Al-Jazeera
The Story of The Network That Is Rattling Governments and Redefining Modern Journalism Updated With
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
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.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Once an unknown news source to most Americans, Al-Jazeera swept into the nation's consciousness with its controversial broadcasts of Osama bin Laden's video addresses after the September 11 attacks. But as the authors show in this informative and sympathetic account, the Qatari-based network has been breaking new ground ever since it was established in 1996. Funded by the young, democratic-leaning leader of the oil kingdom of Qatar, the station has been challenging the status quo of quiescent, government-controlled media in the Arab world. The authors, professors of journalism and communications here in the United States, clearly show that it has accomplished this by reflecting the general outlook of its viewers and presenting Palestinian points of view in the Arab-Israeli conflict. To the station's credit, the authors note, Al-Jazeera also airs other opinions, as in an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in 2000. Virtually every Arab government, as well as the United States, has at times expressed displeasure with Al-Jazeera, but the station refuses to buckle. The authors back the station's goals but are not above criticizing it for presenting, like Western media, hard-line views of any stripe at the expense of more moderate ones. Regardless of whether Al-Jazeera's programming will open up the Arab political world, as the authors contend, this book is a great leap forward toward understanding the impact of a major opinion-maker on the world scene. 13 b&w photos.
