BOOK: Het Zijn Net Mensen - Joris Luyendijk

Title: Het Zijn Net Mensen (People Like Us: Misrepresenting the Middle East*)
Author: Joris Luyendijk
Genre: Investigative journalism, politics, media
Publisher: Podium, 2006
Pages: Paperback, 220
Language: Dutch
Rating: 8/10
Summary: *Recently published in the UK with the new title: "Hello Everybody!: One Journalist’s Search for Truth in the Middle East". Joris Luyendijk was a correspondent in that area for five years. This book is not about what happened in the world during that time, but gives a peak behind the scenes of foreign journalism and the workings of the media. Joris discovers it's nearly impossible to gather reliable information both in democracies and in dictatorships.

Review
I was already aware that most of what we hear and see in the media is always a little bit tainted by the source of the news, but Joris' experiences are truely baffling. The way authorities regulate and orchestrate the amount of information and the hierarchic organisation of the newsmakers are a big influence on what exactly the people will get to hear.
An example of affecting perception: what if the foreign media would translate the names of Arabic newspapers and tv stations in their own language? So 'Life', 'The Middle East' and 'The Pyramids' in stead of 'Al Hayat', 'Sharq Al-Awsat' and 'Al-Ahram'. And not 'Al-Jazira', 'Al-Manara' and 'A-Mustagbal', but 'The Island', 'The Lighthouse' and 'The Future'. How much more humane doesn't that sound to western ears? And that's just on the outside. Of course there are usually more than two sides to each story, but wat if you can't even verify either? And what if all the news did already go through the spindoctors of both parties in the conflict before it gets out? Why don't journalists tell people when they are not sure whether their sources are reliable?

I found it to be a depressing report, but it's definitely a book every alert newsreader should read and it should absolutely be part of the curriculum of any school of journalism.

BOOK: Een Tipje Van De Sluier - Joris Luyendijk

Title: Een Tipje Van De Sluier (A Tip Of The Veil)
Author: Joris Luyendijk
Genre: non fiction, sociology, religion, politics
Publisher: Podium, 2001
Pages: Paperback, 107
Language: Dutch
Rating: 7/10
Summary: A step by step explanation of Islam, its history, influence on culture and the different interpretations around the world. Joris Luyendijk (1971) studied politics and Arabic and lived in Cairo, Beiroet and Jerusalem. He's a journalist and writer.

Review
I've been a fan of Joris ever since he presented interview-series 'Zomergasten' on Dutch TV. He is very eloquent and knowledgable on the subject of Islam. I loved his boek "Een Goede Man Slaat Soms Zijn Vrouw" (A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife) about his year at the university of Cairo in the 90s. That book is filled with conversations between him and fellow-students and shows the misunderstandings between his Western point of view and their way of thinking. I expected the same intriguing stories in this book. I was disappointed to find a serious lack of humour; when the tip of the veil is lifted it only reveals facts and figures about Islam.
That would have been interesting if there were any new insights, but due to events in the world since 2001, I already knew most of the history and information that are provided. If only I had known this book was more of a tourguide than a personal account, I would have passed on it and read his latest book "People Like Us". That is still on my list, but in the mean time I recommend A Good Husband Sometimes Beats His Wife. Even though that was written in 1998, it is still relevant today, because it doesn't focus on numbers but on people.