Synopses & Reviews
Although Al Jazeera English has yet to receive to receive the attention accorded to its Arabic-language elder sibling, it is in many ways the more interesting of the two. It seeks to redefine global news coverage by focusing on areas that are traditionally neglected by most news organizations, and its potential audience is many times larger than that of the Arabic channel. This will be the first book to thoroughly examine this channel’s coverage methods, effects on its audience, and its place in the world of mediated geopolitics. Al Jazeera recognized that if it was to expand its worldwide influence, it could not do so wholly in Arabic. And so, in 2006, it launched Al Jazeera English, the first English-language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. With its principal broadcast centers in Doha, Washington, London, and Kuala Lumpur, the channel faced the task of proving itself to be more than a curiosity and just a junior version of the all-news English-language channels such as the BBC or CNN. After several years of operation, Al Jazeera English seems well on its way to defining its place in the market. The breadth of its coverage, particularly its emphasis on reporting from the global South, has distinguished it from many of its competitors. Thorough coverage from the Middle East and from Africa provides a perspective that other major satellite channels have rarely offered their audiences. Initially, Al Jazeera English was available to 80 million cable and satellite households. It was, however, accessible by only a small number of viewers in the United States (mainly those accessing it through several online providers) primarily because of political reasons. Whatever the political back-story may be, gaining access to a larger global market will depend on audience demand. If Al Jazeera English does a better job of covering major stories, particularly in the Middle East and the global South, than other channels do, and if its competitors find themselves saying, “As Al Jazeera English reported today…,” news consumers will eventually demand access. This book will examine these political issues and will also analyze the channel’s audience base, particularly in Africa and South Asia. The book will also offer evaluations of Al Jazeera English’s defining moments to date – its reporting during the 2008-2009 war in Gaza (written by Palestinian and Israeli scholars), and its coverage of the “Ground Zero Mosque” controversy in 2010. The volume will also consider Al Jazeera English in the context of public diplomacy and the growing significance of diasporic populations.
Synopsis
Although Al Jazeera English has yet to receive to receive the attention accorded to its Arabic-language elder sibling, it is in many ways the more interesting of the two. It seeks to redefine global news coverage by focusing on areas traditionally neglected by most news organizations, and its potential audience is many times larger than that of the Arabic channel. Its coverage of the 2011 Arab Spring brought the channel a large new audience. This is the first book to thoroughly examine this channel's coverage methods, its effects on its audience, and its place in the world of mediated geopolitics.
Synopsis
Although Al Jazeera English has yet to receive to receive the attention accorded to its Arabic-language elder sibling, it is in many ways the more interesting of the two. It seeks to redefine global news coverage by focusing on areas traditionally neglected by most news organizations, and its potential audience is many times larger than that of the Arabic channel. Its coverage of the 2011 Arab Spring brought the channel a large new audience. This is the first book to thoroughly examine this channel's coverage methods, its effects on its audience, and its place in the world of mediated geopolitics.
About the Author
Philip Seib is a professor of Journalism and Public Diplomacy and Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California and is director of USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Headline Diplomacy: How News Coverage Affects Foreign Policy; The Global Journalist: News and Conscience in a World of Conflict; Beyond the Front Lines: How the News Media Cover a World Shaped by War; New Media and the New Middle East; Toward A New Public Diplomacy: Redirecting U.S. Foreign Policy; and Global Terrorism and New Media: The Post-Al Qaeda Generation. He is editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Series in International Political Communication, co-editor of the Palgrave Macmillan Series in Global Public Diplomacy, and co-editor of the journal Media, War, and Conflict.
Table of Contents
The Origins of Al Jazeera English--Shawn Powers * The Nature of the Channels Global Audience--Hussein Amin * Content: The Messages of AJEs News--Tine Ustad Figenschou * AJE After the Arab Spring: The Politics of Distribution in the United States--Will Youmans * Covering and Reaching Africa--Amelia Arsenault * Covering and Reaching South Asia--Michael Kugelman * Covering Gaza 2008-2009: A Palestinian View--Rima Najjar Merriman * Covering Gaza 2008-2009: An Israeli View--Eytan Gilboa * AJEs Conciliatory Role: Covering the “Ground Zero Mosque” Controversy--Mohammed El-Nawawy * Conclusion: AJE in the World--Philip Seib