29 Mar 2003, 20:30, mark lewis (1:3634/12), wrote to Charles Angelich:

Hi mark.

 WC>>> I tried to log into Al-Jazeera's english web site for a
 WC>>> differing viewpoint but by that time the "Amarican
 WC>>> Cyberforce Militia" had hacked into the site shutting it
 WC>>> down... CIA?

 CA>> I don't know who "Al-Jazeera" is.

 ml> saudi or iranian television station, IIRC...

Here's the story:  I don't have a 'year' date for this, but the search 
line listed 08 Sep 2001.  Despite that, dates of 19 Sep and 26 Sep are
listed within the article.  Good enough for background in any case.

   ----- ALJAZ.TXT begins -----

By BBC Monitoring's Suzanne Lidster and Mike Rose.

 Al-Jazeera (The Peninsula), the popular Arab satellite TV channel, has
played a key role in the conflict between the US-led coalition and
Afghanistan's ruling Taleban. It is the only foreign broadcaster permitted
in Afghanistan. On Sunday, the station aired an exclusive filmed statement
by Osama Bin Laden in response to air strikes on Afghanistan. The interview
was pre-recorded. And on Friday, it also showed "recent footage"
of Bin Laden in Afghanistan. The station has also won a following for its
coverage of the Palestinian uprising.

Since 19 September, when the Taleban evacuated the last foreign journalist
from the capital Kabul, only two al-Jazeera correspondents and three Afghan
reporters working for the Reuters, AFP and AP news agencies have been
allowed to stay. The station has a reputation for outspoken, independent
reporting - in stark contrast to the Taleban's views of the media as a
propaganda and religious tool. Yet it clearly has its uses. For in a
country where watching TV or surfing the internet is banned, the Taleban
has used al-Jazeera as one way of communicating with the world. Taleban
Foreign Ministry officials have spoken via satellite link to the al-Jazeera
headquarters in the Gulf state of Qatar. 

Exclusives:
 The station has scored numerous exclusives. It broadcast the only video
pictures of Afghan demonstrators attacking and setting fire to the US
embassy on 26 September. And it grabbed international headlines again a few
days later with a report that three US special forces troops and two Afghan
US citizens had been captured by Bin Laden's al-Qaeda group near the border
with Iran. Despite a Taleban denial, al-Jazeera stood by its report, saying
that a member of al-Qaeda had called its bureau in Pakistan to announce the
capture. Al-Jazeera prides itself on reporting on the Middle East from an
Arab perspective while drawing on the professional experience of staff who
have worked the Western media. It has consistently topped viewer ratings in
the Middle East and claims 35m viewers. 

Funding:
 Since its launch in 1996, the channel has relied on funding from the
Qatari emirate, advertising and viewer revenue and deals with other
broadcasters. It recently signed a deal to broadcast on Sky Digital to the
UK and Europe. The channel's popularity stems from its news coverage and
lively talk shows on sensitive political, social and even sexual issues. 
The channel says its guiding principles are "diversity of viewpoints
and real-time news coverage" 

Al-Jazeera's journalistic scoops have turned the spotlight on the channel.
There has been talk of privatisation, but if such a move proceeds, the
station could face pressure from commercial sponsors in the Gulf, from
where there has often been criticism of its output. However, although state
subsidies are expected to end next month, analysts predict that Qatar will
continue bankrolling the channel as its controversial reporting could scare
off advertisers or shareholders. Despite its independent stance, al-Jazeera
has been labelled by some UK newspapers as a "mouthpiece" of
Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, and US officials have expressed concern at
what it sees as the anti-Western tone of much of its reporting. BBC
Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates
information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet
from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. 

   ----- ALJAZ.TXT ends -----


     Good luck...  M.

--- Msged/386 TE 06 (pre)