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The Al Jazeera Phenomenon
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The Al Jazeera Phenomenon

Critical Perspectives On New Arab Media

Mohamed Zayani
Pluto Press, 2005
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9

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  • Innovative

Recommendation

This is a serious collection of 10 academic essays about Al Jazeera, the 24-hour Arabic satellite-broadcasting network. In a sentence, Al Jazeera has transformed the way Arab nations get their news. The essays, edited by Mohammed Zayani, explain how the network and its state sponsor, Qatar, have created political and media turmoil of a scope well beyond the size of the network or the nation. The essays cover the network’s history, Arab journalism, the role of women, the war in Afghanistan, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how the network has affected the media and governments of other Arab nations. The writers explain how other Arab states and the West perceive this new media outlet and its coverage. An outstanding essay by Faisal Al Kasim, the host of a popular Al Jazeera show, The Opposite Direction, gives some powerful reasons why the network is a threat to other Arab nations. Basically, he writes about the power of a free press and how it could transform traditional secular Arab culture. Of course, to U.S. eyes, Al Jazeera often seems polemic, biased and political, but according to these essays, it is by far the freest media outlet in any Arab country. getAbstract.com recommends this book to anyone seriously interested in the Middle East, broadcasting or the impact of technology on shaping public opinion.

Summary

A Media "Island"

Al Jazeera is a government-owned, 24-hour satellite television network that broadcasts news and talk shows from Qatar, a small Arab country on the Gulf peninsula. Qatar helped create the network to buttress its own role in the region after it liberalized its national press and abandoned censorship. As part of establishing Al Jazeera (the name means "the island"), the country’s Emir abolished the Information Ministry and encouraged a policy of free speech.

Al Jazeera flowered in this environment since it allowed its staff exceptional - in the Arab world - freedom of speech, while encouraging open discussion about such controversial issues as political corruption, human rights, the role of political dissenters, issues surrounding Islamic law, democracy and religious fundamentalism. The station’s broadcasters have covered sensitive political and social issues while challenging public officials and holding them accountable for their mistakes. This journalistic approach was novel in the region and upsetting to traditional Arab governments.

This stance has put Al Jazeera at odds with other Arab media, which is mostly state-run. Media outlets often ...

About the Author

Editor Mohamed Zayani, associate professor of critical theory at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, received his Ph.D. from Indiana University. He is the author of Arab Satellite Television, Politics in the Middle East and Reading the Symptom. Other contributors include: Jon Alterman, Faisal Al Kasim, Muhammad I. Ayish, Gloria Awad, Ehab Yassir Bessaiso, Olivier Da Lage, Mohammed El Oifi, Naomi Sakr and Rondha S. Zaharna.

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