The culture of witnessing: war correspondents rewriting the history of the Iraq War

Abstract

Building on Zelizer's framework of analyzing journalism and memory, this article aims to analyze Arab journalists' narratives of the Iraq War. Through scrutinizing four selected narratives, published by four pan-Arab journalists from three different transnational satellite channels (Abu Dhabi TV, Al Jazeera and Al Manar), I aim to show how their narratives help consolidate the professional status of pan-Arab journalists vis-à-vis local and western media. I argue that Arab journalists seek to establish their authority as historians through rewriting the history of certain battles, such as the battle of Fallujah, or through reflecting on their news-gathering efforts. Thus, their narratives also help consolidate their status as ‘watchdog’ and analysts while implicitly consolidating their cultural authority as reliable historians.