because this did not cover the entire Arab world, the broadcast was moved to C Band, also through Arab Sat. As the channel moved to increase its coverage area, especially to the European continent, it began to use Hot Bird satellite later on. Conclusion Al Jazeera’s success in its early years led to the Arab public to rally behind it. It became their favourite channel and an indispensable source of news and Arab affairs that did not have a place in other regional me- dia sources. After its unique coverage of Operation Desert Fox, its pop- ularity increased on a global level, bringing it a larger audience from outside the Arab world. However, in return, Arab governments began to view it with apprehension in its early days, placing limits on it and its reporters, in addition to starting rumours about the channel and its funding, goals and “real” agenda. Some of its bureaus were closed in its first three years, such as the one in Amman in 1998 after an episode of al-Itijah al-Mu’akis (The Opposite Direction) on the Wadi Araba Treaty. In 1999, its Kuwait bureau was also closed when, during a live programme, an Iraqi called in and the Kuwaiti authorities believed the call was an insult to their Emir. Despite the pressures and harassment, which increased and varied in the coming years, this did not affect Al Jazeera’s success or cause it to change its editorial policies. The channel went quite far in disman- tling the censorship of official Arab media institutions, while taking control of the news agenda, information and opinion-making from the hands of authoritarian governments. It is impossible to understand the monumental changes in the Arab world as a result of Al Jazeera’s two decades of broadcasting, from both a media and political standpoint, the Al Jazeera effect has quite simply been – a revolution in and of itself – on the minds and hearts of its public.
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