If there's one channel in the Arab world much talked about, alternately lauded and bashed by various commentators in both the West and the Arab world, it's Al-Jazeera. Pre-September 11 (and pre-bin Laden tapes and exclusive Afghanistan coverage) western writers largely praised the channel for its open and independent coverage; …
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The US-Arab Cross-Communication Exchange: A Dialogue Amongst Mutes
Only a last-minute awaking of conscience among the perpetrators could have prevented the September 11 attack on the US. Its cross-cultural fallout between the Arabs and the United States, though, could have been averted. There is a genuine fear that the perpetrators, while they won the first round of battle …
Read More »Will Hollywood Go to War?
A special report on the impact of 9/11 on the American entertainment industry and the TV Academy's panel "Hollywood Goes to War? Politics, Showbiz and the War on Terrorism" Also in this issue: David Chambers spoke with Ally McBeal co-executive producer Alice West in March 2002 for a six-months post-9/11 …
Read More »The Courting of Al-Jazeera
While Washington asked the emir of Qatar to "rein in" Al-Jazeera, American networks were headed to Doha in search of a deal. It's nearly midnight in Doha, and we are in a cafe on a pier jutting out over the shoreline of the Persian Gulf. The cafe is empty and …
Read More »TV Producers Look Towards Globalization at CAMAR TV 2001 International TV Market
The seventh Cairo Arab Market for Radio and Television (CAMAR TV 2001), held in the Media Production City located in the desert outskirts of Cairo from July 3-8, was marked by an increase of activity by TV channels seeking to expand in the region and an attempt for many of …
Read More »ART Wins STAR Select; Showtime Launches SmartTV
Arab Digital Distribution (ADD) announced in late October a great coup in Middle East pay-TV: a deal with STAR to move all the STAR Select channels from Orbit to ADD, the platform provider for ART (Arab Radio and Television), starting Jan. 17, 2002. The move fits with ADD's general strategy, …
Read More »The Changing Scene of Lebanese Television
This article was first published in the book "The Mission: Journalism, Ethics, and the World," ed. Joe Atkins, published by the Iowa State University Press, and appears here by kind permission of the publishers. The past decade has witnessed radical changes in the structure and role of television in Lebanon. …
Read More »Private-Sector Media City Launched in Amman
Despite the media free zone law being held up in parliament, the Jordanian Media City Company is up and running It's Dubai Media City and Egyptian Media Production City that have been making news in the trade press across the Middle East. But Jordan, the first in the region to …
Read More »High Hopes for Egyptian Media Production City
Cairo's huge new studios aim to give a much-needed boost to local production Egypt is the Middle East's production powerhouse. With its huge new 3.5 million square meter Media Production City just outside Cairo at 6th October City, plus major investments in new studios in the city in the Giza …
Read More »Dubai Media City Prepares for Next Phase
Not yet a year old, Dubai Media City is drawing big names like MBC and Reuters—and broadcasters say they're happy with their new home. The view from Dubai Media City is tremendous. Besides the massive and shiny new Dubai Media City and next-door Dubai Internet City facilities themselves, across the …
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