Instead of the transmitter dealing with the recipient as a subject and a sphere of influence, the new recipient behaves as if it owns the media and contributes to setting their agenda. According to Jamal Zran, the relationship between Al Jazeera and its audience is similar to a sense of ownership. (1) This developed relationship between the media and their recipients has complicated the research on media effect even further, since it became multi-faceted and multisided rather than simply a one- way process. As a result, studying this subject remains more of an in- terpretative approach rather than a precise and measurable scientific truth, except for limited cases, where statistically solid results can be found. Generally, the accuracy of studies on the impact of the media var- ies according to the levels of interest, interaction, engagement, and be- havioural change. The influence exerted by a particular social, political, or media phenomenon in terms of just drawing attention is not as deep and effective as the influence that generates other patterns of interac- tions such as political engagement or changing social behaviour. Since Al Jazeera’s influence on media and politics has been extensively re- searched, this chapter will focus on its effect on academia, starting with the first level of impact: attention and general interest. 2. Al Jazeera: A Media “Phenomenon” at the Heart of Academic Attention The focus on any particular phenomenon reflects a certain level of acknowledgement of their influence, and the stronger the focus, the more substantial the evidence of their impact and vice versa. The level of influence could be monitored quantitatively through the number of studies dealing with these phenomena. It can also be monitored through the number of languages, specialties, topics, and types of methodologies used in these studies. In addition, influence can be monitored in terms (1) Jamal Zarn, “Arab Media Perspective: Pluralism, Reception and the Public Sphere”, in Mapping the Al Jazeera Phenomenon: 20 Years On , edited by Ezzeddine Abdelmoula and Noureddine Miladi, (Beirut, Al Jazeera Centre for Studies and the Arab of Scientific Publish- ers, 2016), p. 57.
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