BROOKE GLADSTONE: This is On the Media. I'm Brooke Gladstone.

BOB GARFIELD: And I'm Bob Garfield. This week brandchannel.com released its annual survey which found that Al Jazeera is the fifth most influential global brand in the world. Nine-year-old Al Jazeera has built its reputation both on commanding millions of Arab viewers and on running afoul of nearly every government with interests in the region. But its success has not translated into profitability. The news channel has always been subsidized heavily by the Qatari government, and this week Qatar hinted that it may be trying to privatize Al Jazeera. Much of the U.S. press reported this as the direct result of American pressure on Qatar, but it's unclear who a privately owned Al Jazeera would really benefit. Adel Iskander is the author of Al Jazeera, "How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East." And he joins me now. Adel, welcome to the show.

ADEL ISKANDER: Thank you for having me, Bob.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: What has the relationship been between Al Jazeera and the Qatar government?

ADEL ISKANDER: It's in the benefit of the Qatari government to portray Al Jazeera as an independent station as far as editorial policy is concerned. But at the same time the station itself is primarily the brainchild of the Emir of Qatar and has been funded quite heavily since its rise in 1996. There has been talk about Al Jazeera's eventual financial independence from the Qatari government. It was actually brought up 14 months ago. But that really hasn't happened at all, which has raised speculation both among Arab audiences, as well as governments in the region, in addition to the U.S. Administration, about the true independence of the network.

BOB GARFIELD: Tell me about the nature of Al Jazeera's independence. They have clearly built an audience but they don't have a lot of friends in government offices, do they?

ADEL ISKANDER: No, absolutely not. In fact, Al Jazeera has recorded close to 450 official complaints from governments both in the region and outside of it. Now, that's also paid off for them as far as audiences are concerned, audiences who are generally quite skeptical of media organizations in the region who are generally owned, operated, sponsored and regulated by the local governments. Audiences look at those complaints with the governments in the region to actually mean that the network does have some degree of independence.

BOB GARFIELD: However successful Al Jazeera has been at attracting an audience, that has not necessarily translated into the kind of advertising revenue that enables it to operate profitably.

ADEL ISKANDER: The real hidden force here behind Al Jazeera's failure to consolidate advertising funds are really the Arab regimes in the region. Most of those governments have intricate and intimate relationships with advertisers, both western and regional. And they have essentially created a boycott of the network. Now it hurts advertisers as much as it does Al Jazeera. I mean, with Al Jazeera's audience ranging around 40 to 50 million, you would think that advertisers would go there. But they also are having to deal with the restrictions and the potential boycotts of their produce by the governments in the region.

BOB GARFIELD: There's advertisers who won't buy a spot on "Desperate Housewives." How will multinationals, for instance, react to a cable channel that is perceived as glorifying terrorism?

ADEL ISKANDER: Some multinationals will probably take the risk. If Al Jazeera can meet the principled journalistic code of ethics that multinationals can agree to, even though they do have some of the inflammatory rhetoric that they do, then I think there may be a comfortable middle ground where both can profit. Had it not been for the Arab governments in the region and preventing advertisers from buying commercial spots on the station, most of those multinationals would have probably gone to Al Jazeera.

BOB GARFIELD: So Al Jazeera apparently is on the auction block but if Arab governments have been successful at keeping advertisers from advertising on the satellite channel, what are the chances that someone is going to come forth and put in the billion-dollar bid required to buy the thing bag and baggage.

ADEL ISKANDER: It's not on the block just yet, but the issue here may be the fact that Al Jazeera or the Qatari government is sending out a feeler. I mean, this news juxtaposed with the story about Al Jazeera being one of the top most recognized brands in the world may actually give Al Jazeera leverage and set it forth on a new corporate path. But I think it'll resonate quite differently with audiences in the region. Many of them might start questioning the funding of Al Jazeera. I mean, who are the shareholders, who's providing the money? Audiences there are generally quite skeptical anyway.

BOB GARFIELD: Let's just say that this isn't just a trial balloon and that the Emir of Qatar really has decided that the cost, both the 40 million-dollar-a-year subsidy and the political cost of continuing to underwrite Al Jazeera, just is too great. And let's further assume that nobody steps in to fill the void. Then what happens to Al Jazeera?

ADEL ISKANDER: I would be surprised if the Emir would let it go. He will probably take it under his wing again. If in reality the reason behind this initiative is the constant pressure of the U.S. Administration, then it will have to go under a new level of scrutiny. But I don't think the Emir of Qatar would be prepared to give up on his brainchild just yet.

BOB GARFIELD: All right. Well Adel, thanks very much.

ADEL ISKANDER: Thank you for having me, Bob.

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Adel Iskander is author of "Al Jazeera, How the Free Arab News Network Scooped the World and Changed the Middle East." [MUSIC]