Do you know any good academic books that are top quality, by established scholars, which have researched the way Western media such as BBC, CNN have reported on Middle Eastern conflicts (the Iraq wars, the Palestine - Israel conflict)?
I'm not sure about "better", as some local news agencies and newspapers have done a good job in objectively reporting facts on the ground. But in reply to the question, and to the best of my knowledge, no books have been published on the question. There have been son Doctorates here in France on the news coverage of events in the Middle East.
Better than it main rivals other than Channel 4, obviously better than Sky, ITV and alike. Its written content rarely is able to compete with the likes of the written press and the standards of the Guardian and alike. Local news agencies cant offer the breath of coverage the BBC offers and so much of the context, news for global audience (esp. through the worldservice (and within that region focus) is surely unparalleled. There would be no Al jazeera English without the BBC model. And this is all before we get to the American broadcasters... yea better than Fox I think I can stand by that. Better than PBS... sometimes but not always..
I understand your point of view, but the question was "Western media", and not just "British media". While the BBC gives a good informed point of view, it often stays very wide of details that can be crucial in understanding what's going on in the field in the Middle East. That can be explained by the wide international audience which can be bored by such minutiae. As for the BBC model for Al-Jazeera, well, that died years ago. Their coverage of the Libyan and Syrian wars can be taken as an example. I won't discuss the American media, which have been close to hopeless for decades.
Died years ago? - are they still not going and AJ's viewers and readers ever increasing eating onto new territories of those local news agencies you mention? Most local news agencies I see actually just regurgitate Reuters or AP stuff because they dont have the capacity. Its a crying shame dont get me wrong and we can go on about the big media companies crowding out the smaller guy but there is also an issue of expertise. How many great journalists and editors are still at small local places and how many times are they unable to report to events in their own backyard - I am unable to find much good stuff coming from the Ukraine, Syria etc right now. The BBC is a huge organisation and it has many arms, Newsnight is far superior to the suff youll read on the website - I dont see anyone else being this critical and questioning . Channel 4 and its Unreported world are similarly brilliant and stand up against any Euproean or american (sorry you dont want to include them as western?) news body. On the Middle East as the question asks - BBC mainstream news at 10 is poor and the coverage of the last Isreali invasion of Gaza was appalling, but then check out great magazine pieces like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW8tO9GJBh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRfNRQblXbs
Thank you for your point of view. My comment on Al-Jazeera was to point to the drift the station has taken over the years, from a « BBC-inspired » station to what it is now (the old staff no longer work there). This is quite natural, as the station is under close scrutiny by the salary-payers to ensure a politically-correct discourse. Once again, the coverage of the Libyan and Syrian wars is a perfect example. Agreed, Al-Jazeera is covering more territory and minds with its programmes. But Al-Jazeera is currently slowly changing its stance, as things are rapidly evolving in the Middle East. However, the same can be said about the BBC (I’m referring to the World Service), or AFP, Reuters, France-24, etc. who say the right and expected things. But I also feel that the “local” (i.e. non-Western, national journalists) often do a good job in informing. However, they are despised by the “real” journalists from abroad, who zoom in one morning and zoom out in the evening, claiming to be “experts” of the country. I’ve seen it too many times (and read or listened to their analysis “from the front-line”) to be impressed. Perhaps it all boils down to the audiences, who want to hear what the journalists are saying. After all, the Arab Middle East has never been a throb-beat for the European and American public (see the Suez crisis, the other wars since that date, the treatment of the Syrian war, the vocabulary used, the generalizations on the identities of the populations that are pronounced, the geopolitical explanations, the undertones of the discourses, the clear political positioning in the guise of “neutrality”…) But then, that’s not really new, as journalism is a quite different job than that of historians. And even this last point is up for debate.
"Media and Political Conflict" by Gadi Wolsfeld is an excellent book
http://www.cambridge.org/es/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/comparative-politics/media-and-political-conflict-news-middle-east
The western media have continued to relentlessly cover news and events in the Middle East including all the 22 Arab League member states. Some states and the concerned observers have accused the western press or media of bias coverage of news and events. They have carried lively round-the-clock news stories including Breaking News, running stories, follow ups, exclusives, and special interviews.
My own understanding of the media coverage of the western press is that they are guided by the principles of press freedom, good journalism, professional ethics and code of conduct, and social responsibility; which are also enshrined in the western values of democracy, constitutionalism, and human rights.
In addition, the western media reporting of Middle East issues are also guided by their journalistic considerations of news values or news worthiness of events in the Middle East.
Therefore the Western media such as BBC, CNN, VOA, and RFI among others operate 24-hour round the clock coverage of Middle East news. They have their ME offices or bureaus which are run by well trained editors, journalists (correspondents/reporters), and technical staff who sustain their daily operations there. Many of these media practitioners are specialists because news reporting involves many different aspects or disciplines.
For example: social, economic, environmental, science and technology, political, and legal issues. The journalists who cover Middle East are drawn from western and non-western countries. Many Middle East offices or journalists are staffed with Middle East citizens who work for western media outlets like the CNN, BBC, VOA, and RFI as stated above. Cultural differences have been minimized.
There have been contentions from the Middle East regarding their reporting (misreporting) of the Middle East affairs. These multiple allegations include: bias coverage, misreporting, falsification of news, ignoring Arab views, faking pictures or images, racialism, lack of verification, using wrong sources, lack of respect for Arab culture, and cultural illiteracy of the Arab culture. Others include: intrusions, misconceptions of ME history, or its disrespect.
Part of the western arguments has been attributed to democratic deficiency in the ME states, where freedom of the press is not respected. Therefore, access to information becomes a big barrier to the western press. It also helps to enhance evidence or facts of news stories.
Without freedom of access information, it is not possible to verify sources of information. Verification is very crucial in journalism and any obstacle to it does not help to advance the principle of objectivity, fairness, accuracy, and truth as required of a balanced news story.
The western press have continued to present a deluge of lively and often dramatic news stories from the Middle East. The Middle East coverage has been dominated by wars or conflicts, politics, and economics. All other Middle East issues are covered by the western press. These include social issues such as: culture, family, literature, education, tourism, games and sports, food, water, transport and travels, information and communication.
There are also legal and terminology issues which the western media and the ME have often locked horns over. For example, in Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the words occupied or freedom fighters (as used by Palestinians) and disputed or terrorists (as used by western media) territories. In the past (and even now), the western media were prevented from reporting from Arab states. This is still happening and some cases they have restricted access.
On the other hand, Israel, which operates the western model of democracy have been quite accessible to western media. This would always be a natural advantage to Israel to put its case to the world. This situation has changed with more Arab states embracing the letter and spirit of democracy. Middle East has continued to be the hub of a variety of news stories.
The western press have also been helped by the advent of the new media especially the social media in the Middle Eastern countries. The increasing accesses to the internet by the citizens of the Arab or Middle Eastern states have further boosted the region’s news coverage.
In conclusion, the practice good journalism and unfettered press freedom which the western media promote, depends on the enabling political environment where media or pluralism thrive in a democratic system. The effect of globalization and more exposure to international education have worked in favour of better coverage of the Middle East by the western media.
The relentless coverage is flawed, deliberately biased, prejudiced and
mostly unproved why the bis?. NYT, WSJ, WashPo., present one side of the story, be it earthquake , floods, local rift and political rivalries. But today's
Researchers need to find out why it's so? Nobody says why it's so. To many of those thinking so, it's due their unending jealousy, angst against the so far
poor nations rising to parallel the advanced west. ''How could a @@slave, ungovernable nation dare stand up and compete with us. We became independent in 1776, an you born only 75 years ago?''
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