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New Media and Social Change in Rural EgyptIcon indicating an associated article is peer reviewedIcon indicating an associated article is new

New Media and Social Change in Rural Egypt

 Dr Sahar Khamis goes back to Kafr Masoud in the Nile Delta after ten years and notes the effects of exposure to satellite television channels, the Internet and mobile phones, with particular attention to how they have changed the lives and perceptions of rural women.

The Unlikely Young Cosmopolitans of CairoIcon indicating an associated article is new

The Unlikely Young Cosmopolitans of Cairo

 Heba Elsayed argues that young members of Cairo's lower middle classes, because of their ability to negotiate for themselves a heterogeneous cosmopolitanism dependent upon local repertoires yet also drawing on global discourses, are more deserving of the cosmopolitan label than their upper-class counterparts.

Saintly Soap Operas: An examination of three Coptic saint dramasIcon indicating an associated article is new

Saintly Soap Operas: An examination of three Coptic saint dramas

 Omar Foda looks at the video hagiographies of three Coptic saints and finds that this little-studied genre draws heavily on the tropes of the Egyptian musalsal, including very colloquial Arabic language and exclusive use of melodrama in the presentation of emotions

News Consumption among Young Libyan AdultsIcon indicating an associated article is new

News Consumption among Young Libyan Adults

 Mokhtar Elareshi and Barrie Gunter present the findings of a survey on the television news viewing habits of Libyan students. The survey confirms that pan-Arab television stations are their favorite choice, displacing the local alternatives.

Privileging the Private: Media and Development in SyriaIcon indicating an associated article is new

Privileging the Private: Media and Development in Syria

 Leah Caldwell examines coverage of 'development' by the privately owned Syrian daily al-Watan and finds that it is always discussed in a tightly controlled framework where a handful of participants are allowed to participate and determine exactly what or who needs to be developed.




 

Digital Shahid - From Broadcast Media to Citizen Journalism in PalestineIcon indicating an associated article is new

Digital Shahid - From Broadcast Media to Citizen Journalism in Palestine

 Gianluca Iazzolina traces developments in Palestinian media from the partisan-dominated 1990s to the more diverse forms of the 21st century. He concludes that information technologies are helping to bridge the gap between Israeli and Palestinian civil societies, allowing them to mirror each other in their most human dimension.




 

Cloud Computing and the Monolithic NarrativeIcon indicating an associated article is new

Cloud Computing and the Monolithic Narrative

 Rami Khater discusses the implications of automated translation based on cloud computing and warns that the subaltern’s narrative and voice could be removed from the interpretation of all human history if our collective knowledge passes through the filters of these trained algorithms.

Catch & Release: Evaluating the Free Kareem CampaignIcon indicating an associated article is new

Catch & Release: Evaluating the Free Kareem Campaign

Courtney C. Radsch argues on the basis of the Kareem Amer case that although cyberactivists and rights organizations are capable of sustained campaigns in defense of freedom of expression, some governments at least are almost impervious to the pressure, even at the cost of significant damage to their international image.

Syrian Dabke Meets Western MediaIcon indicating an associated article is new

Syrian Dabke Meets Western Media

 Leah Caldwell examines Western coverage of the Syrian music and art scene, focusing on the case of dabke musician Omar Souleyman, and says some of the coverage perpetuates the idea that without a Western seal of authenticity on a particular art form, its cultural value is significantly diminished.

Digital Protectionism: Preparing for the coming Internet EmbargoIcon indicating an associated article is new

Rami Khater sees the first signs that the United States and its allies might use their dominance of the Internet as a weapon against their enemies in the Middle East and argues that countries in the region would do well to develop indigenous Internet platforms.




 

Arab Media Wire

Hillary Clinton Says Al Jazeera Is Embarrassing U.S. News ... Clinton said private media is not good enough to handle the job: "Our private media cannot fill that gap. Our private media, particularly cultural programming, often works at counter purposes to what we truly are as Americans. I remember having an Afghan general tell me that the only thing he thought about Americans is that all the men wrestled and the women walked around in bikinis because the only TV he ever saw was Baywatch and World Wide Wrestling."
Social Media and the Egyptian Uprising A panel of international journalists analyzed the role of digital media in the Egyptian Uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak's government at the National Press Club, Feb. 28, 2011.
Internet & Mobile Access and Social Movements: Libya, Madagascar, Beyond Libya is not, in any sense, Egypt, nor is it Tunisia. There are others who could explain the political differences, so allow me to ruminate on two interesting and very relevant factors: Internet and mobile penetration. The stats below are from the International Telecommunications Union–one of several organizations that track such data–but are generally representative.
Eastern Libyan broadcasters revel in new freedom When Muammar Gaddafi demanded to make a speech in the middle of the night, engineers at Benghazi's state radio station were terrified. If a hastily arranged broadcast had problems it could cost them their lives. Since anti-Gaddafi forces shook off the "Brother Leader's" four-decade rule in the eastern third of the country, broadcasters in Libya's second city have been euphoric at the chance to say what they want for the first time.
Wadah Khanfar, director general of the al-Jazeera network, on coverage of Arab revolts "We refused to compromise on our editorial policy, which gives priority to the grievances and aspirations of ordinary people. Neither threats of punishment nor promises of rewards from information ministers, intelligence agencies or royal courts persuaded us to ignore or betray the oppressed and persecuted who demand nothing but freedom, dignity and democracy."
Arab revolt: social media and the people's revolution Country by country Channel 4 News unpicks the key social media elements of revolt throughout the Middle East and assesses how internet communication helped awaken online youth activism.
The Arab Revolution and Social Media The world is watching as Arab citizens in North Africa and the Middle East gather to protest against authoritarian governments, restricted freedom, and poor economic opportunities. Twitter feeds, liveblogs, videos and photos are disseminated across the web almost instantly despite limited internet access in many participating countries. In Western media, platforms like Facebook and Twitter are being credited with helping to propel this “Arab Revolution.” But in countries like Egypt, where only 20% of a population of 80 million people have ever used the Internet, the question is not if but how could digital and social media possibly become the conduit for tens of thousands of protesters?
The Cascading Effects of the Arab Spring The director of the Project on Information Technology and Political Islam argues both the dangers of overemphasizing and ignoring the role of digital media in political change in Egypt and Tunisia.

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