Even former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsefeld, who held a hawkish view against Al Jazeera -- in 2004 he called the network's coverage of the Iraq war "vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable" -- softened his stance. "Its audience has grown and it can be an important means of communication in the world, and I am delighted you are doing what you are doing," Rumsfeld told Al Jazeera in a November interview.
Al Jazeera launched its English language channel in 2006 with $1 billion in funding. Last May, Columbia University awarded Al Jazeera Enlish its annual Columbia Journalism Award, recognizing an individual or organization for “singular journalism in the public interest.”
"Al Jazeera English has performed a great service in bringing the English-speaking world in-depth coverage of the turmoil in the Middle East," Columbia Dean Nicholas Lemann said. "We salute its determination to get to the heart of a complicated story unfolding in countries where news has historically been difficult to cover."
Former "Nightline" correspondent David Marash joined Al Jazeera English in 2006. He quit two years later over what he saw as anti-American bias. Today, Marash praises Al Jazeera as "the best news channel on earth" -- better than CNN and BBC "by a country mile."
"Al Jazeera has become the model all around the world, Marash told American Journalism Review. "Video reporting from the field sets them apart and makes them the best."
