Al Jazeera in the Face of State Violence and Power Centre Pressures Liqaa Makki
Introduction Since day one, Al Jazeera has been stressing ‘its struggle’ to provide free access to information and establish the principles of freedom of thought and speech in one of the most difficult regions in the world (1) . This mission has turned into a pattern Al Jazeera seeks to sustain, particularly in light of ongoing and escalating de- velopments, as well as the media and political conflicts in which Al Jazeera is operating. This ‘struggle’, as justifiably dubbed by Al Jazeera, is clearly reflected in its professional experience. There have been countless efforts by various governments and nongovernmental entities, across the Arab world and beyond, to limit Al Jazeera’s operations and curb its coverage. These efforts include the intimidation of its journalists and attempts to influence its news content and editorial policy. No media historian can overlook Al Jazeera’s leadership in TV news journalism across the Arab world, nor can we deny its legacy in inspiring other Arab news satellite channels which were created either to compete with Al Jazeera or sought to follow in its footsteps to attain similar success. During the past 25 years, one of the prominent successes of Al Jazeera has been its large scale
(1) See, Our Story , Al Jazeera.net, Al Jazeera Media Network, http://gg.gg/mpqwa/ (accessed 15 November 2020).
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