Fifteen years of Al Jazeera - the misunderstood network

The Al Jazeera media empire celebrated its 15th birthday at the beginning of November and now is the perfect opportunity to take a look back at the history of this misunderstood network. 

The newsroom in Doha

In 1996 Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa launched Al Jazeera as an Arabic news and current affairs channel. In the decade and a half since the Qatar Media Corporation has expanded its baby into a network spanning several regions and languages. Al Jazeera has also established a significant online presence, and in 2004 a brandchannel.com poll placed Al Jazeera as the fifth most influential global brand behind Apple, Google, Ikea and Starbucks. The clearest indication of the networks influence came earlier this year during the Arab Spring. Their coverage of the Egyptian protests significantly strengthened the revolutionary movement and in turn took Egypt one step closer to a democratic state.

Criticism 
Since its inception Al Jazeera has faced controversy at every turn. In its infancy the willingness to broadcast dissenting views (the Arabic script which appears on the network logo literally means 'the opinion and the other opinion'), and in particular the decision to broadcast Israelis speaking in Hebrew, engendered suspicion and hostility in a number of Arab states.

Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Israel and Kuwait have all openly criticised the network, citing conflicting biases. The grievances, however, have been predominantly centred around reportage openly critical of largely their conservative governments. In this respect it must surely be said that Al Jazeera faithfully fulfils the fourth estate duty to hold governments to account. If they are not getting complaints then they are not doing their job.

Of course not all criticism of Al Jazeera cements its image as a beacon of truth in the region. On more than one occasion critics have highlighted the lack of hard news gathered from within Qatar. Stories such as the citizenship dispute between the Al Ghafan tribe and the government, and the Emirate's growing diplomatic relationship with Israel escaped real editorial attention. Most likely this is a by product of being funded by a member of Qatari royalty who views Al Jazeera as a symbol of the states power but nevertheless editorial objectivity should remain sacrosanct.

Controversy 
More controversially, Al Qaeda often anonymously delivered videos - particularly of Osama Bin Laden - to Al Jazeera and it was the network who first aired them. The publication of these items led President George Bush to accuse the network of engaging in 'hateful propaganda'. It has been alleged that Bush had planned to bomb the Al Jazeera headquarters in Doha and was actually dissuaded by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Indeed, since 9/11 the Al Jazeera Kabul office has been destroyed by US forces, and a journalist from the channel has been killed by an American missile.

Their name is perhaps best recognized in the 'West' by people who really pay attention during broadcast news bulletins. Due to their proximity to the majority of Middle Eastern strife and the commitment of both their camera crews and their editorials teams, Al Jazeera time and again gets raw and exclusive footage that is snapped up by other news outlets. The precedent was set down with Al Jazeera's footage of Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and has been the same ever since. The network took on a new significance in the wake of 9/11. The subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were covered extensively and again content was regularly syndicated.

Future role?
The network has a huge role to play both regionally and globally. Were Al Jazeera to vanish then 'Western' news agencies would be forced to buck up their ideas. Instead the substantial syndication of material will no doubt continue. In terms of how trustworthy they are as a brand then it perhaps comes down to the old adage - 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. A little simplistic perhaps, but if Al Jazeera's diligent work is unsettling the villains of the region, the likes of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then they can't be all bad, can they?