OF THE REASONS GIVEN for why the United States hasn’t penetrated the anti-American mindset of the Arab and Muslim world, the Arab press has been among the more prominent. One might even say that al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations seem to have done a far better job of using Arab television news stations to communicate their aims. In turn, Arab news stations are perceived here in the United States and elsewhere in the West as little more than propaganda tools. And yet, there is something to be said for the best of the bunch, the most watched and much hated al Jazeera. In her new documentary Control Room, Jehane Noujaim, the Egyptian-born and American educated director of startup.com, tries to say it.
Control Room covers al Jazeera covering the war in Iraq during the length of major military operations from invasion to around the time of the infamous “Mission Accomplished” ship-top photo-op. While this period of news overdrive would seem to be the ideal moment for a close study of the satellite news station in action, in a way it’s rather deceptive, too. The primary subject becomes the actions and words of the United States, while the context of war is lost. Saddam Hussein, the Baathists, and the United Nations all disappear as the narrative focuses simply on the war.
To put a respectable face on al Jazeera, Noujaim relies heavily on the more substantial individuals at al Jazeera, like Hassan Ibrahim, a former BBC journo who demonstrates a keen understanding of American bluster and the Arab persecution complex. At times playing the skeptical reporter, at times playing diplomat of the Arab world to the American press officers at Centcom, Ibrahim clearly represents the best of the breed. It comes as no surprise when he invites an unflinching, upbeat American press officer to his house for dinner after a difficult head session over where they’re both coming from.
Move up the station’s hierarchy to the level of general manager and the picture changes dramatically. Sameer Khader makes plain the overarching thesis of al Jazeera’s war coverage: showing the human cost of the war. Not only does this lead to rather gory news coverage, it leads to particularly slanted news coverage. Show only the “human cost” of any war–bodies and buildings and families devastated by the fighting–and none will appear worth fighting. Also, one cannot know from this documentary how well al Jazeera covered the “human cost” of Saddam’s reign. The chain-smoking Khader comes off as a slick opportunist and utters the film’s funniest lines: “Between us, if I’m offered a job at Fox News, I’ll take it.”
The other al Jazeera reporters seethe open contempt for the American press officers upon whom they depend for so much of their reporting. A well-meaning American journalist offers advice to one young reporter from al Jazeera. Be a little friendlier to the Americans, he suggests, in order to get more information, and maybe, you know, smile. “How can I smile?” the young man demands, “when my people are being killed.”
There’s no denying the power of al Jazeera footage, however staged, of an Iraqi woman standing before her bombed out home, looking straight into the camera, and saying, “Welcome to my house, Mr. Bush.” But al Jazeera’s journalists are Arabs first, and their contempt for the United States blinds them to basic truths about the story they’re covering. After denying that the invading Americans are as close to Baghdad as they claim–preferring instead the sunny appraisals of Baghdad Bob–the reporters and producers at al Jazeera are utterly shocked when Baghdad falls in just a few weeks.
What Control Room does particularly well is capture the excitement of an unprofessionalized corps of newsmen and women making up a code of journalism as they go along. They get a lot of things wrong, but like many of the people they cover, they make for an interesting story. The verdict on their journalism, however, must remain less charitable. Judging from this rather sympathetic portrait, it’s still clear that during the course of the war, al Jazeera functioned more as a feverish anti-chorus to slick U.S. military public relations than as an independent news agency devoted to getting as much of the story as possible.
David Skinner is an assistant managing editor at The Weekly Standard.
