All journalism, and indeed all writing, inevitably comes from some particular bias or point of view.  On issues where there are big divisions of opinion, then, the intelligent response is to read a range of views on the matter. However, this relies on an unrestricted free press and, more subtly, writers representing the full range of opinion.

For westerners concerned that what they read about the Middle East represents the consensus of western journalists, rather than 'what is actually happening' or a real diversity of opinion, there was encouraging news about the rise of blogging in the Middle East today on BBCNews.

Although less likely than conventional media to show up-to-the-minute, digitally enhanced footage of bombs as they drop,  bloggers can provide important insights into the reality of daily life in the Middle East, and currents of opinion among the civilian population. Such an expansion of the number of competing viewpoints and approaches available in the public sphere can only improve our understanding.