Transformative effect of electronic media

Author: 

Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish Foreign Minister and Mahmood Jibril, one of the most prominent names in the Libyan opposition and Wadah Khanfar, Direct General of the Al-Jazeera Network shared the podium at the last Doha meeting.

Waddah Khanfar’s presence highlights that Al-Jazeera is not only the instigator of the transformation in the Arab World; it also charts its course. Al-Jazeera gets its name from the gulf region which consists of Qatar; Amir Sheikh Hammad finances the network. However, in the Arab world, this TV network’s influence is singlehandedly equal to all countries in the regional geography. Yes, it is true that Qatar dispatched its fighter aircraft to participate to the implementation of the UN sanctions on Libya. However, no fighter aircraft can exercise more devastating effect on Qaddafi administration than done by the Al-Jazeera. It is also inevitable that the rulers and administrators who cannot perceive this transformative effect of media will go wrong in their prevision about the rest of the 21st century.

Moreover, Al-Jazeera, which utilizes the universal tongue of visuality, benefits from the fact of Arabic as the common language of a geography spanning from Iraq to Mauritania. The channel smashes dogmas by a talk show, renders topics which were once thought not to be discussable into discussable. Indeed, if you ask Wadah Khanfar and his team, they do not pursue any other aim beyond doing ‘good journalism’. Al-Jazeera’s transformative power somewhat springs right from there: in a world where power of sovereignty is misused by despotic powers, existential truth is bent by oligarchic minorities and embellished with anti-Israel and packed off to ‘foist’ their citizens, ‘good journalism’ assists manifestation of trust as it is. In short, Al-Jazeera cries out loud: ‘The king is naked!’

Share this page

Facebook Twitter Delicious Buzz Digg StumbleUpon
No votes yet

Post new comment