Glued to television sets in Ramallah’s shisha cafes, Palestinians have been watching al-Jazeera television attentively as Egyptian people rise up from Alexandria to Cairo. Looking on with admiration as tens of thousands fill the streets during the January 28th “Day of Rage”, cheers erupt through the cafes with every police retreat and every Molotov cocktail that lands on security vehicles.

"Long live Al Jazeera!" chanted Egyptian protesters in Tahrir Square on Feb. 6. Many Arabs -- not least the staff at Al Jazeera -- have said for years that the Arab satellite network would help bring about a popular revolution in the Middle East. Now, after 15 years of broadcasting, it appears the prediction has come true.

The wave of protests in the Arab world has highlighted the power of Al-Jazeera, which has unparalleled influence in the Middle East. It has been banned from reporting on the unrest in Egypt, where its reporters have been targeted by Mubarak supporters. Governments in the region fear the station could be their undoing.

As we reported last week, while AJE is carried in some small markets (and on satellite) here in the U.S., most cable operators don’t seem to be eager to carry the network. Now, AJE is pushing back.

On Feb. 15, the BBG will host a three-part conference in Washington, “The New Media Revolution and U.S. Global Engagement.” Speakers will include BBG Chairman Walter Isaacson, board governors, VOA and RFE/RL personnel and NGO members and academics.

With armies of reporters from Al Jazeera and Alhurra and slews of other news media organizations covering the Middle East, one wonders how the seeds of anti-government sentiment in Egypt were not detected before streets were filled with protesters and now police violence and death.

With armies of reporters from Al Jazeera and Alhurra and slews of other news media organizations covering the Middle East, one wonders how the seeds of anti-government sentiment in Egypt were not detected before streets were filled with protesters and now police violence and death. Diplomats in Washington and other world capitals seem to have been similarly blindsided.

Al-Jazeera's broadcasting has been disrupted across the Arab region, said the Doha-based channel which has run round-the-clock coverage of the mass protests in Egypt for the past eight days.