Al-Jazeera at 10: an Arab media island unto itself

17 November 2006

When it first appeared, the new satellite channel broadcast from Qatar reflected its own name. Al-Jazeera -Arabic for "the island" - represented a haven of professional, independent, current affairs programming in a sea of one-sided, government-controlled Arab media. Until Al-Jazeera's mostly BBC-trained journalists arrived on the scene, the average Arab citizen's news television diet was nothing more than protocol news, wire service video reflecting the latest in the Palestinian conflict, and dramatic photos of earthquakes or wild fires.

Al-Jazeera not only provided live interviews and broadcasts from the field; it introduced live debate to the Arab world. Its program "Al-Itijah al-Muakess" ("the opposite direction") brought the sort of verbal jousts that most of the world takes for granted but Arabs had never seen televised. The guests Faisal Qassem brought to the Doha studios (or via satellite) included people from the same Arab country or region but each representing, and expressing, completely opposite points of view.

While the station's hard-hitting professional news and programs provided viewers with unique television, it took major world conflicts to bring Al-Jazeera acclaim. The Palestinian intifada, the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq propelled Al-Jazeera to global influence.

In its first years, Al-Jazeera was simultaneously hailed as a pioneering media outlet for reform in the Arab world and as an instigator of internal conflict and strife. Almost every Arab ruler at one time or another attempted to silence the station by closing its local bureau and pressing Qatar's rulers to muzzle its freewheeling journalists. They failed. In fact, the pressures only added to the station's popularity among Arab viewers.

The United States initially seemed favorable to Al-Jazeera. The station's encouragement of democratic reform and coverage of different points of view were compatible with the proclamations of US foreign policy. But this changed dramatically after 9/11, when it became clear that Iraqi and Afghan civilian victims of US bombs (as well as prisoners of war) received more coverage than that provided by "embedded" Western media (Al-Jazeera's one embedded journalist did not remain very long).

When Al-Jazeera reporters interviewed Osama bin Laden and the station broadcast his videos, American gloves came off. Senior US officials publicly vilified Al-Jazeera. But the more the US and authoritarian Arab regimes attacked it, the more the station began reflecting some radical Islamic trends. In the Danish cartoon case and the recent controversy over Pope Benedict XVI's statements on Islam, the station was clearly seen as making the news rather than just covering it.

Despite its popularity, however, Al-Jazeera has not succeeded financially. Saudi enmity toward the station and its Qatari owners has exacted a price. Multinational advertisers who covet the huge Saudi market were told in no uncertain terms that they would lose hefty contracts if they advertised on Al-Jazeera. Nevertheless, the station, whose owners have deep pockets, expanded, adding a direct satellite broadcast, a children's station, two sports stations, and soon an international English-language station.

Although no one has yet caught up to Al-Jazeera's news and current affairs popularity, the Saudi-owned Middle East Broadcasting Center has introduced a successful 24-hour station, Al-Arabiyya, which is challenging Al-Jazeera's lead. The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation and Egypt's Dream have also won large segments of the general Arab public thanks to their entertainment programs.

Al-Jazeera has made Qatar famous and the Arab world better informed. Despite its inadequacies and biases, Al-Jazeera has changed the Arab world for the better. While no state-run television station had live current-affairs programs 10 years ago, now even stations run by some of the most dictatorial regimes have been forced to raise standards and allow live interviews.

As it celebrates its 10th anniversary, Al-Jazeera is no longer new, but it remains a trendsetter. It has broken new ground in politics and culture, but its impact on social and economic life has been minimal. So, as Al-Jazeera moves into media adolescence, it must begin to think about how it can become a social pioneer in the Arab and Islamic world. God knows, change is still needed on that front.

Daoud Kuttab is director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University and is founder of the Arab world's first Internet radio station, AmmanNet. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).