When Al Jazeera began in 1996, there were few broadcast news presentations in the Middle East that were not state-run. Cable options were limited to CNN, which was already taken on an American slant, and the BBC World Service, which was having trouble keeping its Middle East bureaus running because of censorship. The time was ripe for Al Jazeera to fill a gap in the market for regional and international news free from the ruling-party propaganda of countries like Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq. Over the years, by maintaining their fierce editorial independence while reporting on some of the most repressive regimes in the world, Al Jazeera has made many enemies. At no time, however, was their position more at risk than when the Bush administration began its campaign of intimidation, censorship, and perception management in the days soon after September 11th and in the lead up to the Iraq war. Of the many dictatorial regimes Al Jazeera had faced, the democratic US proved to be their most formidable opponent.
I have seen Egyptian Jihane Noujaim’s documentary Control Room several times, and each time it was emotionally difficult to watch. The cinema verité technique used by the director accurately captures the feeling among the Arab news media as one of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
The Middle Eastern media is a closely-knit family, and many of the same people do the media jobs on different networks and platforms. In essence, they all share the political inclination that Hassan Ibrahim, who I immensely respect, shares through his skeptical questioning in the documentary. He’s not exactly a radical. He worked for the BBC until their troubles in the 90’s, and then went to work for Al Jazeera. And I’ll put i...
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...of Qatar and more figuratively in the sense of their independence from state-run, state-censored media of the Middle East.
Given the choice between the state-run medias in Syria or Egypt or Saudi Arabia or Morocco, and Al Jazeera, Al Jazeera gives people a true chance at more impartial, and certainly more open, news. Because most people in the Middle East have their own satellite dish and receiver, there is little way for these governments to block it, also. They provide viewers with what they need to know. Al Jazeera might not be perfect; it might also give viewers some of what they want to feel, but it is still in its adolescence and hasn’t yet had the benefit of long experience like many Western media outlets. But when they do well, they are closer to promoting a democratic ideal than Bush ever was able to. Al Jazeera informs the people of the Middle East.
Piers Robinson: The CNN Effect: The Myth of News, Foreign Policy, and Intervention, (London: Routledge, 2002), pp.7-24.
The war in Iraq is accompanied by a tremendous amount of propaganda from both sides. Propaganda comes in the form of quotes, articles, advertisements, documentaries, and even movies (Levinson). Before America engaged in the war with Iraq, many new documentaries were aired during primetime to show the sufferings of Iraqi citizens under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. It sent a message t...
Shaheen, J. (1985). Media Coverage of the Middle East: Perception of Foreign Policy. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, v482, pp. 160-75.
Having 22 different countries, the Arab region has diverse political, religious and ethical views that are accepted in one country but rejected in other countries. These diversities presented different reactions to what was seen as controversial content that MTV network was introducing. Different religious conviction such as Christianity, Islam, and Judaism make some television content acceptable in some countries but rejected in other countries. Religious forms the most vital aspects of Arabs’ lifestyle and is greatly considered in mak...
...against underdevelopment and marginalisation in Darfur, neither Turabi’s name not the Islamist involvement has been featured much in the media coverage of the conflict. How the media handles crises can be descriptive; “..the crisis will become front-page, top-of-the-news story. Print and television reporters, photographers and camera people flood the area.” Victims, villains and heroes are created and “the crisis dominates coverage of international news, and for a while even domestic events.” It becomes the focus of debate in congress moral guide to the nation. “The success of that morality play story line rests on the fact that it is easy to understand and appreciate.. The set piece is ideal material for television and superficial print coverage” The superficial and exaggerated press coverage is clear, many news reports have accepted propaganda and are uninspiring.
Armes, Roy. Arab Filmmakers of the Middle East: A Dictionary. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 2010. Print.
Shaheen, Jack. “The Media’s Image of Arabs.” Writing on the River. 3rd ed. Boston: McGraw,
The concept of Orientalism is one in which Edward Said, a renowned intellectual with a solid background in the field of Arab study, is particularly knowledgeable. If the concepts surrounding Orientalism are broken down into specific elemental degrees, then Said portrays the American conception of Arabic entities and their inhabitants with a plethora of stereotypes that generate a false depiction of the Arabic culture. This, of course, is only an extremely small portion of the grandiose Orientalist dilemma that is currently quite prevalent in modern day society. Yet, for this paper’s ultimate purpose, this sector will be the sole focus. As Said intimates, the lens that the Americans utilize in order to acquire information about Arabs is one that reflects perceptions falsely. This lens is skewed in order to protect and support certain interests, whether they be American or western based. Movies, particularly when generated through the Hollywood action- based genre, have an false generalization of the way in which an Arabic people are. In some respects, the Hollywood produced movie, Three Kings, is a pertinent acknowledgment of the former. In many portions of the film, the enumerated antics may cause for a feeling of disdain toward the Arab nation. Yet, compared to the majority of the typical Hollywood action-based films, Three Kings manages to break away from these abhorrent stereotypes and provide a more than average acknowledgment of the sheer complexity of the Arab people as individual, separate from Saddam Hussein. Therefore, Said’s primary proposed conception of Orientalism is challenged and the Arab is depicted as a person trying to fight Hussein.
The documentary “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies A People” embodies one of the most persistent problem
Through the use of propaganda, governments are able to create feelings and thoughts that are not self-made by the people themselves. “...why should you get excited about Big Brother and the Three-Year Plans and the Two Minutes Hate and all the rest of their bloody rot?” (Orwell 133) Big Brother is the ultimate leader (dictator) of Oceania and rules for total power. He is able to make people fear Big Brother and that gave him complete power and control over the citizens in Oceania. The Three- Year Plans are plans to increase production. And the Two Minutes Hate is a time where over the course of two minuets citizens watch a film on their enemies which would be Emmanuel Goldstein and then express hatred to him by yelling almost in a riot fashion but never acting upon their feelings. All they know is that they hate Goldstein because the government uses that propaganda to control their thoughts. In countries all over the world, they are able to create that same feeling through the use of TV or magazines. In an article about how an Islamic State declares a holy war on Iran though the use of propaganda, a reporter Jordan Schachtel states that, “Dabiq propaganda monthly magazine are devoted to calling for the killing of Shia Muslims” (Schachtel). Not only is the magazine that is run by the government calling for the killing of Shia Muslims but also a leader,“The magazine
A young male created a documentary on the situation on nuclear issues in the Middle East. The documentary was titled The Unclear Truth. The film was also the First International Independent Film Makers Festival Tehran Winner in 2012. This documentary interviews many different members of society and their views on the modern day Middle Eastern struggle. The film is very bias in the sense that it only gives one side of the story. The interviewees are members of the Middle Eastern countries that believe Palestine should be freed and all violence should stop. Most of these people though blame everything that is going wrong on either America or England.
Gerner, Deborah J., and Philip A. Schrodt. "Middle Eastern Politics." Understanding the contemporary Middle East. 3rd ed. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008. 85 -136. Print.
One of the fundamental roles of the media in a liberal democracy is to critically scrutinise governmental affairs: that is to act as a watchdog of government to ensure that the government can be held accountable by the public. However, the systematic deregulation of media systems worldwide is diminishing the ability of citizens to meaningfully participate in policymaking process governing the media (McChesney, 2003, p. 126). The relaxation of ownership rules and control, has resulted in a move away from diversity of production to a situation where media ownership is becoming increasing concentrated by just a few predominantly western global conglomerates (M...
Shaw, Anup . Media, Propaganda and September 11 . 26 July 2002. 27 Mar. 2004 .
Aday, S. et al. 2012. New Media and Conflict After the Arab Spring. United States Institute of Peace. [online] Available at: http://www. usip. org/files/resources/PW80. pdf. [Accessed: 29 April, 2014.]