lic opinion. This awareness manifested in the formation of a sizeable public base and the creation of an open Arab public sphere. The Net- work’s programmes allowed audiences and experts from various back- grounds to debate and deliberate freely from the pressures of rulers or authorities. Al Jazeera’s audience, equipped with new awareness, un- precedented freedom, and a true understanding of their reality, created changeable political and social contexts that sometimes developed into popular movements, most notable is what’s now known as the Arab Spring. This is addressed in the eighth chapter , on Al Jazeera and its Audiences from Shocking Contexts to Conditions of change. Another part of Al Jazeera’s impact is covered in the ninth chap- ter , which evaluates Al Jazeera in Academic Studies. Al Jazeera’s influence and reputation goes beyond the media, political, and humani- tarian sectors. It can be clearly noticed in other areas such as academia, where the network has been the subject of hundreds of studies and re- search projects at universities around the world, in dozens of languag- es. Chapter 9 addresses Al Jazeera’s presence in academic studies and analyses its importance for university research in terms of interests, topics, curricula, and scientific disciplines. It also sheds light on various ways the network has contributed to developing, framing, and facilitat- ing research in some areas. Al Jazeera’s achievements of the past twenty-five years were not without a price. The network’s expansion and credibility came at an ex- orbitant cost. Remaining true to a consistent editorial policy and profes- sional model, and the impact this has had on the network’s media, po- litical and academic environment, required great sacrifice. The ongoing tension between the challenge presented by the network to authorities in various ways, and the way it has been targeted as a result, is explored in chapters ten and eleven. The tenth chapter, Al Jazeera in the face of state violence and pressure of power centres, explores the reasons why the network found itself, almost continuously, in this situation. The chapter gives examples of this particular challenge, starting with invit- ing authorities as guests and asking unconventional questions, to non- stop broadcasts of the reality and effects of war, to bold investigations such as the Palestine Papers , The Lobb y, The Cyprus Papers , Stealing Paradise , and How to Sell a Massacre , among others.
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