Focusing on al-Jazeera and other Arab networks, Fandy examines the battle between the Arab world and the West through the popular medium of television. He explores how autocratic governments control the media in order to preserve their own power while simultaneously engaging in a war of words, with their neighbors, the West, or many times, both.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [145]-160) and index.

Introduction: The politics of the Arab media -- National press on the eve of the satellite era -- Arab media and interstate conflict: Qatar vs. Saudi Arabia -- Arab media and intra-state conflict: the case of Lebanon -- Arab journalists as transnational actors -- Public diplomacy and the Arab media -- Arab media and political change in the Middle East.