In contemporary Syria, the TV industry’s centrality renders it a particularly revealing site of ethnographic endeavor. It provides a valuable point of access to a complex and rapidly changing society, argues Christa Salamandra.
Read More »Arabsats Get the MEMRI Treatment
"Dear Dr Bautista," the email began. "You may be interested in the Middle Eastern media ... I would therefore like to take this opportunity to introduce the Middle East Media Research Institute ... MEMRI has just launched a TV project, which monitors approximately 18-20 Arab TV stations, translates them in …
Read More »Technical Review: Cabsat 2005
This year's CABSAT attracted around 400 companies from some 50 countries and a number of national pavilions, including the UK, China, Germany, and Korea. The event focused on three main sections: Cable & Satellite, Communications, and Broadcast & Production. It also marked the kick off of the first Middle East …
Read More »MED-TV: Kurdish Satellite Television and the Changing Relationship between the State and the Media
Since its inception, mass media in its various forms (newspapers, radio, television, etc.) has been used as both a tool of nation-states as well as a weapon against them. The power of the press to influence opinion and help interpret reality for its constituents has created conflict over what constitutes …
Read More »Of Bans, Boycotts, and Sacrificial Lambs: Al-Manar in the Crossfire
From its humble pre-satellite origins in 1991, al-Manar (The Beacon) has been a television station driven first and foremost by the priorities of the Islamic Resistance, the armed wing of Hizbullah. Since the end of the civil war and the signing of the Ta'if Accord, Hizbullah has undergone a transformation, …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | War, Media and Propaganda: A Global Perspective
Reviewed by Rasha El Ibiary, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Kamalipour, Yahya R. and Snow, Nancy (eds.) War, Media and Propaganda: A Global Perspective. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2004. Paperback. 280 pages. ISBN: 0-7425-3562-2. $27.95. Yahya Kamalipour and Nancy Snow's anthology "War, Media and Propaganda" sheds light …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW | Televising War: From Vietnam to Iraq
Review by Rasha El-Ibiary, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne Hoskins, Andrew. Televising War: From Vietnam to Iraq. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. 2004. Paperback. 148 pages. ISBN: 0826473067 $35.95. In discussing obstacles and challenges constraining critical journalism, Andrew Hoskins essentially traces development in policy and techniques of war coverage, from Vietnam …
Read More »Arabic Satellite Channels and Censorship
Shortly after Algeria's presidential election last April, the Ministry of Communications abruptly ordered correspondents for Dubai-based broadcaster Al Arabiya and its rival, Al Jazeera, to suspend news operations in Algiers indefinitely. No convincing explanations were given, but Algerian officials had complained bitterly about Al Arabiya's election coverage and were apparently …
Read More »Alhurra is at the Heart of the War of Ideas
Debate and discussion are at the cornerstone of any democracy. There have been many changes throughout the Middle East in the past year with the elections in Iraq, Palestine, and Saudi Arabia, as well as the demonstrations in Lebanon and the Mubarak Initiative. As the political landscape of the Middle …
Read More »Washington vs. Al Jazeera: Competing Constructions of Middle East Realities
Abstract US government officials and supporters of the Bush Administration's policies in the Middle East have waged a sustained campaign against the Al Jazeera Arabic satellite channel. Al Jazeera has also been widely noticed, and criticized, in the (non-governmental) public debate on Middle East issues. It has become so notorious …
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