Columbia University's prestigious Middle East Institute, with an assist from Columbia's equally prestigious School of Journalism, was the host to a curious but stimulating conference that was as ambiguous in its apparent direction as it was ambiguous in title: "Opening the Channels: Columbia Forum on Television and Society in the …

By TBS Senior Editor S. Abdallah Schleifer It's so easy to be overwhelmed by the impact of television, particularly in this decade of digital multichannel satellite platforms and particularly in an Arab world, where reading as a serious engagement beyond the newspaper and the weeklies seems to be approaching some …