AL Jazeera and Its Sisters

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Dr. Mohammed IbahrineAL AKHAWAYN UNIVERSITY in IFRANE

SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCESCOMMUNICATIONS STUDIES PROGRAM

AL Jazeera and Politics

Introduction• The last decade has witnessed a change in the

media landscape of almost all countries of the Arab world

• These media developments have highlighted the need to consider issues of the media’s role in

triggering political change, because the Arab world continues to lag far behind other regions in political

modernity

Question

• The key question is to what extent can these media developments contribute towards democratization

and good governance in these societies

History

• He divides the development of Arab world television into three main periods

• The first period is the formative phase (1954-1975)

• It was characterized by the "commercial start" and by "private players" that were engaged in these activities "for purely commercial purposes"

History

• The second phase is that of national expansion (1976-1990)

• During this phase, Arab regimes "sought to build up their national broadcasting capabilities through

• training local staff• increasing local production• pooling inter-Arab production resources• and by extending transmissions to cover national

territories“

• Imported programs from the United States, Europe, and Egypt dominated the programming

History

• The third phase is the regional and global expansion since 1990 due to a number of developments including:

• Mass education

• Rapid urbanization

• Political transformation

• Technology diffusion

Ayish’s Typologies• 1. The traditional government-controlled television

pattern is dominant in countries such as Libya, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, and Morocco

• 2. The reformist government-controlled television pattern is to be found in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, and Algeria.

• 3. The commercial liberal television pattern is dominant in Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• A decade after its emergence, Al-Jazeera’s has quickly acquired a large audience

• Al-Jazeera’s different “cross-fire” types of political talk shows, its most revolutionary programmes, are watched by large audiences, because they debate on some of the most sensitive issues in Arab society

• Thus, they are being assumed the role, among other things, to spreading democratic attitudes, as well as building the foundations of a radically new pluralist culture of political debate, necessary for the development and functioning of a herrschaftsfreie public sphere, where different discourses compete discursively and argumentatively over the hearts and minds of Arab people

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• Al-Jazeera has contributed to the formation of a public sphere that supports a discursive culture of political debate or to its fragmentation

• Al-Ittijah Al-Moakis on issues related exclusively to political reform and democratisation

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• Al-Jazeera’s motto “opinion and counter-opinion” has given it the reputation that its political talk shows function as a free, independent and open critical public space, where Arab citizens can speak and expect to be heard

• However, Al-Jazeera has been often accused that its political talk shows seek “sensationalism” and the promotion of the culture of conflict rather than consensus

• It has been reported that professional standards of objectivity and balanced journalism have not crystallised so far in Al-Jazeera’s journalistic work

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• Other accounts argue that Al-Jazeera’s political talk shows have “degenerated into unproductive shouting matches in which abuse replaced dialogue”

• Instead of functioning as a platform for rational debate, Al-Jazeera’s political talk shows have turned out to be a platform of political emotionalism and “a vehicle for the collective venting of emotion”

•

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• One common explanation among journalists, communication scholars and policy makers for this degeneration of the political talk shows is that the status of media ethics in the Arab satellite broadcasting is not professional enough

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• However, it can be argued that the problem of media ethics is not only influenced by the hard-to-die tradition of authoritarian grip over media institutions and weak professional background but also by the Arab passive and mediot (idiot of the media) audience, with its uncritical media habitus

Al-Jazeera’s Political Talk Shows

• Under the combined impacts of Arab and American pressures, Al-Jazeera formulated during its first “World Forum” in Doha in July 2004 its one-page “Code of Ethics”

• In it, Al-Jazeera pledges, among other things, to adhere to journalistic standards of balance and independence

(1) to treat audiences with respect

(3) to present diverse points of view

(5) to distinguish between news and opinion

• (see, Al-Jazeera’s Code of Ethics)

Code of Ethics

• Has Al-Jazeera abided by its “Code of Ethics”?

AL Jazerra Channel in Rabat

Checklist for Class today:

MOROCCO TV satellite dishes, Chaouen. MOROCCO TV satellite dishes, Chaouen.

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Online Coverage of the 2007 Moroccan Elections:

Al Jazeera’s Arabic Website as a Case Study

Source: personal product

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Online Coverage of the 2007 Moroccan Elections:Al Jazeera’s Arabic Website as a Case Study

حسن الراشدي: أنا مؤمن بأن القضاء سينصفني

• بعد أن أقدمت وزارة االتصال المغربية على سحب االعتماد الممنوح إليك بصفتك مديرا لمكتب قناة -»الجزيرة« في الرباط بدعوى بثها لـ»خبر زائف«، هل هناك بوادر انفراج لألزمة أم إن مكتب القناة في الرباط معرض لإلغالق بإيعاز من جهات معينة تزعجها »الجزيرة«?

> لألسف، ليست هناك أية بوادر لالنفراج في الملف، اآلن نحن نشكل الفريق القانوني الذي سيتولى الدفاع عن مكتب الجزيرة في الرباط، وهو فريق مكون من األستاذ خالد السفياني، كمحام رئيسي في العملية، وفريق من المحامين المتعاطفين معنا في هذا الملف. ال يبدو أن لنا خياراz آخر سوى تهيئة

من قانون 42أنفسنا للمحاكمة، بعد أن وجهت إلينا تهمة نشر نبأ زائف والمشاركة، طبقا للفصل الصحافة.

- بالنسبة إلى المحاكمة كيف تنظر إليها، هل هي محاكمة تندرج في سياق التضييق على حرية الصحافة في المغرب، هل هي محاولة لدفع »الجزيرة« إلى الرحيل من المغرب ؟

> أنا كمعني بهذه القضية، كنت أجد من العدل أن تمس هذه المحاكمة كل الناس الذين نشروا خبر مقتل ستة أشخاص في مدينة سيدي إفني على خلفية المواجهات بين الشرطة والمتظاهرين، عوض أن تشمل المحاكمة أحدا دون اآلخر بطبيعة الحال، أنا أعتقد أنه مازالت هناك فرصة أمام الجميع إلعادة األمور إلى نصابها لو ظهرت إرادة حقيقية.

أما المحاكمات التي تطال الصحافيين في المغرب فأعتقد أنها تنتمي إلى عهد ولى، وهذا كل ما لدي من تعليق.

- هل فتحت قنوات اتصال موازية معك لحل المشكل مع مسؤولين في مواقع القرار إلعادة األمور إلى نصابها بعد أن سحبت وزارة االتصال االعتماد الممنوح لك؟

> لألسف، أنا شخصيا ليست لي اتصاالت مع أية جهة رسمية، حتى إن هذه الجهات ال ترد أحيانا حتى على الهاتف، كنا منذ البداية نطلب لقاءات مع مسؤولين ومع معنيين، دعواتنا لم تؤت أكلها ووصلنا، لألسف، إلى الباب المسدود في ما يخص هذه القضية.

اآلن، القضية أمام القضاء وأنا لدي ثقة في القضاء، وال زلت مؤمنا، رغم ما يسعى البعض إلى ترويجه من وجود سوء نية و احتمال اللجوء إلى استعمال فصول متابعة تذكرنا بذكريات غير جميلة، بأن القضاء

سنة، وسينصفني كإعالمي مهني، وهذا ما أتمناه. 33سينصفني كمغربي وكصحافي ممارس منذ

.*مدير مكتب الجزيرة بالرباط

Al Jazeera English

• Al-Jazeera English, the company’s new English-language channel which was launched in November 2006 (with one of its four studios being based in London).

• As the world’s first global English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East, Al-Jazeera English’s agenda setting editorial mission lies in „balancing the current typical information flow by reporting from the developing world back to the West and from the southern to the northern hemisphere”

• Al-Jazeera English’s main objective is to “give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions”

Al Jazeera English

• During the last decade, Al-Jazeera’s has moved from being a news channel to identifying itself as a network with sports, children, current affairs, documentary and a news website

• With the Al-Jazeera English and an English news website, Al-Jazeera’s network is likely to play a pivotal role in bringing together English-speaking Muslims, one of its potential target groups, in Europe and elsewhere

• According to recent estimates, there are about 10 million Muslims in Western Europe.

Al Jazeera Channel on YouTube• During the last decade, Al-Jazeera’s has moved from

being a news channel to identifying itself as a network with sports, children, current affairs and documentary

• With the Al-Jazeera English and an English news website, Al-Jazeera’s network is likely to play a pivotal role in bringing together English-speaking Muslims, one of its potential target groups, in Europe and elsewhere

• Al-Jazeera on YouTube

• According to recent estimates, there are about 10 million Muslims in Western Europe

Al Jazeera Network

• Al Jazeera Network News:

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera Mobasher Al Jazeera Urdu

Sports: Al Jazeera Sports Al Jazeera Sports +1 Al Jazeera Sports +2 Al Jazeera Sports +3 Al Jazeera Sports HD

Documentaries: Al Jazeera Documentary Channel

Children: Al Jazeera Children's Channel

Al Jazeera Children's Channel

Al Jazeera Sports

Al Jazeera Documentary Channel