Saudi Arabia in the Anglo-American Press: Covering the Kingdom during the 20th Century [Paperback]

This book provides an in-depth analysis of authority structures in Saudi Arabia during the twentieth century, as presented in two leading Western newspapers, The London Times and The New York Times.

Beginning with a history of Saudi Arabia  from the building of the Kingdom in 1901, when Ibn Saud left his exile in Kuwait to recover Riyadh back from Al-Rasheeds rule, until the death of King Fahd in 2005  the author then outlines the theoretical framework of the book, specifically Webers original conception of authority. Webers notion of authority as having three types  traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal  is applied to an analysis of the two newspapers over the course of the twentieth century. A timeline is devised to aid this analysis, based on significant turning points in Saudi history, including Ibn Sauds declaration of the Kingdom in 1932 and King Faisals assassination in 1975. Ultimately, this analysis discloses the many ways in which conceptions of authority in the Middle East were presented to Western audiences, whilst illuminating the political agendas inherent to this coverage in the UK and the US.

This book is vital reading for anyone interested in Saudi Arabian history, Western perspectives of the Middle East, and the sociology of media.

1. Introduction  2. A Historical Account of Saudi Arabia  3. Webers Tripartite Classification of Authority  4. Media Content Analysis  5. First Era 1901-1932: Building of the Kingdom  6. Second Era 1932-1953: Monarch Ibn Saud  7. Third Era 1953-1975: Saud and Faisal  8. Fourth Era 1975-2005: Khalid and Fahd  9. Conclusion

This book provides an in-depth analysis of authority structures in Saudi Arabia during the twentieth century, as presented in two leading Western newspapers, The London Times and TlãR