

"Al-Jazeera's reputation for controversy while operating out of Doha rather than a European capital represents a breakthrough in media-related development in the Middle East. Along with LBC and the pay-TV provider, Orbit, Al-Jazeera has accelerated a trend towards live and compelling talk-show programming that has obliged the older channels to keep up with the competition."

Becoming more and more reliable for its audience, al-Jazeera has impulsed a new dynamic within media in the Middle East. Competitors have to take this into account, like the lastcomer el-Arrabyya, from Saudi Arabia did in March 2003.

Another turning point for the channel was 11/9. After the WTO bombing, al-Jazeera was the only channel to cover the US intervention in Afghanistan on the ground. Thus, it has been the only window of the world inside the conflict. What is more, it was the first media to be in possession of Ben Laden's videotapes. Last february, as Colin Powell was trying to make a link between Ben Laden and Saddam Hussein, he announced the broadcat of a Ben Laden's video, four hours before its effective broadcast.
Last March and April, the US and English intervention in Irak has led to a major media competition for information and coverage. In a close future, as el-Nawawy and Gher state it (Al-Jazeera: Bridging the East-West gap through public discourse and media diplomacy).

Sources.


For this webreview, I have selected articles mostly exctracted from TBS Journal which is one of the most complete review of academic papers on the subject. The Transnational Broadcasting Studies focuses on cultural and sociopolitical implications in technological development and, in particular, transnational braodcasting. The TBS Journal is published by the Adham Center for Television Journalism which is hosted by the American University of Cairo. The journal's editorial advisory is composed of both mass communications scholars and professionals in the field around the world (mainly Middle East, Europe and Asia). Another source for this webreview was Satellite Realms published in 2000 by Naomi Sakr (see note 1), which has soon become one of the main reference for transntional media in the Middle East.


Through this webreview, we will consider the effects of the introduction of al-Jazeera within the market of satellite TV, before regarding how it influences domestic politics (and especially the opinions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). A noticeable article about the official reaction toward al-Jazeera's news coverage has also been selected.
Then, we will deal with al-Jazeera's war coverage and how it manages to be objective in such a context. Eventually, we will present an article that seeks al-Jazeera's potential for a real dialog between the West and the Arab World.