Archives available here. April 30, 2015 – Press Syndicate warns against media legislation that has not been referred to the Union Egyptian Press Syndicate Chairman Yehia Kalash warned in a press release against legislation of press laws or projects that are issued by formal or informal entities.  Kalash stated that the National Committee …

March 29, 2015 - Gathering at Press Syndicate in Memory of Journalist Mayada Ashraf El Husseini Abou Deif Committee for Defending Journalism organized a silent stand on the stairs of the Egyptian Press Syndicate in memory of Mayada Ashraf. Tens of Journalists gathered holding candles and photographs of Mayada to mark …

Ramzy Baroud casts a critical eye on the current state of Arab media, where the idealistic hopes of the Arab Spring and the promise of digital media have fallen far below expectations. Instead, he argues, we are witnessing a media war, where evolving geopolitical dynamics and economics determine who has a voice and what narrative is conveyed. Coupled with a crisis of professionalism, Baroud laments that any attempt at an equitable media platform in many Arab countries has for now been largely defeated.

The Egyptian American Dialogue Initiative (EADI), in collaboration with George Washington University and Gallup hosted the Egypt Media Forum in Washington, DC from October 1 to 3, 2014. The Forum brought together a group of prominent Egyptian and international experts on media and policy to discuss media sector reform in Egypt. This report, jointly published by Arab Media & Society and EADI, offers a summary of the discussion that took place, as well as key recommendations that emerged.

In a thought-provoking essay, Jon W. Anderson poses the question: Is informationalization good for the Middle East? The notion evolves through a wealth of data, fresh comparisons and insight into factors such as telecom infrastructure, the monetization of data, the extraction of value upward, and how labor is valued in an informationalized economy.

Miriam Berger reports on change and stagnation at the Egyptian Journalist Syndicate, Egypt’s only official journalist union. Through interviews with syndicate members and media observers, she paints a granular picture of how efforts to reform the syndicate remain blocked by entrenched political, economic and state interests.

At a time when Hollywood movies are a global commodity, Mohamed Satti studies the extent of their impact on cinema and television in Kuwait. He shows that while American films dominate the movie theaters, local production of television content continues to be strong.

Nabil Dajani critiques the perception that Lebanon enjoys one of the freest media systems in the Arab world, showing how its foundations in confessional politics and business interests prevent it from functioning as a public service, a control on power, or a voice for the voiceless.

Matt Duffy reflects on the state of journalism education in the United Arab Emirates before and after the Arab spring. His experience as a communications professor at Zayed University, followed by his unexplained expulsion from the UAE, reaffirms the increasingly bleak environment for media freedoms in the region.