Most American journalists probably know little about covering Islam accurately, fairly, ethically and contextually amid rising levels of xenophobia, hate speech and “fake news” in the U.S., but help is on the way. In 1980, I arrived in Beirut as CBS News Middle East correspondent. My qualifications for covering this complex …
Read More »United States
PODCAST | Steven Salaita on the Limits to Academic Freedom
Steven Salaita is the Edward Said Chair of American Studies at the American University of Beirut. He is a scholar of indigenous America and has written extensively and comparatively on the question of Palestine and anti-Arab racism. He speaks with Arab Media & Society about academic freedom, tenure, the special case of Palestine, and self-regulating suppression.
Read More »Egypt’s Bassem Youssef to Host Satirical Show on U.S. Politics
February 3, 2016—American media company Fusion and the office of Bassem Youssef announced on Sunday that the Egyptian heart surgeon turned award-winning television show host will be working with the network.
Read More »The Debate Over Al Jazeera English in Burlington, VT.r
William Youmans analyzes the debate in Burlington, Vermont, over whether the local cable TV company should or should not carry Al Jazeera English. He concludes that Burlington was a special case, rather than the harbinger of a breakthrough into the US market for AJE.
Read More »Can Al Jazeera English Leverage its ‘Egypt Moment’ into an American Audience?
Al Jazeera English is campaigning for greater access to the US market, building on positive publicity about its coverage of the Egyptian revolution. But research by William Youmans and Katie Brown suggests that substantial prejudice against AJE persists among segments of the American public, even after they are exposed to its coverage.
Read More »For the record – US House of Representatives resolution on Middle East broadcasters
The complete text of U.S. House of Representatives resolution 2278, which would penalize satellite providers that contract with broadcasters such as al-Manar and al-Aqsa. The US Senate has not yet acted on the resolution
Read More »Urban Renewal in the Global Village: How Palestine became a Marker of Muslim Identity
The following article is adapted from Pintak's new book, Reflections in a Bloodshot Lens: America, Islam & the War of Ideas, published in January 2006 by Pluto Books UK and the University of Michigan Press. Abstract A radical restructuring of the global media landscape and the emergence of information ghettos, in …
Read More »Anti-Americanism on Arab Television: Some Outsider Observations
In the United States since 9/11 it has been fashionable to criticize Arab satellite television, especially Al Jazeera, for being hopelessly biased and unfairly hostile to America. A great deal of the criticism comes from people who do not understand Arabic and have never watched Arab satellite TV, but they …
Read More »Public Diplomacy 101: A Required Course for Karen Hughes
In her assignment as the communication director of George W. Bush’s presidential and gubernatorial campaigns, Karen Hughes maintained straight-A grades. In her first trip to the Middle East as undersecretary for public diplomacy in September, however, Mrs. Hughes’ GPA seems to have dropped to a C or even less, according …
Read More »Eulogy to Rebirth? US International Broadcasting Struggles to Find its Way—With the Help of Al Jazeera
It was a brief ceremony for the deceased. The eulogy was given by US Secretary of State Madeline Albright, on a brilliant Washington, DC morning, October 1, 1999. The assembled were reminded by Secretary Albright that this was a time to rejoice, and not to mourn, because the accomplishments of …
Read More »