News and distrust in the Arab world
- 4 May 06, 01:29 PM
The discussions on the media in the Middle East is highlighting the gulf between the news organisations in the West and those in the Arab world.
Rami Khouri of the newspaper set the tone. He argued there is a misperception in the West that the Arab media incites anti-western feelings. His position is that the media reflects the views and concerns of its audience.
Furthermore, he said that the coverage on 24/7 Arab news channels is more balanced than the reports coming from Western channels. Khouri said the networks report what US officials are saying and then go on to report what the Arab people are saying and show the impact of decisions, in some cases the casualties of war.
This is not a new debate but it does explain why many in the Arab world distrust the Western media.
But it goes more than a perception of bias. Dr Michael Kraig of the said that there is a gap in approach.
He cited the example of the US-funded Al Houra TV channel. He said it acts as if Arab audiences do not understand US foreign policy and thus need to watch Al Houra to understand US actions.
But, he said, what the Arab world is saying is that it isn't that we don't understand your policy, but that we don't like it.
The Stanley Foundation recently did a report on attitudes to media in the Middle East which you can find .
At a time when Arab satellite news channels are grabbing audiences in the Middle East, this should give the big media in the West some food for thought.
UPDATE 14:06 Khouri has just raised a key point about how media is perceived in the Middle East. He said the for many, media was a form of resistance to the West, which is a very different way of thinking about the role of TV, newspapers, radio or the web.
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