Journalism and media in Islamic societies in conflict zones
Friday, January 08, 2016
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| al-Sharq al-Awasat coverage |
Journalism in Arab countries: With the increased
violence and potential for sectarian war in the Middle East, one would think
that the media and journalists would pay more attention to details, facts, and
the language they use to report about the death and destruction in that part of
the world. Instead, journalist and the media in general sided with their benefactors
or religious/ethnic community, betraying the profession and their duty to
objectively inform the public.
Al-Sharq al-Awsat, which wanted to be the New
York Times of the Arab world showed its true identity: the mouth piece of the
rulers of Saudi Arabia. Aljazeera, whose funders wanted it to be the BBC
of the Arab world, resigned to its limited true function: serving the Qatari
ruling family and its political allies—the Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey.
Alarabiya has become the Fox News of the GCC ruling families. Alahram serves
Sisi… and the list goes on.
Here is an example of the kind of headlines the
“professional” journalists at al-Sharq al-Awsat ran recently:
