Assault on Arab/Islamic Media coverage reflects failing of American media
It isn't just the "conservative right" that is attacking the Arab and Islamic World news media. It's the "liberal left." But worse, the attacks against the Arab and Islamic media are coming from the news media itself.
Why? I think the American news media is guilty. They feel guilty because they haven't done their job. They live with the scar of having been "embedded," a disgraceful dishonor that contradicts the fundamental idealism of journalism itself. Worse, though, is that American journalists live under the pressures of covering a war that is reflects an American public's belief that this is not just any war, but a war that continues the lingering hatred an animosity from the Crusades.
There are many comparisons between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War, but the one not being covered directly or honestly is the comparison between the honorable conduct of the media during the Vietnam War, and the dishonorable and contrasting conduct of the media during this Iraqi war.
The slander against the Arab and Islamic World media has been focussed on al-Jazeera, which broadcasts in both Arabic and English. And for a reason. Al-Jazeera is reporting the story with a journalistic enthusiasm that the news media showed during the Vietnam War but that it has lost in this Iraq War.
Yes, the mainstream media covers the Iraq story, but not with the same professional drive shown during the Vietnam War coverage. But instead of acknowledging that failing on the part of the mainstream American news media, the media is offering excuses, mainly by bashing al-Jazeera and other Arab and Islamic media. The lastest volley comes from "The Nation" and author Kristen Gillespie in her article The New Face of Al-Jazeera.
You can read my column on the topic at the frequently ignored Arab Writers Group syndicate, www.ArabWritersGroup.com, which showcases the writings of a group of talented Arab American columnists.
Ray Hanania