Product Description

Offers a first look at the all-Arab news network and its controversial role in the Arab world. Al-Jazeera, the independent, all-Arab television news network based in Qatar, emerged as ambassador to the Arab world in the events following September 11, 2001. Arabic for "the island," Al-Jazeera has "scooped" the western media conglomerates many times. With its exclusive access to Osama Bin Laden and members of the Taliban, its reputation was burnished quickly through its exposure on CNN. During the 2003 war in Iraq, Al-Jazeera seemed to be everywhere, reporting dramatic stories and images, even as it strived to maintain its independence as an international free press news network. Al-Jazeera sheds light on the background of the network: how it operates, the programs it broadcasts, its effects on Arab viewers, the reactions of the West and Arab states, the implications for the future of news broadcasting in the Middle East, and its struggle for a free press and public opinion in the Arab world.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #562143 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Customer Reviews

Concise and Hardhitting!
While there is much literature about Al-Jazeera available online, this book provided the most concise, elaborate, hardhitting, and balanced view of the network. The authors' position as media experts and scholars with no personal relation or investment in the network ensures a clearheaded view of the station's successes and failures. While they are generally complimentary, they are not shy from recognizing both shortcoming and weaknesses, offering remedial ideas which the station has infact started to incorporate: from discussing Qatari domestic issues to presenting moderate views. I read Al-Jazeera for a journalism class in college where we discussed the authors' concept of "contextual objectivity" at great lengths where we found it surprisingly applicable to the US media. As we appeal for professionalism in the Arab media, we should probably learn a few things ourselves from Al-Jazeera. The station is a true revolution in the Arab world and global media, and this book is the first chronicle of this revolution.