limits of this freedom, and that no entity could put a cap on it” (1) . The same is gleaned from Adnan al-Sharif’s statement, “What was offered to Al Jazeera was not offered to any other channel, not even BBC , and it is the freedom of opinion, speech and expression” (2) . Faisal al-Kasim says, “I didn’t have even 20 percent of the freedom at BBC that was ex- tended to me at Al Jazeera. The space for freedom at Al Jazeera is quite expansive, and this is one of the reasons for the channel’s success” (3) . Without this freedom and space for more than one opinion with no censorship, Al Jazeera would have just been another Arab channel fol- lowing government lines. In the same way the world is currently experi- encing a technological revolution, Al Jazeera’s launch in the mid-1990s prompted a media revolution that changed the face of Arab and global media forever. Before Al Jazeera, the “other opinion” was not heard in the region, as Ilham Badr says. “We were raised on a single opinion, and Al Jazeera brought the other opinion to the discussion” (4) . Along with freedom, the other big variable that made Al Jazeera successful according to Jafar Abbas was the board of directors’ strong support for the channel’s staff. Throughout the first year, “the board members were there night and day to solve employee issues. This great- ly increased dedication and loyalty to the institution. In addition, Al Jazeera employees had strong professional and social ties with each other” (5) . There was an overarching spirit of teamwork; and everyone was committed to the work at Al Jazeera, believed in the experience and wanted to make it succeed, according to Mohammed Jasim Al-Ali. This spirit further increased after Al Jazeera began broadcasting, “be- cause we used to encourage each other as members of a family do.
(1) Ahmed Sheikh’s memoirs, Ibid.
(2) Mohammed Jasim Al-Ali, personal interview, Ibid.
(3) Adnan al-Sharif, personal interview, Ibid.
(4) Ilham Badr, personal interview, Doha, 17 September 2020.
(5) Jafar Abbas, personal interview, Ibid.
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