Information AboutAl Jazeera |
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Al Jazeera ( ), meaning "The Island" and/or "The Peninsula" is an Arabic-language Television channel based in Doha , Qatar . Its willingness to broadcast dissenting views, including on call-in shows, created controversies in the autocratic Persian Gulf Arab States . The station gained worldwide attention following the September 11, 2001 Attacks , when it broadcast video statements by Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda leaders (see Videos Of Osama Bin Laden ). Al Jazeera operates several specialized television channels in addition to its primary news channel. These include language version catering mainly to South Asia ns and a channel specializing in Documentaries , and possible music channels or an international newspaper. In addition to its TV channels, Al Jazeera operates Arabic and English language websites. Its English language website at http://english.aljazeera.net/HomePage, should not be confused with Aljazeera.com , an unrelated English language website that publishes news and opinion pieces of an inflammatory nature about current affairs in the Middle East. HISTORY Al Jazeera claims to be the only ). Other major sources of income include advertising, cable subscription fees, broadcasting deals with other companies, and sale of footage (according to '' Pravda ,'' "Al-Jazeera received $20,000 per minute for Bin Laden's speech".) In 2000, advertising accounted for 40% of the station's revenue.[http://cms.mit.edu/mit3/papers/byrd.pdf The channel began broadcasting in late 1996. In April of that year, BBC World 's Arabic Language TV station, faced with Censorship demands by the Saudi Arabian government, had shut down after two years of operation. Many former BBC staff members joined Al Jazeera. In the beginning, Al Jazeera tried to increase its viewership by means of presenting controversial views regarding the governments of many Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain (ironically, Qatar is not included in this list), Syria's relationship with Lebanon, and the Egyptian judiciary. Its well-presented documentary on the Lebanese Civil War in 2000-2001 gave its viewer ratings a boost. However, it wasn't until late 2001 that Al Jazeera achieved worldwide popularity when it broadcast video statements by Al Qaeda leaders. In response to Al Jazeera, a group of Saudi investors created Al Arabiya in the first quarter of 2003. Unlike Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya focuses on covering the news without stirring controversies. Al Jazeera outside the Middle East On . The controversy over Al-Jazeera's establishment in North America has been dubbed by some as "Jazeeragate". Al Jazeera has announced this long-expected move in an attempt to provide news about the Arab World , especially Israel , from the Middle Eastern perspective. The new channel will have broadcast centers in Doha (current Al Jazeera headquarters and broadcast center), London , Kuala Lumpur , and Washington D.C. , when the station launches in May 2006. The channel will be a 24-hours 7-days a week news channel with 12 hours broadcasted from Doha and four hours from each of London, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington D.C. In 2006 it was announced that the former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar would host a daily weeknights documentary series, ''Witness'' With Al-Jazeera's growing global outreach and influence, some who thought of them as an "alternative media" source have changed their minds. [http://www.tbsjournal.com/Iskandar.html . VIEWERSHIP It is widely believed internationally that inhabitants of the Arab world are given limited information by their governments and media, and that what is conveyed is . Increasingly, Al Jazeera's exclusive interviews and other footage are being rebroadcast in American , British , and other western media outlets such as CNN and the BBC . In January 2003, the BBC announced that it had signed an agreement with Al Jazeera for sharing facilities and information, including news footage. Al Jazeera is now considered a fairly mainstream media network, though more controversial than most. In the United States, video footage from the network is largely limited to showing the mercy pleas of hostages. Al Jazeera's programming is available worldwide through various satellite and cable systems . In the U.S., it is available through satellite. Al Jazeera can be freely viewed with a DVB-S receiver as it is broadcast on the Astra and Hot Bird satellites. Al Jazeera's web-based service is accessible subscription-free throughout the world, though the English and Arabic sections appear to be editorially distinct, with their own selection of news and comment. STAFF The Chairman of ''Al Jazeera'' is Sheikh Hamad Bin Thamer Al-Thani , a distant cousin of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani . The current Managing Director of the Arabic channel is Waddah Khanfar , who is supported by Ahmed Sheikh , Editor-in-Chief, and Amen Jaballah . The managing director for the yet-to-be-launched Al Jazeera International is Nigel Parsons . The Editor-in-Chief of the English-language site is Russell Merryman , who took over in August 2005. He replaced Omar Bec who was caretaking the site after the departure of Managing Editor Alison Balharry. Previous incumbents include Joanne Tucker and Ahmed Sheikh. The Editor-in-Chief of the Arabic website is Abdel Aziz Al Mahmoud , and the editorial head is Mohammad Dawood . It has more than a hundred editorial staff. CRITICISM An incorrect, but widely reported, criticism is that Al Jazeera has shown videos of masked terrorists beheading western hostages. Where this is reported in the reputable media Al Jazeera presses for retractions to be made. {Link without Title} From Algeria The Algerian government froze the activities of Al Jazeera's Algerian correspondent on July 4 , 2004 . The official reason given was that a reorganisation of the work of foreign correspondents was in progress. The international pressure group Reporters Without Borders says, however, that the measure was really taken in reprisal for a broadcast the previous week of a debate on the political situation in Algeria. Also, it is alleged that several Algerian cities lost power simultaneously to keep residents from watching a program that implicated the Algerian military in a series of massacres. From Bahrain Bahrain Information Minister Nabeel Yacoob Al Hamer banned Al Jazeera correspondents from reporting from inside the country on 10 May , 2002 , saying that the station was biased towards Israel and against Bahrain . {Link without Title} After improvements in relations between Bahrain and Qatar in 2004, Al Jazeera correspondents returned to Bahrain. From Morocco authorities cancelled the reporting license of al-Jazeera correspondent Iqbal Ilhami. According to the Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ), Ilhami had also been the subject of harassment after she was accused of airing erroneous reports on Moroccan politics in 2003,[http://www.cpj.org/cases03/mideast_cases03/morocco.html 2000[http://www.freemedia.at/wpfr/Mena/morocco.htm] and on other occasions. From Spain Reporter Taysir Allouni was arrested in Spain on 5 September , 2003 , on a charge of having provided support for members of Al-Qaida . Judge Baltasar Garzón , who had issued the arrest warrant, ordered Allouni held indefinitely without bail. He was nevertheless released several weeks later for health concerns, but was prohibited from leaving the country. On 19 September , a Spanish court issued an arrest warrant for al-Jazeera correspondent Taysir Allouni, before the expected verdict. Allouni asked the court for permission to visit his family in Syria to attend the funeral of his mother, but authorities denied his request and ordered him back to jail. Although he pleaded not guilty of all the charges against him, Allouni was sentenced on 26 September to seven years in prison for being a financial courier for Al Qaida. Allouni insisted he merely interviewed Bin Laden after the September 11th attack on the United States. {Link without Title} . Many international and private organizations condemned the arrest and called on the Spanish court to free Taysir Allouni. Websites such as Free Taysir Allouni and Alony Solidarity were created to support Allouni. From the United States In 1999, New York Times reporter Thomas L. Friedman called Al-Jazeera "the freest, most widely watched TV network in the Arab world." The station first gained widespread attention in the west following the September 11, 2001 Attacks , when it broadcast videos in which Osama Bin Laden and Sulaiman Abu Ghaith defended and justified the attacks. This led to criticism by the United States government that Al Jazeera was engaging in Propaganda on behalf of terrorists. Al Jazeera countered that it was merely making information available without comment, and indeed several western television channels later followed suit in broadcasting portions of the tapes. Nevertheless, CNN cut its ties with Al Jazeera for several months over this controversy. On 25 March 2003 , two of its reporters covering the New York Stock Exchange had their credentials revoked. NYSE spokesman Ray Pellechia claimed "security reasons" and that the exchange had decided to give access only to networks that focus "on responsible business coverage". He denied the revocation has anything to do with the network's Iraq war coverage. {Link without Title} From the U.S. government While prior to September 11th, 2001, the United States Government lauded Al Jazeera for its role as an independent media outlet in the Middle East, since then US Government spokespersons have often cited their belief that Al Jazeera's news coverage has a strong anti-American bias. In 2004 the competing Arabic-language satellite TV station Al Hurra was launched, funded by the U.S. government. On January 30 , 2005 the '' New York Times ''reported that the Qatar i government, under pressure from the Bush administration, was speeding up plans to sell the station. {Link without Title} ]] On November 22 , 2005 , the UK Tabloid '' The Daily Mirror '' published a story claiming that it had obtained a leaked memo from 10 Downing Street saying that U.S. President George W. Bush had considered bombing Al Jazeera's Doha headquarters in April 2004, when U.S. Marines were conducting a contentious assault on Fallujah . See the main article at Al Jazeera Bombing Memo for details. In light of this allegation, Al Jazeera has questioned whether it has been targeted deliberately in the past — Al Jazeera's Kabul office was bombed in 2001 and a missile hit its office in Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq killing correspondent Tariq Ayoub. Both of these attacks occurred despite Al Jazeera's provision of the locations of their offices to the United States. Al Jazeera cameraman Sami Al Hajj was detained while in transit to Afghanistan as an " Enemy Combatant " in December 2001, and is now held without charge in Camp Delta at Guantánamo Bay . From Muslim viewers Al Jazeera has been criticized by many of its Muslim viewers for giving air time to Israel i officials. Some have suggested the media outlet is a source of disinformation and a front for Western intelligence agencies. They have mockingly taken to calling it "Al-Khinzeera," which means "The Pig." AL JAZEERA AND IRAQ On March 4 , 2003 , during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq , the New York Stock Exchange banned Al Jazeera (as well as several other news organizations whose identities were not revealed) from its trading floor indefinitely, citing "security concerns" as the official reason. The move was quickly mirrored by Nasdaq stock market officials. Critics have drawn the conclusion that the Bush administration's distaste for the station's reporting of the Invasion Of Iraq was the underlying motivation, yet there is no evidence to support such a claim aside from mere speculation. The administration has voiced such criticisms of Al Jazeera. For example, on April 27 , 2004 , State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, said, "On Iraq they have established a pattern of false reporting." (WSVN) During the Iraq war, Al Jazeera faced the same reporting and movement restrictions as other news-gathering organizations. In addition, one of its reporters, Tayseer Allouni , was banned from the country by the Iraqi Information Ministry, while another one, Diyar Al-Omari, was banned from reporting in Iraq (both decisions were later retracted). On April 3 , 2003 , Al Jazeera withdrew its journalists from the country, citing unreasonable interference from Iraqi officials. Also in the run-up to the war the U.S. Pentagon hired the Rendon Group to target and possibly punish Al Jazeera reporters who did not stay on message. {Link without Title} On April 8 , 2003 Al Jazeera's office in Baghdad was attacked by U.S. forces, killing reporter Tareq Ayyoub and wounding another, despite the U.S. being informed of the office's precise coordinates prior to the incident. Similarly, on November 13 , 2001 the U.S. launched a missile attack on Al Jazeera's office in Kabul during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan , also after being informed of its location. Al Jazeera cameraman Sami Al-Haj , a Sudan ese national, has also been held by U.S. forces since the start of 2002 at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . On 23 November 2005 , Sami Al-Haj's lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith reported that, during (125 of 130) interviews, U.S. officials had questioned Sami as to whether Al Jazeera was a front for Al Qaeda . The reasons for his detention remain unknown, although the U.S. official statements on detainees is that they are security threats. In May 2003, the CIA , through the Iraqi National Congress , released documents purportedly showing that Al Jazeera had been infiltrated by Iraqi Spies , and was regarded by Iraqi officials as part of their propaganda effort. As reported by the Sunday Times , the alleged spies were described by an Al Jazeera executive as having minor roles with no input on editorial decisions. On 23 September 2003 , Iraq suspended Al Jazeera (and Al-Arabiya ) from reporting on official government activities for two weeks for what the Council stated as supporting recent attacks on council members and Coalition occupational forces. The move came after allegations by Iraqis who stated that the channel had incited anti-occupation violence (by airing statements from Iraqi Resistance leaders), increasing ethnic and sectarian tensions, and being supportive of the resistance. During 2004, Al Jazeera broadcast several video tapes of various kidnapping victims which had been sent to the network. The videos were filmed by the groups after kidnapping a hostage. The hostages are shown, often blindfolded, pleading for their release. They often appear to be forced to read out prepared statements of their kidnappers. Al Jazeera has assisted authorities from the home countries of the victims in an attempt to secure the release of kidnapping victims. This included broadcasting pleas from family members and government officials. Contrary to some allegations, including the oft-reported comments of Donald Rumsfeld on June 4 , 2005 , Al Jazeera has never shown Beheadings which often appear on internet websites. {Link without Title} On August 7 2004 , the Iraqi Allawi government shut down the Iraq office of Al Jazeera, claiming that it was responsible for presenting a negative image of Iraq, and charging the network with fueling anti-Coalition hostilities. Al Jazeera vowed to continue its reporting from inside Iraq. News photographs showed United States and Iraqi military personnel working together to close the office. {Link without Title} Initially closed by a one-month ban, the shutdown was extended indefinitely in September 2004, and the offices sealed. ON THE INTERNET Arabic language The Arabic version of the site was brought offline for about 10 hours by an FBI raid on its ISP, InfoCom Corporation , on September 5 , 2001 . InfoCom was later convicted of exporting to Libya and Syria , of knowingly being invested in by a Hamas member (both of which are illegal in the United States), and of underpaying customs duties. {Link without Title} English language The station launched an English-language edition of its online content in March, 2003. {Link without Title} Hacker attacks Immediately after its launch, the site was attacked by Hackers , who launched Denial-of-service Attack s and redirected visitors to a site featuring an American Flag . In November, 2003, John William Racine II , a.k.a 'John Buffo', was sentenced to 1000 hours of community service and a $2000 U.S. fine for the online disruption. Racine posed as an Al Jazeera employee to get a password to the network's site, then redirected visitors to a page he created that showed an American flag shaped like a U.S. map and a Patriotic motto, court documents said. In June 2003, Racine pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud and unlawful interception of an electronic communication. Provider The site was forced to change , and then to (and currently) AT&T WorldNet Services. DOCUMENTARIES Al Jazeera's coverage of the invasion of . AWARDS
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