LibGuides: Middle East Complexities: Culture & Conflict: News, Blogs & Opinion

News Sources

News sources are not immune to bias, because reporters and editors are human beings, with their own conscious and unconscious opinions and points of view. Keep this in mind as you read coverage of the Middle East and North Africa, a large, complex and often contentious region. Consulting a variety of news sources, rather than relying on only one or two, may help provide you with a clearer view of events.

Access World News This link opens in a new window
Articles from local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers, as well as international newspapers from around the globe.
Five full text databases are included. NewsBank Academic Library Collection provides contemporary articles from national and international newspapers, wire services and magazines from 1986 forward. Newsbank Retrospective covers 1970-1991 and focuses on contemporary American History. MOREnet offered Full-Text Newspapers includes local, regional and national newspapers in one searchable database. The Kansas City Star covers 1991-Current and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch covers 1988-Current.

PDF Guide

Access World News: Middle East
This link opens a page in Access World News where you can search within news sources published in Middle Eastern countries.
Al Arabiya
(العربية '''') "Al Arabiya News is the English-language service of the Al Arabiya News Channel, the leading 24-hour news station in the Arab world. The website launched in August 2007 as a bridge between the Arabic-language television channel and the English-speaking world."
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent news organization funded in part by the Qatari government. In 2006 Al Jazeera Satellite Network was changed to a public utility, private corporation by a public memorandum and articles of association in accordance with the provisions of (Qatar) Law No. 21 of 2006, and was re-named “Al Jazeera Media Network”. Thus, it is private corporation established for the public benefit.
Aljazeera Live
Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Launched in 2012, Al-Monitor provides "reporting and analysis by prominent journalists and experts from the Middle East."
BBC News - Middle East
EA WorldView
Daily news and analysis about Syria, Iran, the wider Middle East, US and Russian foreign policy.
Global Research - Middle East & North Africa
Global Research is published by The Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), an independent Canadian research and media organization. Part of CRG's role is to serve "as a think tank on crucial economic and geopolitical issues."
The Guardian - Middle East & North Africa
In-depth coverage of the Middle East and North Africa from the UK-based paper.
Gulf2000 Public Web Page
Excellent source for news and information about the Persian Gulf states, including Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.
Human Rights Watch - Middle East & North Africa
Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization based in the U.S. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. Their researchers conduct investigations into human rights abuses in all over the world.
The Independent - Middle East
Middle East coverage from the UK-based paper.
Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP)
Excellent progressive reporting on politics, society and culture of the contemporary Middle East.
New York Times - World
The World page of the NY Times includes coverage of the Middle East and North Africa.
PBS - Global Connections: The Middle East
Reuters - Middle East News
The latest news on the Middle East from the Reuters News Agency.
Times of Israel
Founded in 2012, The Times of Israel is a Jerusalem-based online paper covering Israel and the Middle East.
Yahoo! World News
Yahoo! World News includes coverage of the Middle East and North Africa.

Blogs and Opinion

40 Best Syria Blogs and Websites
Authored by Anuj Agarwal, the founder of Feedspot. The Best Syria websites from thousands of top Syria websites in the Feedspot index using search and social metrics. Refreshed once a week.
The Afternoon Map Blog
"Afternoon Map: Because Looking at History is Easier than Reading About It." The mission of this blog is to provide "a range of original, visually appealing and intellectually engaging maps from archives and libraries around the world." The blog's focus in on Ottoman, Turkish, Middle Eastern and Balkan cartography.
The Arabist: Blog on Arab politics and culture
Arabist.net was launched in Cairo in November 2003, by Issandr El Amrani, partly in response to the lack of interest in the domestic politics of Arab countries in much of the Western media. It focuses on Egypt, but tries to follow broader issues in the Arab world, as well as U.S. policy in the Middle East.
Global Voices
International bloggers; uncensored news and commentary.
Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion
This blog is maintained by Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan. His goal is to "to put the relationship of the West and the Muslim world in historical context." Cole has lived in various parts of the Muslim world for nearly 10 years, and continues to travel widely there.