MAPPING THE AL JAZEERA PHENOMENON TWENTY YEARS ON MAPPING THE AL JAZEERA PHENOMENON TWENTY YEARS ON Editors Ezzeddine Abdelmoula. Noureddine Miladi First Edition: 1438 H - 2016 A.D. ISBN 978-614-01-9702-9 All rights reserved Dawha-Qatar Tel. (974) 4930181, 4930183, 4930218 Fax. (974) 4831346 Email: E-mail:
[email protected] Reem Bldg., Sakiyat Al-Janzeer Street, Ain Al-Teenah, Beirut, Lebanon P.O.Box 13-5574 Shouran 1102-2050 Beirut Telefax 961(1) 785107, 785108, 786233 Email:
[email protected] www.asp.com.lb Acknowledgement This volume would not have been possible without the dedication of our contributors coming from various parts of the world. Given the tight deadlines and busy schedules during the last few months it is a truly significant accomplishment to bring this work to its final stage ready for print. So we are grateful to all our authors for their commitment and contributions which have eventually come to fruition in this distinctive volume. The 20th anniversary of Al Jazeera’s life is a significant landmark in the history of this network which started with a single satellite TV channel and has now developed into a global media phenomenon. We hope that this momentous span of twenty years is faithfully recorded in this volume, providing a valuable source for researchers, academics, educators and policy makers. 5 Contents Introduction: Capturing the 20th Anniversary of Al Jazeera Phenomenon Ezzeddine Abdelmoula and Noureddine Miladi .............................................. 71 PART I: AL JAZEERA AND THE CHANGING ARAB MEDIA SCENE ..... 52 Al Jazeera as a Landmark for Arab Media Development .................................. 71 Ezzeddine Abdelmoula Perceptions of Al Jazeera: Pluralism, reception and the public sphere .............