and awareness” (1) . The opinion embodies Canadian Philosopher Mar- shall McLuhan’s famous saying, “The medium is the message”, (2) as- suming its influence in organising and shaping society according to the mechanisms and methods in which that medium operates. This news value, and the media reference framework for dealing with news, facts and information that it represents, reveals the importance of Al Jazeera’s cognitive dimension and influence in its general environment. Ahmed Sheikh, former Editor-In-Chief of Al Jazeera news channel, attributes Al Jazeera’s influence to “the fair and objective news it provides while adhering to professional rules”, allowing Arab thought to open up to the environment in which it exists, think freely about what is going on around, and form an opinion on a sound basis” (3) . This cognitive and educational model helped Al Jazeera transcend its regional borders and reach global status thanks to its coverage of the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and in Iraq in 2003. The model has since be- come embedded in Al Jazeera’s professional experience throughout its various stages and became prominent during the Arab Spring in a num- ber of Arab countries at the end of 2010. Al Jazeera was a witness to the political transformations in these countries and even had an impact on them through its cognitive discourse, which is built on “enabling” and “arming” the general public “with awareness” of the realities of its political conditions and the development of the change movement (4) . It is still witnessing the aftermath of the political crises and conflicts as well as the wars in the Arab region and elsewhere. The cognitive element of news should never be looked at in isola- tion from another value that serves as its prerequisite for its existence and the existence of the channel itself; and that value is freedom. Free- dom is necessary for Journalists in order for them to perform their work of reporting the news and everything else that comes with it. Al Ja-
(1) Jafar Abbas, phone interview, 11 November 2020.
(2) Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (New York: Mc- Graw-Hill, 1964), p. 7.
(3) Ahmed Sheikh, phone interview, 11 September 2020.
(4) Mohamed Erraji, Ibid, p. 250.
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