The famous Arab news network Al Jazeera has been considered one of the most important de facto “Arab political parties.” Since most Arab countries have not yet established functioning democracies, relevant institutions, such as political parties and a parliamentarian opposition, are still rudimentary. To many observers, Arab satellite television seems to have …
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Is Al Jazeera Alternative? Mainstreaming Alterity and Assimilating Discourses of Dissent
In its nine-year history, the Arab satellite news network Al Jazeera has been the subject of much debate. From glorification to vilification, the station has been described as “radical” by its detractors and as an “alternative” medium by its admirers (El-Nawawy & Iskandar, 2003, Miles, 2005). Since the launch of …
Read More »Arab News Media: In the Vortex of Change
"Anyone who tells you they are not scared silly is lying,” retired Annahar publisher Ghassan Tueni, the living symbol of Lebanese media independence, said in mid-autumn as we sat in his office overlooking Beirut’s port and newly reborn downtown. “We built this glass tower as a symbol of the new Lebanon. Now …
Read More »Embedded in the Mubarak Campaign: A Reporter’s Experience on the Front Lines of the 2005 Egyptian Elections
(Editor’s Note: This article is one of two personal essays in this issue of TBS, one written by Vivian Salama, a reporter covering the Mubarak campaign, and another written by Usama Najeeb, a staffer working on the media team for that same campaign. Najeeb, a former Adham Center graduate student …
Read More »Campaign Confidential: The View from Inside ‘Mubarak 2005’ Headquarters
(Editor’s Note: This article is one of two personal essays in this issue of TBS, one written by Vivian Salama, a reporter covering the Mubarak campaign, and another written by Usama Najeeb, a staffer working on the media team for that same campaign. Najeeb, a former Adham Center graduate student …
Read More »Plus ca Change: The Role of the Media in Egypt’s First Contested Presidential Elections
At an August press conference early on in Egypt’s landmark race for the presidency, Mohammad Kamal, the mastermind behind the smoothly crafted reelection campaign of President Hosni Mubarak, stood before a skeptical international press corps. He had not come to sell the world on his candidate. There was no need …
Read More »The Battle of the Airwaves: The Rise and Proliferation of Iranian Satellite TV Channels
Today, Iranian air space is electronically penetrated by numerous radio and TV satellite signals that originate from the US and other countries around the world. In fact, it is probably safe to state that no other nation in the world is targeted by over 20 satellite TV channels and dozens …
Read More »The BBC World Service Arabic TV: Revival of a Dream or Sudden Death by the Competition?
Discussions of the significance of transnational radio news networks and their impact on Arab audiences usually arrive sooner or later at the unprecedented popularity of the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) World Service Arabic Language service, the only news network to dominate ratings among Arab radio listeners. In fact, a new …
Read More »Anti-Americanism on Arab Television: Some Outsider Observations
In the United States since 9/11 it has been fashionable to criticize Arab satellite television, especially Al Jazeera, for being hopelessly biased and unfairly hostile to America. A great deal of the criticism comes from people who do not understand Arabic and have never watched Arab satellite TV, but they …
Read More »Public Diplomacy 101: A Required Course for Karen Hughes
In her assignment as the communication director of George W. Bush’s presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, Karen Hughes maintained straight-A grades. In her first trip to the Middle East as undersecretary for public diplomacy in September, however, Mrs. Hughes’ GPA seems to have dropped to a C or even less, according …
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