“Any work that I do depends on the will of the audience.” (Ibrahim Nasr, Akhbar al-Nuguum, 433, 1/20/2001) Introduction Over the past few years, a growing trend in television is the seeming willingness to push the envelope of so-called “good taste.” While this is not a new phenomenon, we are …
Read More »ARAB ADVISORS GROUP REPORT: Credibility of Satellite News Channels in Greater Cairo
ARAB ADVISORS GROUP Arab Advisors Group is a specialized research, analysis and consulting company focused on the communications, media and technology markets throughout the Arab World (MENA) region. Arab Advisors Group scope of services include providing primary research based analysis, market sizing forecasting, the competitive landscape, the regulatory landscape, market …
Read More »Interview with Ahmad al-Farrag
20 November 2004, Cairo Ahmad al-Farrag is one of the pioneers of religious television broadcasting in the Arab world. His long-running program Nur ala Nur, or "Light Upon Light" was the first of its kind in Egypt and a model for future religious talk shows. It also was the first …
Read More »Two Entertainment Issues Preoccupy Egyptian Press in Ramadan
Reprinted from Al Hayat, 7 November, 2004, p.21, with permission. This year's Ramadan brings in its train, as usual, hundreds of serialized dramas, talk shows, and other standard format programs of the sort that increase year after year as a result of the burgeoning number of Arab satellite channels. What is …
Read More »Amr Khaled: Broadcasting the Nahda
In the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, renewed fears about the threat of "Islamic Fundamentalism" conjured images of bearded and turbaned zealots spoiling for holy war against the West. More than three years later, such stereotypes seem confirmed in the grim reality of the morning's headlines, as …
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