Investigative Journalism In The Arab World

This is the first book that looks into the state and role of investigate journalism in the Arab world. It explores the vital role the media could potentially play in informing and empowering society, to assist in opening up the communicative space in a region where this has previously been taboo.

This is the first book that looks into the state and role of investigate journalism in the Arab world. It explores the vital role the media could potentially play in informing and empowering society, to assist in opening up the communicative space in a region where this has previously been taboo.

This third edition maps the new world of investigative journalism, where technology and globalisation have connected and energised journalists, whistle-blowers and the latest players, with far-reaching consequences for politics and business worldwide. In this new edition, expert contributors demonstrate how crowdsourcing, big data, globalisation of information, and changes in media ownership and funding have escalated the impact of investigative journalists. The book includes case studies of investigative journalism from around the world, including the exposure of EU corruption, the destruction of the Malaysian environment, and investigations in China, Poland and Turkey. From Ibero-America to Nigeria, India to the Arab world, investigative journalists intensify their countries’ evolution by inquisition and revelation. This new edition reveals how investigative journalism has gone digital and global. Investigative Journalism is essential for all those intending to master global politics, international relations, media and justice in the 21st century.

In early research work on international communication, the countries of North Africa and the Middle East were seen as part of the “Third World”, and the media had to be at the service of development. However, this situation is changing due to the transnationalization and liberalization of the media. Indeed, since the 1990s, the entry of the South – and Arab countries in this case – into the “information society” has become the dominant creed, although the vision is still globalizing and marked by stereotypes. Representations of these societies are closely associated with international relations and geopolitics, characterized by tensions and conflicts. However, a force has come to disrupt the traditional rules of the game: Arab audiences. Digital media, the dissemination of which has been enabled by the implementation of the “information society”, empowers them to participate fully in a media confluence. This liberation from the discourse has two major consequences: the media and journalism sector has become more strategic than ever, and action toward development must be reinvented.

"Investigative Journalism means the unveiling of matters that are concealed either deliberately by someone in a position of power, or accidentally, behind a chaotic mass of facts and circumstances - and the analysis and exposure of all relevant facts to the public. In this way investigative journalism crucially contributes to freedom of expression and freedom of information, which are at the heart of UNESCO's mandate. The role media can play as a watchdog is indispensable for democracy and it is for this reason that UNESCO fully supports initiatives to strengthen investigative journalism throughout the world. I believe this publication makes a significant contribution to promoting investigative journalism and I hope it will be a valuable resource for journalists and media professionals, as well as for journalism trainers and educators." -- Jānis Kārklinš, Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, UNESCO, Preface, page 1.

This volume seeks to analyse the emerging wave of data journalism in the Global South. It does so by examining trends, developments and opportunities for data journalism in the aforementioned contexts. Whilst studies in this specific form of journalism are increasing in numbers and significance, there remains a dearth of literature on data journalism in less developed regions of the world. By demonstrating an interest in data journalism across countries including Chile, Argentina, the Philippines, South Africa and Iran, among others, this volume contributes to multifaceted transnational debates on journalism, and is a crucial reference text for anyone interested in data journalism in the ‘developing’ world. Drawing on a range of voices from different fields and nations, sharing empirical and theoretical experiences, the volume aims to initiate a global dialogue among journalism practitioners, researchers and students.

Nineteen Arab women journalists speak out about what it’s like to report on their changing homelands in this first-of-its-kind essay collection, with a foreword by CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour “A stirring, provocative and well-made new anthology . . . that rewrites the hoary rules of the foreign correspondent playbook, deactivating the old clichés.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times A growing number of intrepid Arab and Middle Eastern sahafiyat—female journalists—are working tirelessly to shape nuanced narratives about their changing homelands, often risking their lives on the front lines of war. From sexual harassment on the streets of Cairo to the difficulty of traveling without a male relative in Yemen, their challenges are unique—as are their advantages, such as being able to speak candidly with other women at a Syrian medical clinic or with men on Whatsapp who will go on to become ISIS fighters, rebels, or pro-regime soldiers. In Our Women on the Ground, nineteen of these women tell us, in their own words, about what it’s like to report on conflicts that (quite literally) hit close to home. Their daring and heartfelt stories, told here for the first time, shatter stereotypes about the region’s women and provide an urgently needed perspective on a part of the world that is frequently misunderstood. INCLUDING ESSAYS BY: Donna Abu-Nasr, Aida Alami, Hannah Allam, Jane Arraf, Lina Attalah, Nada Bakri, Shamael Elnoor, Zaina Erhaim, Asmaa al-Ghoul, Hind Hassan, Eman Helal, Zeina Karam, Roula Khalaf, Nour Malas, Hwaida Saad, Amira Al-Sharif, Heba Shibani, Lina Sinjab, and Natacha Yazbeck

In early research work on international communication, the countries of North Africa and the Middle East were seen as part of the “Third World”, and the media had to be at the service of development. However, this situation is changing due to the transnationalization and liberalization of the media. Indeed, since the 1990s, the entry of the South – and Arab countries in this case – into the “information society” has become the dominant creed, although the vision is still globalizing and marked by stereotypes. Representations of these societies are closely associated with international relations and geopolitics, characterized by tensions and conflicts. However, a force has come to disrupt the traditional rules of the game: Arab audiences. Digital media, the dissemination of which has been enabled by the implementation of the “information society”, empowers them to participate fully in a media confluence. This liberation from the discourse has two major consequences: the media and journalism sector has become more strategic than ever, and action toward development must be reinvented.