Shereen El Feki reviews Arab Television Industries by Marwan Kraidy and Joe F. Khalil, and Reality Television and Arab Politics: contention in public life, also by Marwan M. Kraidy

Aaron Wenner reviews (Un)Civil War of Words: Media and Politics in the Arab World by Mamoun Fandy, concluding that it is an interesting and timely argument for a more nuanced understanding of the political and social role of Arab media, but would be much stronger if it had more specific case studies, a clearer conception of its terms, and a more precise focus.

The Kamal Adham Centre at American University in Cairo has appointed me as the new managing editor of Arab Media and Society, which intends to retain its role as a primary reference for understanding the role of media in shaping Arab societies and the broader Muslim world.

As the voice of the Hizbullah, you might expect al Manar to present a grim and gritty image, reflecting the Islamic organization that has upended Lebanon’s politics. But that’s not the case and the twist is fascinating, as Anne Marie Baylouny explains.

Like elsewhere, the media revolution is sweeping across Jordan. It’s not as large as a movement as in other countries. But it is occurring in the usual places – blogs – and some unusual places as well. Ramsey Tesdell explains what is happening.

When Emirates officials offered a revised press law, a storm followed. Some journalists and human rights groups did not consider it an improvement. Dana El-Baltaji explains what’s happened there and why it matters for the Gulf and Arab world.

U.S. President Barack Obama had vowed a new policy for the U.S. toward the Arab world. He vowed a new handshake from the White House. How did his fare in Cairo in his first days in office? Joseph Simons offers an analysis.

Social media had been expanding in waves across Egypt. But then came the April 6th showdown between the Facebook activists and the Egyptian government and Egypt’s electronic revolution may have crossed a critical point. David M. Faris explains.

The Middle East is constantly evolving. So, too, Arab Media & Society. With this issue, I am handing over the publisher/co-editor reins to Hafez Mirazi, the new interim director of the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism Training and Research.

Blogging has intensified political trends first triggered by the birth of satellite television and an independent print press but does not mark a new departure for Egyptian politics, argues Tom Isherwood.