Why was Ariel Sharon never interviewed on Al-Jazeera?
AIF: Sharon wanted to impose some restrictions on the way the interview would be conducted, so Al-Jazeera turned it down. Al-Jazeera takes pride in not bowing to anyone who wants to impose rules. That is why they didn’t air their interview with Osama bin Laden after September 11th. They thought it was too staged and that their reporter was being subject to intimidation tactics. CNN recently broadcast parts of this interview. Carnegie Council: What do you think will happen with Al-Jazeera? AIF: One thing we have to realize is it’s not just about Al-Jazeera. Al-Jazeera is just a case study. But they have opened the door for free expression in the Middle East to a point where other networks will have to follow suit, whether they like it nor not. So many other networks in the Middle East are democratizing their approach to news coverage. Whether Al-Jazeera is around ten years from now doesn’t matter. The wheels are now rolling in the right direction. Carnegie Council: You mean to say that
