A new Islamic television channel Al Resalah (The Message) launched in March 2006 amid a buzz of speculation about whether the station, billed as the first-ever moderate Islamic entertainment channel, would be able to offer a sufficiently appealing product (Islam-friendly comedies, talk shows, reality TV, music videos and game shows) to attract …

Within the larger debate over the American-led war in Iraq, the question of the media and its coverage of the war has often been as contentious as the war itself. Major Amy Connelly is the commander of the US Army’s 204th Public Affairs Detachment. From January 2004 until February 2005, Major Connelly …

For anyone who has followed the Iraq War on television, Brigadier General Mark T. Kimmitt has to be one of the most recognizable spokespersons for the American military. General Kimmitt, who served in the high-profile position as chief military spokesman for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, is now the deputy director …

The long-anticipated English-language Al Jazeera International (AJI) is due to launch in the second quarter of 2006. TBS’s new senior editor Lawrence Pintak talked with AJI’s managing director Nigel Parsons, to find out about the hopes riding on the new channel as well as the challenges facing it. TBS: Let’s start with some basics. Why are …

Moez Masoud is a 27-year-old Egyptian who hosts his own English-language Islamic talk shows, Parables from the Quran and Stairway to Paradise, on the Saudi-owned ART satellite network. With several new TV contracts in the works, including the possibility of a show on an American channel, the handsome young economics graduate …

A heated debate rages within public diplomacy circles over who is watching Alhurra and how the channel is perceived by Arab audiences. Polls commissioned by Alhurra indicate much higher viewership numbers and credibility ratings than those reported in independent surveys conducted by academics and Arab research organizations. In an effort …

Abdul Rahman al-Rashed is the general manager of the all-news Arab satellite channel Al Arabiya. He came to Al Arabiya from Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, where he served as editor in chief. Prior to that he was editor in chief of the weekly newsmagazine al-Majalla. TBS senior editor S. Abdallah Schleifer met with al-Rashed in Dubai in …

It has been a year and a half since US-funded Arabic satellite channel Alhurra started broadcasting on 14 February 2004. Even before the channel's launch, it was a magnet for controversy -- many in the Arab media denounced it as propaganda while some Washington insiders questioned the decision to spend …

Mohammad Hammam, Executive Manager of Iqra Satellite Channel, Talks to TBS As one of the fastest growing religions in the world, Islam has become both a media focus and a media victim in recent years.  According to 30-year-old Muhammad Hammam, executive manager of Iqra, the Arab world's longest-established Islamic satellite …

Are Ruby's critics an obstacle to her stardom, or does the controversy over her secular style eclipse the star herself? The music videos that established Ruby's fame feature pelvic-thrust dance moves and revealing costumes, which infuriate a growing number of Middle Easterners. But compared to the gyrations and attire of …