Hello Everybody!: One Journalist's Search For Truth In The Middle East
Originally published in the Netherlands in 2006 (Het zijn net mensen), Luyendijk reports on his experiences as a news correspondent in the Middle East. This book quickly became a bestseller in the Netherlands and has been translated into many languages (see Luyendijk's website for details: http://www.jorisluyendijk.nl/).
English translation copyright 2009.
UK-English editio...more
English translation copyright 2009.
UK-English editio...more
Paperback, 243 pages
Published
2010
by Profile Books
(first published January 1st 2006)
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I read this book to preview it for possible inclusion in a reading series about war and peace in the Middle East. It's the kind of book I almost certainly wouldn't have picked up otherwise - it's nonfiction about politics in the Middle East. I don't really have a political brain and I find it difficult (and tedious, and frankly, boring) to follow the intricacies of this particular sport.
But Luyendijk's book is different. He is a former M.E. correspondent for a major Dutch newspaper, a journalis...more
But Luyendijk's book is different. He is a former M.E. correspondent for a major Dutch newspaper, a journalis...more
A great little book. In my opinion a must-read for anyone who would like to claim to have an informed opinion on the situation in the Middle East. It is written in a very personal and fluent style, which makes it a very pleasant read. Although short, it is a very informative book about the difficulties that Joris experienced as a reporter in the Middle East while attempting to report as objectively and honestly as possible.
Through a combination of personal anecdotes and additional background inf...more
Through a combination of personal anecdotes and additional background inf...more
كتاب يتعرض لما قد يقع وراء كواليس الأخبار من تجاهل الأضواء أو تسليطها أو تشويهها لما يقع حقيقة وعلى أرض الواقع, لم يكن الكتاب الأول الذي اقرأه حول هذا الموضوع فسبق أن قرأت كتب تصل إلى نفس النتيجة أن هناك لعبة علاقات عامة ومصالح في صناعة الخبر. مؤلف الكتاب يوريس لونديك وصل إلى نتيجة منذ أن أصبح مراسل صحفي وأصبح مطلع كيف تجري الأمور حوله إلى: "كنت قد تخليت عن الفكرة القائلة إنك تعرف ما يجري في العالم إذا تابعت الأخبار" وأنا كذلك ومنذ فترة طويلة!!
Great, straightforward book by a disillusioned Dutch war correspondent. He points out in a very logical way why the West gets such a wrong impression of the Middle East--there's the simple fact that "news" is by definition the exception to the rule, but we never hear what daily life is like in the region. Then there's more complicated issues involving how correspondents choose which stories to cover, and how governments do or don't work to make their jobs easier. He basically calls for journalis...more
Ik heb mijn waardering van 2 naar 3 sterren opgekrikt, omdat ik het onderwerp van zijn boek in principe wel goed vind. Jammer dat ik soms zo afgeleid werd door zijn vervelende schrijfstijl dat ik de inhoud niet goed kon waarderen. Teveel spreektaal en teveel niet samenhangende anekdotes. Hoewel het sprekende voorbeelden zijn, kon ik niet gemakkelijk meegaan met zijn verhaal.
Hij maakt 3 punten: In een democratisch land kan je niet beseffen wat een dictatuur inhoudt. De media bepalen wat je wel en...more
Hij maakt 3 punten: In een democratisch land kan je niet beseffen wat een dictatuur inhoudt. De media bepalen wat je wel en...more
Brilliant opinion piece written by the former Middle East correspondent for a big NL newspaper and the national news about the media's manipulance and spinning of news output concerning first the Arab nations (eg. Egypt, Libanon) and from within the Israeli/Palestina conflict. People who live in a dictatorship cannot let anyone know what they think, so no one can properly analyze the people's opinion, though the media presents it as if they know. This story is incredibly nuanced, and his example...more
Interessant kijkje in de keuken van de buitenlandcorrespondent. Luyendijk laat overtuigend zien dat objectieve verslaggeving vanuit een beladen conflictgebied moeilijk tot onmogelijk is. Ondanks deze treurige conclusie leest het boek als een trein, en gaat het net zoveel over het Midden-Oosteconflict als over de media in het algemeen, culturele eigenaardigheden, en Luyendijk zelf. Aanrader, al blijft het een tikje ironisch om van een boek over verslaggeving te leren hoe onbetrouwbaar en gekleurd...more
قرأت الكتاب منذ عدة أيام .. ولعل كلمة " منطقي" هي أقرب ما يمكن وصفه بها
لكن ما بقي عالقاً في ذهني عنوان أحد الفصول "إنهم يقتلون يهوداً أبرياء" ولعله الفصل الأكثر منطقية في الكتاب كله.
ومختصره الفروق الجذرية بين الاعلام العربي والاعلام اليهودي الذي يجعل المتلقي ينحاز بلا شعور للفئة المستضعفة - إعلامياً- اسرائيل .
يغلب على العرب إظهار مظاهر الغضب والكره إبداء للكرامة في حين يعتمد الطرف الآخر على إظهار العكس وهو ما يجعلهم متفوقين إعلامياً وأقدر على كسب تعاطف الغير مع قضيتهم.
(اختيار المناسب من المش...more
لكن ما بقي عالقاً في ذهني عنوان أحد الفصول "إنهم يقتلون يهوداً أبرياء" ولعله الفصل الأكثر منطقية في الكتاب كله.
ومختصره الفروق الجذرية بين الاعلام العربي والاعلام اليهودي الذي يجعل المتلقي ينحاز بلا شعور للفئة المستضعفة - إعلامياً- اسرائيل .
يغلب على العرب إظهار مظاهر الغضب والكره إبداء للكرامة في حين يعتمد الطرف الآخر على إظهار العكس وهو ما يجعلهم متفوقين إعلامياً وأقدر على كسب تعاطف الغير مع قضيتهم.
(اختيار المناسب من المش...more
Foreign correspondence, especially that reportage from the Middle East and other redoubts of dictatorship, is a house of cards. That’s the conclusion of Joris Luyendijk, the former Dutch correspondent who spent five years reporting from Cairo, Beirut, Jerusalem, and other regional hotspots. People Like Us, however, is more than a simple accounting of his time on the ground. Instead, it’s a hard-hitting critique of the news business, of the concerted efforts to shape what that business reports, a...more
Joris Luyendijk geeft in Het zijn net mensen een onthutsend kijkje op de werking van 'de media'. Hij is jarenlang voor verschillende media (kranten, radio, tv) gestationeerd geweest in het Midden-Oosten, waar hij eerst vanuit Egypte, daarna vanuit Libanon en tenslotte vanuit Oost-Jeruzalem verslag deed van de situatie aldaar.
Met voorbeelden en briljant verzonnen parallellen legt hij uit waarom het onmogelijk is om objectief verslag te leggen vanuit een dictatuur, zoals de meeste landen in het Mi...more
Met voorbeelden en briljant verzonnen parallellen legt hij uit waarom het onmogelijk is om objectief verslag te leggen vanuit een dictatuur, zoals de meeste landen in het Mi...more
Oct 16, 2009
BoekenTrol
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone who reads papers, watches the news and listns to the radio
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8...
When I bought this book I knew it was about journalism, the Middle East, one persons opinion. What surprised me very much is, that I liked the book so very much.
I'll never watch the evening news again without, in the back of my mind, hearing that little voice saying: is this crowd really a crowd or just several people, filmed from a good angle? Or: is there really noone in that particular country that has a different opinion?
To me this book made perfectly...more
When I bought this book I knew it was about journalism, the Middle East, one persons opinion. What surprised me very much is, that I liked the book so very much.
I'll never watch the evening news again without, in the back of my mind, hearing that little voice saying: is this crowd really a crowd or just several people, filmed from a good angle? Or: is there really noone in that particular country that has a different opinion?
To me this book made perfectly...more
Verplichte lectuur voor elke journalist. Natuurlijk eerder eenzijdig, maar Luyendijk maakt er wel zijn punt mee duidelijk. Zowel interessant als kritiek op de gangbare journalistiek, als introductie tot het Midden-Oosten. Vooral in het nawoord, waarin Luyendijk antwoordt op de kritiek die er intussen is gekomen, komt de auteur iets meer ter zake. Blijft wel de terechte opmerking dat Luyendijk de lat voor de journalistiek erg hoog legt: de waarheid vind je er niet, voor wie die illusie nog had.
Drags towards the end, and occasionally repetitive. But the central thesis is hard to dispute: journalism, in it's current form, is part of the problem rather than part of the solution as far as the Middle East is concerned. It is fair to be a bit suspicious of a Middle East corraspondent's motives for writing this after he left the patch; bit actually, I'd think that this is rather reasonable, for the simple reason that it is pretty hard swimming against the tide whilst actively reporting for C...more
Mar 17, 2013
Josepha
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
israeli-palestine-conflict
Such a necessary book on Western journalism in the middle east. Very well balanced yet Luyendijk never holds back his tongue in criticizing CNN, Al-Jazeera and other media sources. His chapters on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is especially enlightening. Written with humour and sharp insights.
Superinteressant boek over filters, vervormingen en manipulaties bij multimediale beeldvorming. Veel kritiek op journalistiek en media, maar vooral de persoonlijke anekdotes van de schrijver maken het indrukwekkend en zelfs aangrijpend. Uiteraard is de mening van één persoon niet erg objectief, maar het is prettig om eens een tegengeluid te horen richting de gevestigde 'objectieve' media. Lekker om gewoon even tussendoor te lezen!
الكتاب فتح عيني على طريقة عمل المراسلين الصحفيين , كيف يصنع الخبر و ماذا يجري وراء الكواليس , أجده مرجع ممتاز من هذه الناحية . أعطاني التفسير المنطقي لما يسمى المؤامرة الإعلامية الكونية على العرب و المسلمين و الذي عزاه الكاتب لعدة أسباب أهمها ضعف أدائنا من جهة و قوة الخصم و إمكانتاته اللامحدودة من جهة أخرى .
النقطة السلبية على الكتاب هي تكرار المعلومات و عدم الترابط الظاهري بينها إضافة الى ركاكة الترجمة ما ادى إلى تشويش الفكرة العامة .
Interesting view on the effects of the media and how they changed the modus operandi for warring parties. Dramatic stages are being set for the benefit of the western (and now with Al Jazeera, also the middle eastern) couch potatoes. What I find truly amazing is the indignant reactions that we are being misled and manipulated. How naive. It is called spinning and exists for a long time. Give a man a weapon to reach his goal, any goal, and he will use it.
Jun 28, 2010
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People intersted in the middle east and in communications
Very good analysis of the short shrift we get from our news media. Using the way that the Western media covers the Middle East, we find ourselves to be on the receiving end of half-truths, bias, and spin. Would love to read more from the author about the perspectives of Al-Jazeera and other arab language media and compare and contrast the styles. His afterword which reflects his thoughts recently was interesting and I'd like more. One criticism: I wasn't that crazy about the translation. I've he...more
Very interesting view on journalism in the Middle East. Luyendijk has been a correspondent in the Middle East for five years and describes his experience with how the media are often powerless in conveying reality. He describes how dictatorships produce opaque societies in which it is impossible to know what is really going on because no one can tell you, and how news is colored by the fact that it describes what is out of the ordinary, without the readers knowing what ordinary is.
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