Reporting the Middle East : The Practice of News in the Twenty-First Century

"How do the media cover the Middle East? Through a country-by-country approach, this book provides detailed analysis of the complexities of reporting from the Arab World. Each chapter provides an overview of a country, including the political context, relationships to international politics and the key elements relating to the place as covered in Western media. The authors explore how the media can be used to serve particular political agendas on both a regional and international level. They also consider the changes to the media landscape following the growth of digital and social media, showing how access to the media is no longer restricted to state or elite actors. By studying coverage of the Middle East from a whole range of news providers, this book shows how news formats and practices may be defined and shaped differently by different nations. It will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners of journalism, especially those focusing on the Arab World."--Bloomsbury Publishing Cover Author bio Endorsement Title page Copyright information Table of contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements List of contributors Introduction Book Overview Notes References 1 On the Afterlife of False Syria Reporting A Gay Girl in Damascus Syrian Boys: The Heroes and Victims On Activists and Witnesses in Western and Arab Coverage Conclusion Note References 2 First Framing and News Background First Framing, Sources and International News Reporting Jordan Conclusion Notes References 3 Reporting Egypt The Framing of News Sourcing of News Rationale for Selecting Newspapers Sample of Analysis Measurements of Frames Frame Visibility Diagnosis of Reasons Suggested Solutions Source Attribution Reverting to Familiar Frames Conclusion References 4 Reporting Lebanon The Roundtable Discussion as Research Tool Orientalism as News Practice ‘Oh Look, it is Another One of those Articles’ The Orientalist ‘Other’ and Oppressed Arab Women Generalising Gender Inequality Conclusion Notes References 5 Reporting the Israel–Palestine Conflict Background to the Outbreak of the Second Intifada Media Content Audience Perceptions Why Does it Happen? Conclusion References 6 Reporting Pre-1948 Palestine in Brazil The ‘Hand-Washing’ between Great Britain and the Zionist Movement Narrating the Conflict through the Unsaid A Redesigned Discourse in the Newspaper: The Terrorists are Now the Jews The Ambiguity of the English Conclusion Notes References 7 Limited Perspectives Note References 8 Stoning Iran Strategic Narratives and the Battle for Moral Ground The ‘Free Sakineh’ Campaign The Hidden Side of the Story Unveiling the ‘Human Rights Activists’ The Selective Reporting of Human Rights Violations Analysis of The Times Coverage Conclusion References 9 Reporting Turkey Othering Turkey by Excluding it from the ‘Self’ in Media Narratives Othering Turkey in the Coverage of EU Membership Negotiations Othering Turkey by Emphasising its Religious Identity Othering Turkey by Presenting it as a Model ‘Bonne pour l’Orient’ Conclusion Notes References 10 Covering Iraq Cultural Differences Press Conferences Military Embedded Journalism Meeting the Militants The Authenticity of the Mediator or the Go-Between Is the Story Worth Taking the Risk? Have You Thought about the Background of the Team? Do You Have a Sponsor? Impact of Publishing on Local People Abu Ghraib Prison American Soldiers and Mercenaries versus Militants, and the Journalists In-between When Free Journalism becomes Hotel Journalism The Samarra Bombing Leading Up to the Civil War Iraq Fatigue Back to Iraq The Coverage of ISIS Conclusion Notes References 11 Reflections and Observations on Covering the Middle East Censorship: Living, Thinking and Reporting in Fear Dictatorship with Freedom of Expression in Yemen Censorship and Stereotyping in Saudi Arabia Arab Autumn: Worsening Reporting Conditions Notes References Index How do the media cover the Middle East? Through a detailed country-by-country approach, this book provides detailed analysis of the complexities of reporting from the Arab World. Each chapter provides an overview of the country in question, including the political context, relationship to international politics and the key features that are most frequently covered in Western media. The authors explore how the media can be used to serve particular political agendas on both a regional and international level. They also consider the changes to the media landscape following the growth of digital and social media, showing how access to the media is no longer restricted to state or elite actors. By studying coverage of the Middle East from a whole range of news providers, this book shows how news formats and practices may be defined and shaped differently by different nations. It will be essential reading for scholars and practitioners of journalism, especially those focusing on the Arab World