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Al-Jazeera: The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel That is Challenging the West
by Hugh Miles
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Grove Press (2006-01-11)
ISBN: 0802142354
EAN: 9780802142351
Dewy Decimal #: 070.4309174927
Paperback: 448 pages
SKU: 08060032
Condition: New As issued no jac
Comments: New book. Trade paperback with no marks or creases. Appears unread. Beautiful book.
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
With more than fifty million viewers, Al-Jazeera is one of the most widely watched news channels in the world. It’s also one of the most controversial. Now, journalist Hugh Miles uncovers the true story behind the Arab world’s most influential outlet. Financed by one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Al-Jazeera quickly established itself as the premier news channel in the Islamic world by covering events Arabs cared about in ways they had never seen before. However, accusations of ties to Al-Qaeda continue to plague the news channel. Its journalists have been accused of spying for everyone from Mossad to Saddam Hussein, sometimes simultaneously, and a star Al-Jazeera reporter is still awaiting trial in Spain for being an active member and recruiter for a Spanish-based Al-Qaeda cell. With unprecedented access to the news channel’s key players, reporters, producers, and financiers, journalist Hugh Miles uncovers the full, behind-the-scenes story of Al-Jazeera’s meteoric rise and how its influence is shaping the course of the Arab world. Al-Jazeera us an eye-opening look at a television network that not only covers the news but also makes the news.
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Amazon.com Review
The Al-Jazeera television network has been called many things, usually not very complimentary. The Israeli government says it is anti-Israeli, the Syrians call it a Zionist front. Some Arabs say it is a CIA plot, while U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has accused it of "working in concert with terrorists" and "consistently lying." The upstart Qatar network's remarkable story is now finally told in journalist Hugh Miles's book Al-Jazeera. Miles, an Arabic-speaking British journalist born in Saudi Arabia, tells how Qatar's liberal young emir, Sheikh Hamad, created Al-Jazeera in 1996, a year after coming to power in a coup against his own father. Shekh Hamad stunned the Arab world by liberalizing the country, giving women the vote, introducing limited democracy, and ending press censorship. Other Arab media outlets slavishly kowtowed to their governments and were distrusted by the public, but the emir gave Al-Jazeera complete editorial freedom. Its motto was: "The opinion and the other opinion." Arabs were amazed to see TV news that finally broadcast interviews with dissidents and held their governments accountable for policies. Some Arab states retaliated by closing Al-Jazeera bureaus, disrupting potential ad revenues, and breaking off relations with Qatar. Al-Jazeera was already enormously popular in the Arab world when 9-11 occurred. After the terrorist attack, it became notorious for airing the communiqués and videos of Osama bin Laden and filing reports critical of the U.S. from its Iraq bureau. Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell described Al-Jazeera as "horrible" and "slanted." One American newspaper called on the U.S. military to shut it down. Miles tells of how a U.S. bomb flattened the network's bureau in Kabul, while U.S. soldiers and aircraft killed and injured several of its journalists during the war in Iraq--although U.S. officials deny targeting the network. As Al-Jazeera gears up to open an English-language channel, Miles writes, its story will only get more interesting. No doubt! --Alex Roslin
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Customer Reviews
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Al Jazeera and unbelief in the west
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-04-19
Analyses why and how the agenda of Al Jazeera Television seems so opposite to what is shown on mainline western news shows. You will gain from this book at least a few more diverse opinions about why diversity in media is healthier than uniformity, and why there will always be a need for other perspectives on how social events in the Middle East are portrayed.
The author does attempt to compare and contrast western with Middle Eastern media portrayals of the same events, but could have done more to show not just "truth" as broadcast, but rather, "perceptions of that truth" as received by the audiences.
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A good report
Rating  (3)
Date: 2006-12-21
2 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
Hugh Miles, a Saudi-born British journalist, analyzes the twenty-four-hour Arab television news channel Al-Jazeera. Observing the Qatar agency, Miles concludes that "the story of this news network is, in fact, the story of the upheavals that have taken place in that troubles region in recent years." He discusses terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, and free speech.
This is written as you would expect of a journalist and not a novelist. A narrative of its history since its inception. I learned a lot from this report and enjoyed it, even though Miles bias can be seen in the book. But anyone reading this book had to know that before picking it up. There is no other way to get the access Miles did in order to write this.
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Informative and nothing more
Rating (3)
Date: 2006-09-15
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
The book serves up only what the blurb promises - a detailed account of how Al-Jazeera was set-up and its turbulent growth - and nothing more. But I suspect that most people who pick this one would look for more than that, as otherwise its just a sequence of events that anyone would forget after the last page is turned. Hugh Miles is a journalist and as befits his profession, he just reports on the events and leaves out in-depth analysis that would have made this book much more enjoyable.
As for the judgement on if Al-Jazeera is biased, it is obvious where the authors sympathies are. But one thing is for sure - given the nature of the news Al-Jazeera handles, it is a case of damned if they do and damned if they don't. Beyond this, what you will make out of it is entirely based on your political view.
Given the nature of the middle-east politics, the channel is truly a pioneer in the media world and for that alone, the book deserves to be read.
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Hugh Miles' book aspires for ambiguity...
Rating (4)
Date: 2006-07-16
0 out of 4 customers found this reveiw helpful
British Hugh Miles writes one of the most comprehensive and compelling books presently available on the store shelves about the sudden Arabic media sensation known as Al-Jazeera ("the island").
Brilliant and elucidating in spots, a day after finishing it I admit that I'm mostly unclear on which position Miles takes regarding the classic debate that has sprung up around the controversial station.
Is Miles "for" Jazeera, the station's professed mandate, and the sort of coverage -- often provocative and incendiary (according to Al Jazeera's motto of "the opinion and the OTHER opinion") -- or is he "against" it, the manner in which it is funded (mostly by the Emir of Qatar's endless riches), and in disagreement with the kinds of staff Jazeera employs?
It's hard to get a read on Miles' position, and I didn't appreciate that as a reader. As his hypothetical shrink, perhaps that might have been more preferrable, but lives are won and lost on the strength of such punditry, Mr. Miles, so please take a more clearcut position with your next go. I bought your book on the strength of an incisive interview you gave to NPR's "On the Media" program. Though you didn't disappoint me there (nor inside the pages of your book), I thought you could have aimed for a wee bit nore clarity.
Having said that, I continued to read until the end because I thought such uncertainty to be one of the book's more intriguing aspects.
Look, you all know me for my reviews of fictional works and Amazon Shorts, for the most part. Unlike some of my excellent reviewing colleagues here on the site -- and those who have posted reviews to this title previously (two previous, as of today) -- I don't want to go into a labourious discussion about the contents of this book. I don't want to supply dates, memorable details from my read, nor recollections of the experiences Miles relates as part of his research. That's for *you* to enjoy, given how wonderfully exhaustive Miles' work was. I commend him for having taken the time to explore this fully. Still, there were other things...
Small details, however, certainly indicate on which side of the "Al Jazeera" divide Mr. Miles stands. I made some mental notes which I'll rehash for your reading pleasure now:
** Miles makes reference to the notion of "Occupied Territories" as opposed to "the West Bank and Gaza" or more plainly, the "Territories." This term, "Occupied Territories," has been used so often in the media and by Arab and other Muslim stakeholders, that it's impossible to parse out the hype from reality. With a scholarly read as erudite as Mr. Miles' otherwise painstaking work, the deceptive nature of such nomenclature isn't as instantly noticeable. Sneaky, sneaky, Mr. Miles. Tisk, tisk!
** Mr. Miles wears a moustache, in his own admission. To be sure, this could be a mere coincidence. The fact that such things occur -- coincidences -- is evidenced by the fact that such a word exists for the phenomenon. I don't know. He was born in Saudi, raised in Libya, speaks near-fluent Arabic...does that necessarily entail a "John Bagot Glubb"-esque predilection towards all things Arabesque, in addition to the macho 'stache, another very Arabesque feature? Not sure...but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it takes one to know one. For how else would he be able to write about the subject so exhaustively?
** the book is filled with all manner of references to "Palestine." I know of know such place which exists. Do you?
~~~
However, none of these omissions distracts from the quality of this book. I know this sounds like a kick in your keyster, Hugh, but we are still friends.
To be sure, Al Jazeera, the station, supplies an essential service. It must be commended for -- only lately -- expanding the purview of its coverage, for instance by awarding interviews to senior-placed Bush Administration officials and to Israelis, for example, on its various, sometimes incendiary, magazine shows.
Several things have happened in the world since the completion of Miles' book, so a reissue would best include how some of these developments either mitigate or exacerbate some of the positions he puts forth so convincingly. As well, the author himself appends the following conclusion to his tome, claiming that depending on what happens politically in Qatar, and with the strong looming possibility that -- through media conglomeration -- the network may be bought out, the once-cozy Jazeera that we've all come to know and love may no longer soon exist.
Time will tell...
I couldn't award a perfect score because Miles' obfuscation of his essential position on the matter -- wafting between overt identification with the suggested Jazeera agenda, and critcism of its so-called innovative newsmaking approach (tilting more towards the former than the latter, in my estimation).
This wasn't the objectivest of perspectives to take, journalistically-speaking, of course.
Still, it's worth getting your hands on this because it'll teach you things you only thought you knew, but which Miles knows better, by virtue of his superior and time-lapsed research, even if he does wear a moustache and uses peculiar (is that in the English language?) terms like "Palestine" and "Occupied Territories." (ADM -- I hope I've spelled these right, they sounded more phonetic to me).
Hopefully we'll see more from this author soon. Amen.
-- ADM in Prague. Out.
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A Passionately In-Depth Look at the Arab News Channel Though Less Than Fair-Minded
Rating (3)
Date: 2006-06-26
4 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
For those fortunate enough to have seen Jehane Noujaim's fascinating 2004 documentary, "Control Room", Saudi-born British journalist Hugh Miles provides an intriguing if sometimes biased complement that delves deeper into the history of the renowned Arab news channel and its rise to global prominence. Launched just a decade ago in late 1996, the station has never turned a profit and continues to be subsidized by the Qatari government. Yet, the author shows that many Arabs seem indifferent to this fact and do not view al-Jazeera as a biased news source for the current regime. In fact, Miles shows how the station displays more objectivity than many of its American counterparts such as the Fox News Network. Miles shares this perspective with vigor throughout the book and describes an organization that elicits opposing viewpoints to their coverage.
There is a great deal of credence to Miles' opinion as he shows how the station went to great lengths to cultivate intractable relationships with the Taliban and the Bin Laden organizations. This strategy turned out to be invaluable after 9/11 when al-Jazeera was the only one able to provide taped communiqués from Bin Laden and conduct a clandestine interview with two planners of the 9/11 attacks in Karachi in 2002. Miles also shows how critical al-Jazeera's role was in reporting the start of the second Palestinian intifada in 2000 and the U.S. response to 9/11 with the Afghani invasion where the station has the only bureau in Kabul. After initially expressing condemnation, the Western media giants have begrudgingly embraced the intelligence uncovered by al-Jazeera in central Iraq where embedded journalists have otherwise faced escalating degrees of risk. This level of dedication and exclusive access has brought the station a great deal of loyalty among its viewers, and the U.S.-sponsored al-Hurra network has done little to tarnish al-Jazeera's hold on the public.
Even with the praise he heaps upon the station, Miles does make it clear by the end of the book that al-Jazeera does maintain a viewpoint in their coverage that is less than objective. For example, Osama bin Laden is seen not so much as a terrorist mastermind but as a revolutionary with a commitment to face down Western imperialism and pro-Israel support. In fact, he knows he is seen legitimately by al-Jazeera and exploits the pervasive sense of rage and helplessness in the Arab world in light of what the public sees as Western-based oppression. While fascinating from a journalistic standpoint, this line of thought is compromised somewhat by Miles' own disdain for the Bush administration. The author is unable to be completely fair-minded in highlighting the network's significant lapse in not promoting greater responsibility in their coverage and reporting more on bin Laden's weaknesses.
Miles also does not heavily criticize al-Jazeera's deliberate use of gory images from Iraq, the West Bank and Gaza that add fire to the Arab world's anger and resentment. In a move that would make Charles Foster Kane proud, al-Jazeera does not initiate the rage but rather manipulates the visuals that bolster such feelings. The author reserves his vitiol for the U.S. attacks on al-Jazeera offices, first in Kabul on November 12 2001 and then on April 8 2003 in Baghdad, where their journalist Tareq Ayyoubi was killed. He ends his narrative prematurely in late 2003 before the onslaught of masked kidnappers and their cowering captors dominated the airwaves. Such images could have allowed a stronger sense of introspection and balance to Miles' account. However, it is perhaps best to look at his take on al-Jazeera as a reflection of the Arab people who view honor above all else. Consequently, it is not the spread of democracy that the station is espousing but rather a stronger sense of nationalism. Within this context, Miles shows how a discriminating use of propaganda can be tolerated toward that end.
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