Al-Jazeera

Reporting War explores the social responsibilities of the journalist during times of military conflict. News media treatments of international crises, especially the one underway in Iraq, are increasingly becoming the subject of public controversy, and discussion is urgently needed.Each of this book's contributors challenges familiar assumptions about war reporting from a distinctive perspective. An array of pressing issues associated with conflicts over recent years are identified and critiqued, always with an eye to what they can tell us about improving journalism today.Special attention is devoted to recent changes in journalistic forms and practices, and the ways in which they are shaping the visual culture of war, and issues discussed, amongst many, include:* the influence of censorship and propaganda* 'us' and 'them' news narratives* access to sources* '24/7 rolling news' and the 'CNN effect'* military jargon (such as 'friendly fire' and 'collateral damage')* 'embedded' and 'unilateral' reporters* tensions between objectivity and patriotism.The book raises important questions about the very future of journalism during wartime, questions which demand public dialogue and debate, and is essential reading for students taking courses in news and news journalism, as well as for researchers, teachers and practitioners in the field.

Since September 11, 2001, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many television viewers in the United States have become familiar with Al Jazeera as offering an alternative take on events from that presented by mainstream U.S. media, as well as disseminating anti-American invective. Westerners have tended toward simplistic views of Arab newspapers, radio, and television, assuming that they are all under government control and that freedom of press is non-existent. William A. Rugh, a long time observer of the Arab mass media, offers a more nuanced picture of the Arab press as it relates to the political situation in the Arab world today.

Terrorism now dominates the headlines of all the networks from New York to London, and Rome to Moscow and is spreading from Al Jazeera in Qatar to Islamabad, Riyadh, Baghdad, and Kabul. The contributors of this new work begin by focusing on how governments, security forces, and terrorist groups seek to manipulate the news, including the legal and normative issues of formal and informal government censorship and curbs on freedom of the press. The contributors compare coverage of 9/11 to coverage of other incidents of terrorist violence, including Israel-Palestine and Northern Ireland. They then focus upon how journalists construct the news and how the public responds to news coverage - including 'rallying-around-the-flag', public attention and comprehension of terrorist events, and the public's response to issues of civil liberties vs. security.

The events of September 11 continue to resonate in powerful, yet sometimes unexpected ways. For many journalists, the crisis has decisively recast their sense of the world around them. Familiar notions of what it means to be a journalist, how best to practice journalism, and what the public can reasonably expect of journalists in the name of democracy, have been shaken to their foundations. Journalism After September 11 examines how the traumatic attacks of that day continue to transform the nature of journalism, particularly in the United States and Britain. It brings together an internationally respected group of scholars and media commentators to explore journalism's present and future, by engaging with such pressing issues as trauma, free speech, censorship, patriotism, impartiality, and celebrity. Journalism After September 11 raises vitally important questions regarding what journalism can and should look like today. In providing answers it addresses topics such as: journalism and public life at a time of crisis; broadsheet and tabloid newspaper coverage of the attacks; the role of sources in shaping the news; reporting by global news media such as CNN; Western representations of Islam; current affairs broadcasting; news photography and trauma; the emotional well-being of reporters; online journalism; as well as a lots of pertinent issues around news, democracy and citizenship.