Reprinted with permission of the International Herald Tribune. The victims have not been exclusively of one nationality or religion, but indeed are representative of humanity itself: British, South Korean, Egyptian and American, among others; Catholic, Jewish and Muslim. As more people continue to be taken hostage and brutally murdered in Iraq, …

The recent profusion of graphic televised footage of dead bodies, sometimes charred or disfigured, has raised difficult ethical and journalistic decisions for news editors, whether at CNN or the Hizbullah-backed Lebanese channel Al-Manar. In a series of interviews, news editors talk about their decision-making policies on screening disturbing images.  The …

As news of kidnappings and beheadings flowed out of Iraq this summer, it was easy to assume that Iraq had fallen into a state of primordial chaos. The brutal forces of tribalism and barbarity appeared to be triumphing, and the modern appeared to be giving way to the medieval. Such …

The US presidential election of 2004 attracted an unprecedented amount of international media attention, perhaps nowhere more so than in the Arab world, where the impact of American policy has made itself acutely felt in the three years since September 11. Concerns over the war in Iraq, combined with frustration …

The Cambridge Arab Media Project: The Media and Political Change in the Arab World, 29-30 September 2004 What I would like to do today is put the issue of the media in some perspective, both analytical and historical. Then I will put some thoughts on the table about the extent …

Whether you love or hate the idea of a US-funded, Arabic-language satellite news station broadcasting to the Arab world, Al-Hurra - which launched regionally in mid-February - appears set to stay the course. When asked about what the channel had to prove in order to secure its annual funding from …

There is something very important to be said about competition, especially within the media. With the onslaught of cable and satellite networks in the United States, Americans can easily watch a news story on four or five different channels, to ensure they get a balanced and accurate idea of what …

SAS: In recent weeks, and in particular in reference to the coverage of the Falluja and Mahdi Army uprisings, Coalition spokesmen in Baghdad have alleged biased reporting from Al-Arabiya as well as Al Jazeera. Your comment before mine. Salah Negm: I would say first that generalizing judgments like this one are not …

S. Abdallah Schleifer interviewed the new chief editor at Al Jazeera early in mid- April only a few weeks after he had taken up the position following a stint running Al Jazeera's new English-language website. TBS: You were a member of the original BBC Arabic TV group that founded Al Jazeera. …

The 1991 war in Iraq propelled an American satellite channel, known colloquially as the Chicken News Network and by its initials, CNN, into a global news power. In the second  Iraq war, another broadcaster, Al-Jazeera, became famous - or infamous, depending on your point of view. Most Americans know Al-Jazeera for …