Read an excerpt of Marwan Kraidy's latest book The Naked Blogger of Cairo here. On Tuesday, December 6, 2016, a strange sight appeared on Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Close to city hall, passersby saw a four-meter high gilded statue of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a suit, legs firmly planted …
Read More »Popular Culture as a Political Barometer: Lebanese-Syrian Relations and Superstar
On the evening of Monday, August 11, 2003, two spontaneous riots erupted in Beirut. They occurred around the same time and were triggered by the same event. About an hour earlier, Future TV had announced voting results after the semi-final of its flagship program, Superstar, the Arabic version of Pop Idol (UK) …
Read More »Transnational Television and Asymmetrical Interdependence in the Arab World: The Growing Influence of the Lebanese Satellite Broadcasters
In spite of its small size, Lebanon is a major player in transnational satellite television in the Arab world, so broadcasters and researchers alike are wondering about the implications of the return of Rafik al-Hariri to power. Hariri, appointed prime minister shortly before the publication of this issue of TBS, …
Read More »Satellite Television from Lebanon: A Preliminary Look at the Players
Abstract Lebanon's Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) and Future TV satellite broadcasts are popular with Arab audiences. After unlicensed broadcasting proliferated during the 1974-1990 war, the Audio-Visual Law of 1994 regulated all broadcasting activities and sanctioned satellite broadcasting, which LBCI and Future began in 1996. The two stations appear to …
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