Dan Sisken: Arabs Seize Permission to Narrate

The Egyptian revolution is bringing with it countless stories about
how it happened and what it means for Egypt and the Middle East.
Having spent a good number of hours the past two weeks watching and
marveling at Al Jazeera's coverage, I sense that one of the stories
taking shape amounts to a meta narrative about a shifting balance of
media influence between the region and the United States. Just as the
Egyptian revolution has liberated the Egyptian people from the grasp
of a US-backed authoritarian leader and seems likely to wrench Egypt
out of its nearly total reliance on US support and largesse, the
Egyptian people--as covered by AlJazeera--may be bringing about a new
international media order.