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.

Naomi Sakr’s survey of the state of post-revolution Egyptian journalism shows how, in spite of notable advances, it is still beholden to Mubarak-era strictures and practices. Mohammed el-Nawawy calls the book timely and valuable as a snapshot of a transformed but still evolving situation.

Egypt’s broadcast media is widely seen as unruly and in need of regulation, with the rights and responsibilities of journalists still unclear two years after the revolution. Mark Visonà reports on the recommendations of a recent conference, hosted by the American University of Cairo, on how to build a regulatory framework. The conference, “Egypt and International Models of Broadcast Regulation and Accountability,” featured guest speakers from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the United States, Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco.