tools of the media industry and using its network of correspondents all over the world. It started breaking stories before others from the south, where its reporters would witness the events and report them to the global north (1) . This, Hugh Miles argues, is “a reversal of the movement of the news flow, for the first time in hundreds of years, from the East to the West” (2) . Accordingly, Al Jazeera was able to challenge the dom- inance of the Western media institutions, after it succeeded in breaking the state’s dominance of information in the Arab world. In many cases, it has become the first, and sometimes only, source of news, especially within the Arab region. Interest in the scoop increased after Al Jazeera displayed its professional skill in this regard through its possession of tools and mechanisms for story verification according to the rules gov- erning media practice, especially accuracy and credibility. Gaining a head start, Al Jazeera set an example for traditional Arab media to give more attention to this field. Furthermore, Al Jazeera’s influence extended to its operations, as many media organisations began to adopt its news approach, especially its field coverage. These organisations, no longer limit themselves to local news, as Barakat points out, they have become more interested in the reporter’s presence in the heart of the story, whether in natural disas- ters, wars or other developments. Al Jazeera’s influence is also clear in private channels that are expected to provide compelling media content. In Pakistan, for example, some media networks compete with and even copy Al Jazeera’s style; and those who are in charge of Geo News do not deny the establishment of their channel was inspired by Al Jazeera’s success. In fact, it even followed Al Jazeera’s footprints in its coverage of events in Iraq and Syria (3) . Given the influence that Al Jazeera has gained in the Arab and in- ternational media environment, and its impact on the creation of Arab
(1) El-Nawawy and Iskandar, Al Jazeera , p. 44.
(2) Hugh Miles, Al Jazeera: The inside Story of the Arab News Channel that is Challenging the West (New York: Grove Press, 2005), p. 426.
(3) Ahmed Barakat, email interview, Ibid.
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