It was not clear whether the ultimate point of the conference was to support Arab journalists in their struggle for protected freedoms, or to promote Siniora’s government?then under heavy fire?as democratic and free before a would-be sympathetic international audience, claims Abigail Hauslohner.
Read More »Lebanon
From A-lists to webtifadas: Developments in the Lebanese blogosphere 2005-2006
During the Hizbullah-Israel War, blogs provided alternative on-the-ground accounts of events, says Sune Haugbolle. But can they challenge the social authority of old media?
Read More »The weaponization of news media in the Middle East
We are hardly ever innocent bystanders to conflict. Merely with their presence journalists influence the parties they report on, so we are participants rather than bystanders. And our choice of what to report and how always serves certain power interests, argues Dutch journalist Joris Luyendijk.
Read More »From Long Island to Lebanon: Arabs blog in America
Through the 2006 summer war in Lebanon, blogging provided an outlet for Arabs in America to vent their frustrations, anxieties and criticisms of events. It also gave many a sense of reconnecting with other Arabs around the Diaspora, says Vivian Salama.
Read More »Bombs and broadcasts: Al Manar’s battle to stay on air
Paul Cochrane tracks Israel’s attempts to strike a lethal blow to Hizbullah’s satellite channel.
Read More »The long march of Pan-Arab media: a personal view
In all previous Arab-Israeli wars Israel had dominated on all counts. But in the 2006 war, the influence of the Israeli media on global opinion seemed to have been tempered by the greater range of Arab voices, argues Jihad Fakhreddine.
Read More »Lebanese women journalists brave war odds
Lebanese women journalists braved bombs, bullets and missiles to report the conflict between Hizbullah and Israel in the summer of 2006, sometimes surpassing their male colleagues’ coverage by providing insight into the conflict’s human nature, says Magda Abu-Fadil.
Read More »Uneasy bedfellows: Bloggers and mainstream media report the Lebanon conflict
During the 2006 Lebanon War, bloggers were able to influence the agenda for traditional media coverage more than ever before. But they will not overtake mainstream media anytime soon, argues Will Ward.
Read More »Illegal attack or legitimate target? Israel attacks Al Manar
The degree to which Israel’s attacks on Al Manar could be considered lawful and legitimate in international law depends largely on the actions of Al Manar and whether it played a role as an interested party on the battlefield, says Andrew Exum.
Read More »In Defence of National Television: A Personal Account of Eclectic Lebanese Media Affinities
Anyone who visits Lebanon will be struck by the excessive Lebanese use of space: Urbanisation literally is filling the space perpendicularly, up into the skies and the mountain ranges, and horizontally, as sprawling resorts or “developments” eat up huge chunks of the coast in Beirut and Doura, where two dumps …
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