 |
Covering Satellite Television in the Arab and Islamic Worlds Published by the Adham Center for Television Journalism Official Publication of the International Division of the Broadcast Education Association |
Search
TBS
Letter
from the Publisher:
As anyone glancing at our slightly altered masthead will note, with this
issue TBS re-launches as a journal exclusively concerned with satellite
television broadcasting in the Arab and Islamic worlds.continued
About TBS
TBS Editors, Editorial Advisory Board, Contributing Editors
Call for Papers
E-mail us
TBS Archives:
Past
issues
No.
11, Fall 2003
No. 10,
Spring 2003
No. 9, Fall 2002
No. 8,
Spring 2002
No. 7, Fall 2001
No.
6, Spring 2001
No.
5, Fall 2000
No.
4, Spring 2000
No. 3,
Fall 1999
No. 2,
Spring 1999
No. 1,
Fall 1998
Indices
Articles
Interviews
Symposia
Reports
Reviews
Browse
all issues by region:
Middle East
Europe
Asia
Latin America
General/global
topics
|
|
Egyptian-American filmmaker Jehane Noujaim's documentary Control Room, due to be released commercially in mid-May 2004, offers a fascinating glimpse of the inner workings of Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera during the recent war in Iraq. TBS presents a 5-minute preview from the film plus Danny Schechter's interview with the filmmaker.
|
In her essay The Satellite, the Prince, and Scheherazade: The rise of Women as Communicators in Digital Islam distinguished feminist scholar Fatema Mernissi decodes the role of strong women on Arab satellite TV.
| |
Wadah Khanfar, newly-appointed managing director of Al Jazeera, sets
out his vision of The Future of Al Jazeera.
Over the past seven years Al Jazeera has introduced a new culture and a new paradigm into the Arab world. A culture and a paradigm that rest upon the free exercise of journalism and public affairs broadcasting. During the early days of Al Jazeera it was something exciting to have Arab opposition leaders appearing on our screens. It was the first time that the Arab audience would listen to people ready to criticize Arab governments in public....
| |
S. Abdallah Schleifer visited the Gulf in March, took the pulse of its media and reported on The Gulf Media Mood (As Good As Ever). He also interviewed the editors in chief of the two largest channels: Ahmed Sheikh, of Al Jazeera, and Salah Negm, of Al-Arabiya. Chris Forrester reports on another Gulf success story in Showtime: Profit, At Last.
The US government
launched Alhurra channel on Valentine's Day, but got more thorns than
roses for its pains. TBS did find at least one person to defend it: the
channel's own director, Muafac Harb.
David Wilmsen, on the other hand, was unimpressed, to put it
mildly, while Willa Thayer,
Jihad Fakhredine, and Hassan Barari
all took exception to one aspect or another of The Free One's first fling
with its audience.
|
Business TV is a growing phenomenon in the Middle East. Tara Joseph surveys the field in Stock Market Reporting On-air Now: Business TV Comes of Age in the Middle East and S. Abdallah Schleifer has an up-beat take on CNBC Arabiya's first few months of operation. In Business Unusual: CNBC Arabiya on a Roll he talked with CEO Zafar Siddiqi, chief editor Walid Al Kurdi, and executive producer and presenter Sami Zaydan.
|
|
Transnational Television and the Arab Diaspora in the United States: Abeer Etefa investigates what Arab-Americans watch.
Who Is Al Jazeera's Audience? Philip Auter, Mohamed M. Arafa, and Khaled Al-Jaber deconstruct the demographics and psychographics of an Arab satellite news network.
Trojan Horse? On the Arab Media as a Portal for Western Goods and Values: Jihad Fakhreddine looks at the advertising on Arab satellite channels.
"Operation Iraqi Freedom" or "Invasion of Iraq"? Injy Galal, Amy Mowafi, and Lama al-Hammouri report on the interpretations of CNN and Al Jazeera coverage of the 2003 Iraq War as reflected in Egyptian discussion groups.
Satellite World
Nile Nilesat: Current Challenges and Future Trends: Hussein Amin reports on a recent study to identify the current status of the region's oldest satellite platform.
Attitudes of Palestinian-Israelis to Arab Satellite TV: Mustafa Kabha surveys the past and present of Palestinian-Israeli viewing habits.
Arab and European Satellites over the Maghrib: Ahmed Bedjaoui recounts the history of satellite broadcasting in Arab North Africa and surveys its current state.
The Warlords' New Weapon: Ahmed Muaffaq Zaidan, Al Jazeera's Pakistan bureau chief, reports on the phenomenon of ethnic TV in Afghanistan.
Iraqi Kurdish Satellite Channels have sprung up to advance to the Kurdish cause and assert Kurdish identity, in Iraq and elsewhere. Shirzad Sheikhani reported for Asharq Al-Awsat.
Arabic News Broadcast: Rasha El-Ibiary reports on the planned launching of a new Arabic-language channel out of London aimed at the Iraqi market.
The World of Entertainment
Showtime and ART Target Lebanon Sat-pirates: Chris Forrester describes the massive piracy of intellectual property rights in Lebanon and how two leading TV entertainment channels are trying to stop it.
Rude Awakening: Dream TV, Egypt's only private channel, gained an early reputation for daring talk shows, and lost it fast. Ahmed Osman talked to some to the main players.
Globalization Stressed at FICCI Frames India 2004: Janet Fine reports on India's largest entertainment media meeting.
Book Excerpt: "Global Media Goes to War"
"Global Media Go to War": TBS excerpts chapters by Muhammad Ayish, Catherine Cassara and Laura Lengel, and Ibrahim Al-Marashi from a soon to be published collection of essays and studies of media coverage of the 2003 Iraq War, with original introduction by editor Ralph D. Berenger and a list of journalists who died during the conflict.
|
The Centre of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies of the University of Cambridge
Cambridge, March 19-21, 2004.
Introduction
by Khaled Hroub; report by Dana Suyyagh,
papers by Li Xiguang and Joanne
Tucker.
The 4th Annual Conference of The Beirut Institute for Media Arts
(BIMA)
Beirut, March 16-19, 2004.
Report by Iveta Kourilova; interview
with BIMA director Ramez Maaluf by Yasmine Shuhaibar; papers by
Rawan Damen and Joseph
Khalil with Dareen Abu Ghaida.
NewsXchange
2003
Budapest, November 6-7, 2003.
Report by Morand Fachot; transcript
of discussion of embedding, moderated by Christiane Amanpour and
with contributions by Mark Damazer of the BBC and Bryan Whitman
of the US Department of Defense.
| |
Technical Review: TBS introduces a new column on the virtual nuts and bolts of satellite broadcasting as they particularly impact on the region. In his first contribution, Michael Murrie discusses "store-and-forward video," a technology that came into its own during the 2003 Iraq war.
Starting with the next issue (TBS 13, Fall/Winter 2004), Transnational Broadcasting Studies returns to its original practice of devoting a section to peer-reviewed papers. Papers submitted must be products of formal research or scholarship in the field of satellite television broadcasting in and to the Arab and Islamic worlds.
Studies to be
considered for inclusion in this section should be sent to Dr. Humphrey
T. Davies, managing editor of TBS, at tbs@aucegypt.edu
or at TBS c/o Adham Center for Television Journalism (114), The American
University in Cairo, 113 Sharia Kasr El Aini, Cairo 11511 Egypt.
A Letter from the Publisher
Books:
Book Essay "Watchdogs of War? Books on Media and 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'" by Ralph D. Berenger
Books
in Brief
De Beer,
Arnold S. and John C. Merrill (Eds.) Global Journalism: Topical Issues
and Media Systems.
Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger.
Nacos, Brigitte L.
(2002) Mass-Mediated Terrorism: The Central Role of the Mass Media
in Terrorism and Counterterrorism.
Reviewed by Rasha El-Ibiary.
Rampton, Sheldon
and John Stauber (2003). Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda
in Bush's War on Iraq. London: Robinson.
Reviewed by Rasha El-Ibiary.
Rugh, William A.
(2004) Arab Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio and Television in Arab Politics.
Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger.
Smalley, Ben (ed.)
(2004) Middle East Media Guide 2004 Edition.
Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger.
Zayani, Mohamed.
Arab Satellite Television and Politics in the Middle East.
Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger.
Film Reviews:
Doyen Arabic satellite channel Al Jazeera has not only caused the emptying of buckets of ink, real and virtual, in the print and other media, it has been the subject of at least three recent documentary films. TBS presents reviews of Jehane Noujaim's Control Room, Tewfik Hakem's Al Jazeera: Voice of Arabia, and Lars Otten's The Media and Democracy in the Arab World.
Satellite Chronicles:
TBS introduces Satellite Chronicles, a new department providing an ongoing month-by-month record of events in the Arab and Islamic satellite worlds, as reported in the press.
Calendar
Regional Broadcasting Resources
TBS is published by the Adham Center for Television Journalism, the American University in Cairo
E-mail: TBS@aucegypt.edu