The Al Jazeera Phenomenon: Critical Perspectives on New Arab Media

Given the headline-generating announcement that Al Jazeera plans to open an English-language news operation available throughout the United States, this collection of 11 essays about the satellite television channel based in Qatar is especially timely. Editor Zayani, whose long introduction and essay about Al Jazeera's coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict dominate the collection, is an associate professor of critical theory at the American University in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Recognizing that Al Jazeera is usually ""adored and championed or vilified and bashed,"" he has chosen a set of contributors who rarely do either. French journalist Olivier Da Lage, for example, shows how the pro-American foreign policy of Qatar's rulers and the sometimes anti-American editorial content of Al Jazeera broadcasts result in a complex balancing effect. British lecturer Naomi Sakr analyzes ""Al Jazeera's contribution, if any, towards rectifying the women's empowerment deficit"" and Faisal Al Kasim, the host of Al Jezeera's talk show The Opposite Direction, contends that the channel has ""helped reduce Saudi influence"" and that ""taming Al Jazeera can only bring trouble to the Emir of Qatar."" Though eight of the ten contributors are of Arab descent, all have studied Western news media as well as Arab media and, thus, are able to place Al Jazeera in contexts familiar to American lay readers. Worthy books about Al Jazeera aimed at a popular audience are easily available, but few offer the range of perspectives that Zayani's collection presents.