Foreword It is wonderful that Al Jazeera is celebrating its silver jubilee this year (2021), by documenting its professional experience. Many critics have spoken about Al Jazeera and many researchers and media profes- sionals have written about it. Hundreds of academic theses and research papers have been produced about the network in universities across the world in different languages. Dozens of books and thousands of news- paper articles have been published and a number of documentaries and reports have been produced in the last twenty-five years. While some praised its work, others met it with a barrage of criticism. Several re- views and analyses have also commented on the network’s performance. Ironically, Al Jazeera did not seek to pen its own career throughout this period, nor did it document a detailed account of its own experience, from within, for those interested in learning more about the global me- dia network. It has not told the full story yet. In fact, Al Jazeera has rare- ly responded to its critics, or thanked its eulogizers, and in both cases, it has not even corrected much of the misinformation surrounding it. In their response to those who criticised the channel in good or bad faith, officials would usually say, “Leave them alone! This is part of the other opinion”. However, the dissemination of misinformation is not an opin- ion, but a falsification and therefore we have decided to correct this. This book is one of several attempts to introduce Al Jazeera from inside through its own people using well-established, deep and docu- mented methodology. Additional books, articles, studies, as well as a set of documentaries and video content have been produced as part of the material prepared for the 25th anniversary celebration on November 1, 2021. More importantly, we seek to collect, organize and classify the network’s archive from the pre-launch stage up to 2021. This will make it easier for researchers, students and historians, in particular, to access any of the original material they may need. This book presents a comprehensive overview of Al Jazeera, start- ing from its initial idea and through its launch, while highlighting the concerns and challenges it faced at every stage. It sheds light on the rap- id development that enabled Al Jazeera to shine regionally and globally
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