Al-Jazeera: Arab Media Freed

In 1991, U.S.-led forces attacked Iraq and forced Saddam Hussein's troops to pull out of Kuwait. Not only the month-long war, known as the Gulf War, brought to an end Iraq's occupation of the tiny oil-rich state, but also it brought to life a new form of media: CNN-led media.

In the U.S., and for the first time in history, people were able to watch a live broadcast of the ongoing war in a far away place hour by hour. CNN reporters were at the heart of the event, right inside Baghdad, telling their viewers the story of the war-from an American point of view of course.

Meanwhile, Arab media was in total darkness. People were allowed to see nothing but their leaders being hailed and accepting vows of obeyence. No one was able to tell what exactly was happening inside Iraq or Kuwait until long after the war ended.

The idea of having a satellite channel dedicated only to news was all new to Arab viewers. Al-Jazeera, broadcasting from Qatar, was the first Arab Channel to do so. For the first time in Arab history, people were able to see their leaders being critized and their policies weighed.

What Al-Jazeera brought to Arab viewers was a new level of freedom not experienced before. And by the end of the 20^th century, Al-Jazeera was by far the most watched channel in the Arab world.

Before Al-Jazeera the concept of news, to Arabs at least, was no more than the coverage of the activities of Arab leaders, their accomplishments and their achievements. On Al-Jazeera Arabs saw that their leaders are only humans who can possibly make mistakes-big mistakes.

Not only did Al-Jazeera open the door for criticism of most leaders, but also it opened a new window on the Israeli society. For the first time, Arabs were able to listen to Israeli officials speaking about their policies and justifying their actions. This was a taboo before; but thanks to Al-Jazeera, it became as normal as listening to an Arab official.

With a good level of credibility and a relatively high ceiling of freedom, Al-Jazeera remains the Arabs' most preferred destination in terms of news coverages. It is, therefore, entitled to be the most important landmark in the history of televised media in the Arab world.