The Arab Satellite Charter is not an attempt to create an Arab version of the FCC, but rather a move to control the minds and thoughts of Arab viewers, mostly on political issues, writes Daoud Kuttab.

Why was 2007 one of the deadliest years for Middle East reporters since World War II? Publisher and Co-Editor Lawrence Pintak looks back at a year of troubling trends for journalism in the region.

Why is London losing its appeal as an Arab media hub? Not much has changed about Britain as a host, but structural shifts in the industry and a changing political landscape have combined to reduce the need for an offshore base, writes Najm Jarrah.

Dubai is fast becoming a global media hub – but for whom? Dana El-Baltaji examines Dubai’s business-friendly media model and its implications for the future of media in the Emirates.

Contributing Editor Paul Cochrane looks at the historical origins and current techniques of Saudi influence on the Arabic media landscape.

Enough already with the 'media dialogues' between Arab and Western journalists. The fortunes spent on these conferences could be put to much better use in cooperative lessons-learned networks and long-term training programs, argues Publisher and Co-Editor Lawrence Pintak.

Larry Register’s forced departure from the US public diplomacy channel marks a low point for American efforts at broadcasting to the Middle East, an entirely predictable debacle which likely puts paid to even the slender hopes that the station might turn itself around argues Editorial Board Member Marc Lynch.

Alan L. Heil Jr. documents the plethora of new public diplomacy channels broadcasting in Arabic, including France 24, Deutsche Welle, and Russia TV Today, arguing credibility will be crucial to success with audiences in an increasingly crowded market.

By scrapping Voice of America in the Middle East, the US has both undercut its own public diplomacy interests and the interests of listeners in the region itself, argues Laurie Kassman.

That Arab viewers accept this U.S. government-funded station as credible is a great victory, especially after being on the air little more than three years. That some Arab viewers find the assertions of advocates for freedom jarring to their ears is a price we will gladly pay, argues outgoing Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.