Since its inception in 1996, the history of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera news organization has been a history of the Middle East. From the Second Intifada in Palestine in 2000, to 9/11, through the U.S. led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, wars in Gaza and most recently the toppling of Tunisia's government and the struggle to oust Egypt's, Al Jazeera has been on the ground giving coverage that has never failed to captivate its audience and make its fair share of enemies along the way. At one time or another Al Jazeera has come under fire from the governments of the U.S., the U.K., Saudi, Bahrain, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, Sudan and many others, often simultaneously. Their unapologetic approach and freedom in editorial policy has drawn enough scrutiny to easily call them the most controversial news organization of the last 15 years, but it is undeniable that they have changed the way the region and indeed the world get their news about the Middle East.
It has seemed that with each conflict in the Middle East since 1996 Al Jazeera has grown in both popularity and notoriety. Often, as was the case during the Second Intifada and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Al Jazeera has been the only international news organization with anyone on the ground, reporting live, especially in the early stages of the conflict. Their far-reaching approach of creating foreign offices in as many countries in the region as possible, especially the most conflicted ones, has given them a leg up. When conflict has erupted and borders closed, Al Jazeera in almost every case has already had someone, often a local, in-country broadcasting, forcing others like CNN and the BBC to have to purchase their coverage directly from Al Jazeera. Additionally, their correspondents' ability to converse in Arabic and move around freely in Arab countries has proven invaluable in capturing the feeling of the often illusive "Arab Street."
In the early years of Al Jazeera the Unites States praised the network for ushering in a new era of openness in media in the Middle East where only State-TV had been available previously. All of this changed in September of 2001. While the world clamored for information on the recently named "Most Wanted Man in the World," Al Jazeera became Osama bin Laden's network of choice for the release of his taped messages. The network was labeled as a "Mouthpiece of Terror," and was claimed to incite violence against the U.S. and other Western interests. This rhetoric continued up through the invasion of Afghanistan and the second Iraq war. Images coming out of both countries on Al Jazeera depicting the humanitarian cost of the wars were deemed "inflammatory". The perception in the U.S. media became that Al Jazeera was the network of the enemy. Donald Rumsfeld even stated falsely that Al Jazeera had aired the beheading of western kidnapping victims. In fact, the only exposure Americans had to Al Jazeera was when it was being lambasted in the U.S. media and espoused for apparent links to terror.
The network's Kabul office was bombed by the U.S. during the invasion of Afghanistan. In both Iraq and Afghanistan its reporters were harassed, had their credentials revoked and offices were shut down. The same treatment of reporters that is being condemned by the U.S. in Egypt right now was being perpetrated against Al Jazeera's journalists by Americans for the very same reason-- because their coverage made the government look bad. The network is still banned from maintaining a field office in Iraq.
The U.S.' war against Al Jazeera has been fought at home as well. It is currently only available in Washington D.C. -- where it is the network-of-choice for a number of senior policy makers-- and through a few select satellite carriers in scattered small markets. The network has experienced countless obstacles put in place by the largest American satellite and cable providers. A court battle was recently won in Canada allowing the network access to markets there. The demand in the U.S. for alternative media, however, is growing. According to Al Jazeera's English-language website, during the recent weeks' events in North Africa traffic on the website has increased 2000 percent with 60 percent of that originating from the U.S. Cable providers are starting to develop deals that may bring Al Jazeera International (their English Language TV station) into American homes, but barriers, not the least of which being misinformed views about the news station, will continue to hamper progress. At the very least Americans should be allowed the opportunity not to chose Al Jazeera let alone the option to have access to an alternative view of events.
When it comes to coverage of the Middle East, for me, Al Jazeera is the only option. No other station gains such access and can provide such context to conflicts and stories in the region. If a news organization's responsibility is to check government, understandably causing disputes with those governments, then Al Jazeera cannot be rivaled. No other has come under such scrutiny, in most cases by governments on both sides of the issue. It's editorial integrity has been questioned, however, when it came to how the network covered it's own government of Qatar-- mostly in that it hasn't been at all critical. The government does provide a large amount of financial support and while claiming to hold no editorial sway, it's hard to deny the lack of public criticism. This relationship offers a stark reminder that there is always someone paying the bills, but I feel that overall, the absence of critical coverage of a small gulf state is a small price to pay for honest and open coverage of a region that previously had only known complete informational control. Thanks to Al Jazeera and satellite television, Arabs in their home countries and around the world are finally able to get a version of events in the Middle East that are openly and unapologetically critical of the governments involved, something that Americans could stand to benefit greatly from as well.
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