Résumé :

Dans un livre récent, Géraldine Mulhmann affirme que le journalisme est mis au défi de participer à la fois à la construction d'une communauté et à la mise en spectacle des divergences et des conflits, plaçant ainsi publics et journalistes dans la posture de spectateurs. En conséquence, elle proposera, après avoir interpellé la plupart des grands penseurs depuis Kant, que le journalisme soit guidé par l'objectif de soutenir la "communauté conflictuelle" qui rend possible le débat public, le dialogue. Cette communication propose d'éclairer de la théorisation de Mme Muhlmann l'ouverture récente, de manière très problématique, des ondes canadiennes à la chaîne Al-Jazira. Il s'agira de voir comment ce geste qui répond à la logique de la "communauté" canadienne pourrait contribuer à la mise en place de la place publique internationale en devenir, tout en rendant possible l'expression du "conflit", sinon de civilisation, du moins de point de vue entre le monde arabe et l'Occident.

Mors-clés : journalisme, communauté, dialogue, conflit, Canada, Al-Jazira

Abstract :

In a recent book, Géraldine Muhlmann states that journalism is challenged to participate in the building of a community and at the same time in the publicity of the conflicts and divergences, pushing the public and the journalists in the position of spectators. Consequently she proposes, after revisiting most of the great western thinkers since Kant, that journalism be guided by the objective of supporting the "conflicting community" that makes possible public debate and dialogue. This text uses the theoretical perspective of Mrs Muhlmann to analyze the recent problematic opening of the Canadian media system to Al-Jazeera. It permits to look at this anecdote as responding to the canadian communautarian logic. But it also proposes to see it as a contribution to the emerging of an international public space where can be expressed, if not the conflict of civilizations, at least the conflict of point of view between the Arab world and the West.

Key words : journalism, community, dialogue, conflict, Canada, Al-Jazeera

Extended Abstract :

This article starts with the narration of an anecdote : the decision in July 2004 of Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Council (CRTC) of accepting and rejecting at the same time the broadcasting in Canada by satellite or cable of Al-Jazeera in its arabic version. It shows how that ambiguous decision is the product of canadian political logic. Then it discusses if the broadcasting of Al-Jazeera, be it at the global scale or in Canadian territory, can be considered as a contribution to democracy. And concludes that its presence would be considered positive in both cases when seen through the idealtype of journalism designed by the french author Géraldine Muhlmann (2004). She states that journalism is challenged to participate in the building of a community and at the same time in the publicity of the conflicts and divergences, pushing the public and the journalists in the position of spectators. Consequently she proposes, after revisiting most of the great western thinkers since Kant, that journalism be guided by the objective of supporting the "conflicting community" that makes possible public debate and dialogue. It permits to look at the CRTC's decision as a temporary refusal to open up to the public expression of silenced points of view, those coming from the arabo-muslim zone.

Althought those points of view already obtained some presence through the international system of media that establishes the daily agenda of international news and the daily internal delivery of news by canadian media and foreign media already authorized in Canada.. That refusal corresponds to the canadian communautarian logic, but at the same time the more global political logic invites to the opening of the canadian market to foreign televisions and media. So it is just a question of time before the autorization to broadcast Al-Jazeera in Canada, probably in its english version, the ititial launching of that satellite station being forecasted for March 2006.

The analysis, using Mrs' Muhlmann perspective, also proposes to see Al-Jazeera's presence as a contribution to the emerging of an international public space where can be expressed and debated the conflicts. In that line of reasoning, it recalls the critics formulated at the end of the 1970 in the Unesco against the dominance of the western agencies over the international news flow. It presents the creation of Al-Jazeera and especially its international role, starting in October 2001 with its covering of the Afghanistan anglo-american offensive, as an irruption in the system of agenda-building of international news. In the end, it concludes that this station is now integrated in the system and that it is considered as an authoritative source. But is Al-Jazeera a true representative of the so-called arabo-muslim civilization?

To answer that question, the text discusses the signification of the word "civilization" and concludes that it has such a globalizing intention that it cannot be used today for anything else than passed states of affairs in certains regions of the world (civilizations in the past), or to designate the general caracteristics of the actual globalizing world. The creation of Al-Jazeera is in itself an illustration of that fact : to be able to operate a television station and controling the necessary technologies and intellectual protocols, the managers and employees must already participate in the civilization that created those means of communication. Looking at the informational contents of Al-Jazeera also shows that the main values of Western civilization are already shared (rationality, individualism, consumerism, etc.).

The analysis then underlines that Al-Jazeera is opening the public space in the arabo-muslims countries where it gives a voice to many silenced groups, individuals and points of view. In short, the presence of Al-Jazeera in the arabo-muslim region has clearly contributed, in its limited way, to the advance of democracy both by giving public space to internal debates in countries of that zone and by forcing the western system of international news to hear and take into account at least one arabo-muslim voice.