Breaking Barriers or Burning Bridges? - The Al-Jazeera Story

The Al-Jazeera phenomenon The Qatar-based television news station Al-Jazeera ('the island') was established by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, in November 1996. The Sheikh took power in 1995 at age 44 by coup, ousting his own father. As part of his sweeping changes Al- Jazeera was commissioned with a start-up grant of $137 million. The network was resurrected from the ashes of a failed venture between the BBC and Saudi Arabia. With its polished productions; …

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