Abstract This paper examines the journalism and media education programs in three countries in the Arab region (Libya, Syria, Yemen) that have been or are still in the throes of civil wars and/or polarization along conflicting political ideologies and control of different geographical zones. Based on an online questionnaire distributed …
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BOOK EXCERPT | Syria’s Drama Outpouring from Syria from Reform to Revolt, Vol. 2
Enduring Commitment Syrian drama has oscillated between accommodating and challenging persistent authoritarianism, the Islamic tendency, and the neoliberal moment. In addition to sensational thrillers and costume dramas, Syrians continue to produce works that harken back to an earlier era of Arab cultural production. Realist dramas join sociopolitical satires in critiquing …
Read More »Syrian Children Hold Up Pokémon Pleading for People to Find Them
August 9, 2016—The Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office released an emotional photo series on social media today. The photo series aims to garner the attention of fans of the newest gaming craze, Pokémon Go.
Read More »U.S. Media Ignores Civilian Deaths from Syrian Drone Strikes
July 21, 2016—Syrian activists estimate that U.S. airstrikes on Tuesday morning left at least 73 Syrian civilians dead.
Read More »PODCAST | View From the Front Line
With over thirty years of experience as a war reporter in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, Kurt Pelda is well acquainted with the terrors of armed conflict. In this podcast, he shares his perspectives on the war in Syria, challenges the propaganda emerging from the conflict, and shares his personal experiences of life on the frontlines of some of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.
Read More »Good Neighbors, Fragile Borders
Protect your borders – one critical lesson of the Syrian war that Saudi Arabia is taking close to heart. The Syrian regime proved lethally effective in the art of crushing internal dissent. Its use of informal militias among multiple agencies of security and military, its Arab nationalist propaganda, the projection …
Read More »PODCAST | The Paris Attacks and the Refugee Narrative
With the tragic attacks in Paris last week, the emerging discourse has inevitably connected this atrocity to the migration crisis, particularly the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe. The closing of borders, and the decision to further restrict the flow of refugees by several Western countries has further escalated the already contentious debate about how best to handle this crisis. In light of this, we speak with The Guardian correspondent Patrick Kingsley about the media narrative around the crisis.
Read More »Social Media in Syria’s Uprising and Post-Revolution Libya: An Analysis of Activists’ and Blogger’s Online Engagement
Masudul Biswas and Carrie Sipes perform a comparative content analysis of Twitter and Facebook posts from a sample of Syrian and Libyan activist groups. By considering online content in the context of post-revolution Libya and the continuing upheaval in Syria, the authors shed new light on online activist agenda-setting. They find that while social media is used as a tool to maintain and expand momentum during revolution, in a post-revolution climate the same media serves as a venue for idea-sharing and political discourse.
Read More »Privileging the Private: Media and Development in Syria
Leah Caldwell examines coverage of 'development' by the privately owned Syrian daily al-Watan and finds that it is always discussed in a tightly controlled framework where a handful of participants are allowed to participate and determine exactly what or who needs to be developed.
Read More »Syrian Dabke Meets Western Media
Leah Caldwell examines Western coverage of the Syrian music and art scene, focusing on the case of dabke musician Omar Souleyman, and says some of the coverage perpetuates the idea that without a Western seal of authenticity on a particular art form, its cultural value is significantly diminished.
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