The newest Persian language satellite network made a splash in the Iranian blogosphere when it began broadcasting in January. But just how far can the BBC go in the face of hostility from Tehran and without local bureaus, asks Contributing Editor Paul Cochrane.

Compiled by the editors May 2004 Abu Dhabi TV announces "a modest but varied" programming season to parallel that of other satellite channels. News programming is tapped to take a back seat compared to variety shows. The absence of "arts" programming is explained by the station by reference to its …

Of all the many shiny and twinkly things in today's Dubai, CNBC Arabiya, the ingénue on the Gulf's satellite stage, may be the shiniest and most twinkly. After only ten weeks of full-time operation (CNBC Arabiya went on air officially on July 27, 2003), the channel believes that it has …

As of the last week of October 2003, Al Jazeera has a new manager. And the choice, former Baghdad bureau chief and correspondent Waddah Khanfar, is significant. During the Iraqi war, he reported from Kurdish-controlled territory in the north; with the collapse of the Baath regime, Khanfar took over the …

CAIRO: When some of Al-Jazeera's commentators and talk show guests from Islamist and other Arab radical ranks criticized the Sharm al-Sheikh summit hosted by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak as a failure, or worse, as "a shameful betrayal of the Palestinians" and their Intifada al-Aqsa, the honeymoon that had begun last …

CAIRO, EGYPT, April 4, 2000 A new private satellite station to be located in Egypt's new Media Free Zone is being formed by a partnership of fifty local private investors, according to Abdel Rahman Hafez, Chairman of the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU). The introduction of private channels is …