This $7.98 Powell’s purchase was quite the find. First, the negative about the book. Usually, I have more negative than positive, cause I’m just cranky. But not this time. My criticism of the book is that the authors rely on anecdotal exposition more than they should. For instance, to assert that Al-Jazeera is objective, they could have offered studies or statistics of Al-Jazeera’s coverage. Instead, the authors list several episodes of several talk shows and explain how the guests were on opposite sides of the fence. Not very convincing in that respect.
But otherwise, I’m quite pleased. Chapters include the following subjects:
- the impact of Al-Jazeera in the Arab world including on Arab expatriates in the west
- a comparison of Al-Jazeera with the state-sponsored media that dominates Islamic countries
- Al-Jazeera’s relationship with the government of its home country, Qatar
- Talk shows and opinion on Al-Jazeera
- Al-Jazeera’s conflicts with Arab governments
- Al-Jazeera’s news coverage, particularly in Afghanistan
- Relations between Western governments, news media and Al-Jazeera
The most illuminating parts to me were the information on Qatar’s founding by the ruling family of Qatar and it’s relationship with Qatar. That family bankrolled Al-Jazeera, and the government protects the freedom of the press for Al-Jazeera. But strangely, or not so strangely, Al-Jazeera provides very little coverage of Qatar on it’s airwaves.
The second interesting tidbit was the walk-through of Al-Jazeera’s most popular talk shows. While not helpful in determining if Al-Jazeera is biased, the format and even an inkling of the topics were unknown to me. Essentially, the ones described are patterned like CNN’s Crossfire. Not exactly what I think of as television that reaches the truth. Sure it’s balanced, but it’s not exactly helpful. And my gut tells me it isn’t really helpful in the Middle East either. Neither side really has the truth, and the truth is rarely to be found right in the middle. The book informs about Al-Jazeera’s breaking news coverage, and its talk shows, but only briefly mentions investigative reporting. That brand of journalism to me is one of the best at reaching the truth (if done right). But it’s also long, slow, and expenseive. Most media here in the U.S. doesn’t really do that much of it. So I can’t fault Al-Jazeera if it doesn’t. (If it does much of it, it’s impossible to tell from the book.)
Authors: Mohammed el-Nawawy, Adel Iskandar
Title: Al-Jazeera : the story of the network that is rattling governments and redefining modern journalism
Imprint / publisher: Westview Press / Perseus Book Group
Format: Paperback
Publication date: August 2003
Length: 240 p.
ISBN-10: 0-8133-4149-3
Subject: Al Jazeera (Television network)
Subject: Television broadcasting of news — Arab countries
Subject: Mass media — Political aspects — Arab countries
Subject: Mass media and public opinion — Arab countries
LC classification: HE8700.9.Q22 E42 2003
