the freedom it enjoyed. “The founding colleagues had many questions and fears, and many of them thought this experience would be tempo- rary like other Arab television channels killed by censorship, political pressures or other misgivings” (1) . In his memoir, Ahmed Sheikh reveals how Board Chairman Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer responded to these fears and apprehensions: “During our get-togethers, we used to wonder if the prevailing Arab culture was able to produce success other global media outlets were able to achieve. The question we used to ask Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer in our meetings before our live broadcasts was, ‘Will we apply what we have learned and believe about our profession’s principles and the conditions for suc- cess?’ The response was always, ‘Our profession is our weapon’. And to the question, ‘What are the red lines we must not cross?’, the answer was always, ‘There are no red lines so long as you apply and abide by the principles of this profession, and seek the truth’” (2) . Launch preparations began at the start of June 1996, with some tri- al broadcasts supervised by then Editor-in-Chief Sami Haddad. Accord- ing to Ahmed Sheikh, the Board Chairman was always in attendance. “The small newsroom was like a beehive, with everyone motivated by the faith that this project was ours, and that this message must take off with strength if the project managers fulfil their promises” (3) . During this trial phase, in anticipation of the start of broadcasts, a number of trainings were organised for journalists from around the Arab world. One of these was a course lasting six days about television news, start- ing 23 July 1996 and including the following modules:
(1) Salah Negm, personal interview Ibid.
(2) Ahmed Sheikh, (unpublished memoirs).
(3) Ibid.
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