source of information and images coming out of Baghdad. But that coverage was not music to the ears of many Arab leaders, who wanted to keep what was going on in Iraq, and the Iraqi authori- ties’ viewpoint, as far away as possible, from the eyes and aware- ness of the Arab audience. That notion was equally appealing for the United States, which was exerting enormous pressure on Iraqi authorities, and enacted, that same year, the ‘Iraq Liberation Act’. Having pulled off such a great professional success in cov- ering the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), Al Jazeera established its international media presence firmly. During the two wars, major networks rebroadcast Al Jazeera’s im- ages and news, which bothered the administration of then U.S. president George W. Bush. Al Jazeera aired uncensored images of the bombing aftermath and revealed information that contributed to the uncovering of the other side of the story that his administra- tion tried to conceal. As a result, Al Jazeera’s Kabul and Baghdad offices were bombed, claiming the life of Baghdad correspondent, Tariq Ayyub. Al Jazeera was a crucial international source of in- formation during the Lebanon 2006 and Gaza 2008 wars as well. Coping with the first wave of the Arab Spring in Tunisia by late 2010, Al Jazeera added a new dimension to its presence in the media landscape. With its comprehensive and non-stop coverage of the Arab spring revolutions that made their way across Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and Libya, Al Jazeera claimed the highest view- ership share. A 2011 study covering four Arab countries (Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and UAE) concluded that Al Jazeera came first among all other channels with 68% viewership regarding the coverage of the Arab Spring revolutions (1) . Another 2013 study by ‘Ipsos’ and ‘Sigma’, covered 21 Arab countries and found Al Jazeera had higher daily viewership rates than all competing news channels combined across the Middle East and North Afri- ca (MENA). The study found the difference between Al Jazeera viewership and that of all other channels combined was 34% (2) .
(1) See, Arab Media Report , 2011-2015, (Dubai Press Club), p. 225.
(2) Al Jazeera Takes Lead among Middle East and North Africa Channels , 22/05/2013; http://
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