they came up with the following: “we are a channel based in the Arab world but with a global vision. We seek the truth by providing a plat- form for ‘the opinion and the other opinion’. Here, we notice the adher- ence to Al Jazeera’s original mission and commitment to its founding motto. Looking at a wider perspective, some scholars have studied the ex- tent to which Al Jazeera English could subdue “the ongoing discourse of the ‘clash of civilisations’ in favour of a new discourse of dialogue between civilizations”. In her contribution to Seib’s volume New Media and the New Middle East , Sahar Khamis asserts that Al Jazeera English can reconcile the cultural chasm separating civilizations (1) . Similarly, in their 2008 study, “Mediating Conflicts: Al Jazeera English and the Possibility of a Conciliatory Media”, Mohamed El-Nawawy and Shawn Powers assume such role for Al-Jazeera. El-Nawawy and Powers found Al Jazeera English can serve as a conciliatory media source by moder- ating viewers’ attitudes towards other cultures (2) . In this phase, the effect of Al Jazeera’s news coverage of global humanitarian emergencies became more evident, especially with the launch of Al Jazeera English and the widening scope of the Network’s operation. One of the many aspects that has always distinguished Al Jazeera from competitors like CNN, NBC, CBS and Fox News is that, it is the only network that truly represents the global South, not only geo- graphically but also culturally, socially and politically. For decades, the North has monopolised the flow of information to the rest of the world based on its own values. By doing so, media in the North has always determined the way things should be seen and therefore the way data should be filtered. Consequently, the South has always been dealt with as secondary, and understanding its problems has always been shallow, superficial and stereotypical. As a result, “although Al Jazeera does not ignore the North, it sets a news agenda that reflects more the realities in (1) Sahar Khamis, “The Role of New Arab Satellite Channels in Fostering Intercultural Dia- logue: Can Al-Jazeera English Bridge the Gap?” in Seib (ed.), New Media and the New Middle East (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), pp. 39-51. (2) Mohammed El-Nawawy and Shawn Powers, “Mediating Conflicts: Al-Jazeera English and the Possibility of a Conciliatory Media (Los Angeles: Figueroa Press, 2008).
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