Abstract

Since the launching of the television channel Al-Jazeera in 1996, its impact on Arab public opinions has continually been a topic of debate. In this respect, we can notice an “Al-Jazeera effect” on the political processes in the Arab world. First of all, Al-Jazeera has broken up the Saudi-Lebanese monopoly on pan-Arab media and has opened the way toward a diversity of points of view and opinions concerning current events in the Middle East. This intensification of exchanges of images and ideas has played a part in the formation of an Arab public sphere that serves as a centre for forming dominant opinions. The coverage of the second Intifada established Al-Jazeera at the regional level, while the war in Afghanistan and in Iraq gave it an international and strategic dimension. Whatever opinion we may have on the way certain events are covered, it is no longer possible to ignore the effect Al-Jazeera has on the way international crises are covered in the media today.