1st Edition

Al Jazeera Phenomenon Critical Perspectives on New Arab Media

By Mohamed Zayani Copyright 2005
    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    232 Pages
    by Routledge

    Few phenomena in the Arab world are more controversial than Al Jazeera - the satellite television news channel that, despite its brief history, has made its impact known throughout the world and changed the face of a formerly parochial Arab media.This timely collection of articles, many by Arabic-speaking scholars, gives us more information and analysis of the network - and how it has affected the public and even the foreign policies of Western governments - than any other of the very few books published in English up to now.The book provides rare insights into Al Jazeera's politics, its agenda, its programs, its coverage of regional crises, and its treatment of the West. The authors attempt to gauge the station's impact on ordinary Arab viewers, understand its effect on an increasingly visible Arab public sphere, and map out the role it plays in regional Arab politics. The image of Al Jazeera that emerges from this book is much more complex than its depiction in American media. It reveals the powerful role that the network plays in shaping ideas and reconstructing Arab identities during a crucial juncture in Middle Eastern history and politics.

    Acknowledgments
    1. Introduction

    I A1 Jazeera, Regional Politics and the Public Sphere

    II A1 Jazeera Programming

    III Al Jazeera and Regional Crises

    Afterword—Arab Media Studies: Some Methodological
    Considerations fon B. Alterman
    Select Bibliography

    Notes on Contributors
    Index

    Biography

    Mohamed Zayani