ubiwar.com

Chantal Berman at the consistently excellent Global Media Project publishes an essay titled ‘Review of Al Jazeera‘, in which she assesses the English language service Al Jazeera launched in 2006. One of the most interesting aspects of the essay is the role of Al Jazeera in the debate on Arab unity, a contentious issue at the best of times. I’m posting a snippet here, but I recommend reading the whole article:

And so the question remains: has Al Jazeera – can Al Jazeera – become a new platform for Arab unity? Certainly, Al Jazeera’s arrival has permanently changed the landscape of Arab media and ripped legitimacy away from many complacent, state-based news outlets. And Al Jazeera has done more than almost any other institution to keep the Arab public involved in discussions about its future – this unity, if it succeeds, won’t just be one of statesmen and elites, of mutual enemies and border elisions. Of course, certain dangers remain: Al Jazeera could become another one of many pundit-like Arab news outlets, or alternately, it could become so dedicated to argument that actual reporting falls to the wayside. Yet Al Jazeera runs a lot of introspective programming, examining its own role and its own performance in shaping and informing Arab opinion, and occasionally comparing its coverage to CNN, BBC, and the like. As long as Al Jazeera maintains this critical eye, on itself and on everything else, the chances of continued public service to the Arab world, and perhaps the rest of the world, are good. Here’s to hoping.