In its “Vision and the Mission” document, issued in 2004, the Net- work states, “While promoting public awareness of local and global issues, Al Jazeera aspires to be a bridge between cultures, to support people’s right to knowledge and strengthen the values of democracy and the respect of liberties and human rights” (1) . To better understand the human dimension in Al Jazeera’s editorial policy in its second phase, we must remember that most media organi- sations are financed either by governments or by private corporations. In both models, the editorial policies of the media often follow and serve the agenda of those who fund them, which leads to further con- solidation of power or profit, whether of the ruling government or the private entity. In most of the time, this type of financial relationship is not in favour of the public’s interest. With Al Jazeera, this paradigm shifted almost completely. According to Khanfar, although Al Jazeera is financed by the State of Qatar, its editorial policy is determined inside the newsroom. Through this unique and detached relationship between the funder and those who design and implement the editorial policy, the Network succeeded in maintaining its professional and moral vi- sion, away from the state’s interests. This “required, in part, the inten- sification of field coverage”, says Khanfar. “We have always believed that field coverage minimises the impact of Western news agencies and gives our journalists more room to interact with the humans at the heart of events, giving our coverage more originality and credibility” (2) . As for how Al Jazeera succeeded in what other networks failed in terms of focusing on the human aspect, as opposed to serving the agendas of political powers or private entities seeking to maximize their profit, Souag says, “the resources available to Al Jazeera are also available to other media institutions such as BBC, CNN, France24 and Deutsche Welle . All these institutions have the funds and expertise that enable them to go to conflict zones. But what distinguishes Al Jazeera from its competitors is that it does not seek to please the circles of pow- er or make financial profit from its coverage. Consequently, it is not
(1) See, “Vision and Mission”, The Al Jazeera Decade: 1996-2006 , Al Jazeera Media Net- work, (Manama: Al-Waraqoon, 2006), p. 226.
(2) Khanfar, personal interview, Ibid.
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