The original Al Jazeera channel was started in 1996 with a US$150 million grant from the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa.
In April 1996, the BBC World Service's Saudi-co-owned Arabic language TV station, faced with censorship demands by the Saudi Arabian government, shut down after two years of operation. Many former BBC World Service staff members joined Al Jazeera, which at the time was not yet on air. The channel began broadcasting in late 1996.[3]
Al Jazeera's availability (via satellite) throughout the Middle East changed the television landscape of the region. Prior to the arrival of Al Jazeera, many Middle Eastern citizens were unable to watch TV channels other than state-censored national TV stations. Al Jazeera introduced a level of freedom of speech on TV that was previously unheard of in many of these countries. Al Jazeera presented controversial views regarding the governments of many Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar; it also presented controversial views about Syria's relationship with Lebanon, and the Egyptian judiciary. Critics accused Al Jazeera of sensationalism in order to increase its audience share. Al Jazeera's broadcasts have sometimes resulted in drastic action: For example, on 27 January 1999, Al Jazeera had critics of the Algerian government on during their live program El-Itidjah el-Mouakass (="The Opposite Direction"). The Algerian government cut the electricity supply to at least large parts of the capital Algiers (and allegedly to large parts of the country), to prevent the program from getting seen.[4][5][6] At that time, Al Jazeera was not yet generally known in the Western world, but where it was known, the opinion about it was often favourable[7] and Al Jazeera claimed to be the only politically independent television station in the Middle East. Al Jazeera's well presented coverage of the Lebanese Civil War in 2000-2001 gave its viewer ratings a boost throughout the region.
DTB, you basically believe that all Muslims are terrorists, and at the same time think that we should be spending billions of dollars and countless lives to bring them "freedom." That is Matt's point.
Al Jazeera is a terrorist network? That's wierd. When I was in Europe last spring it was on in every hotel I stayed in from Paris to Amsterdam. I guess Europe is a terrorist continent?
In April 1996, the BBC World Service's Saudi-co-owned Arabic language TV station, faced with censorship demands by the Saudi Arabian government, shut down after two years of operation. Many former BBC World Service staff members joined Al Jazeera, which at the time was not yet on air. The channel began broadcasting in late 1996.[3]
Al Jazeera's availability (via satellite) throughout the Middle East changed the television landscape of the region. Prior to the arrival of Al Jazeera, many Middle Eastern citizens were unable to watch TV channels other than state-censored national TV stations. Al Jazeera introduced a level of freedom of speech on TV that was previously unheard of in many of these countries. Al Jazeera presented controversial views regarding the governments of many Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar; it also presented controversial views about Syria's relationship with Lebanon, and the Egyptian judiciary. Critics accused Al Jazeera of sensationalism in order to increase its audience share. Al Jazeera's broadcasts have sometimes resulted in drastic action: For example, on 27 January 1999, Al Jazeera had critics of the Algerian government on during their live program El-Itidjah el-Mouakass (="The Opposite Direction"). The Algerian government cut the electricity supply to at least large parts of the capital Algiers (and allegedly to large parts of the country), to prevent the program from getting seen.[4][5][6] At that time, Al Jazeera was not yet generally known in the Western world, but where it was known, the opinion about it was often favourable[7] and Al Jazeera claimed to be the only politically independent television station in the Middle East. Al Jazeera's well presented coverage of the Lebanese Civil War in 2000-2001 gave its viewer ratings a boost throughout the region.
DTB, you basically believe that all Muslims are terrorists, and at the same time think that we should be spending billions of dollars and countless lives to bring them "freedom." That is Matt's point.
Al Jazeera is a terrorist network? That's wierd. When I was in Europe last spring it was on in every hotel I stayed in from Paris to Amsterdam. I guess Europe is a terrorist continent?
