This week, Jadaliyya`s "Media on Media" roundup highlights media response to the death of Israeli leader Shimon Peres. Mainstream western media eulogized Peres by leaving out a key population affected by his policies; meanwhile, Israeli media took the liberty of summarizing Arab media’s reaction to his death.
In a critical look at foreign correspondence, this Ahram article dissects a recently published, critically-hailed article in The New York Times Magazine entitled “Fractured Lands: How the Arab World Came Apart.” The article challenges the notion of assigning a “foreign correspondent” in any one area, arguing that the loss of regional nuance is effectively the price of foreign journalism. Also, due to the high costs of proper foreign reporting, this article shows how one outlet managed to overcome such challenges by completely transforming its methods.
All of these stories, and more, are available below in further detail.
Media and Politics
Arab media remembers Shimon Peres as war criminal, settlement mastermind
Source: Haaretz
An Israeli paper’s round-up of prominent Arab media outlets commenting on the death of Shimon Peres, and how those outlets presented an alternate view of the man deemed a “peace seeker” in the west.
Media hails Shimon Peres as man of peace — but doesn’t bother to ask Arabs
Source: The Intercept
In a direct challenge to Western media’s contribution to the erasure of Palestinian history, the Intercept categorically lists coverage in which only Israelis and Americans are asked about late leader Shimon Peres’ effect on the region, while Palestinian voices are nearly completely omitted.
Why Iraq`s Yazidis are upset over new film depicting IS massacres
Source: Al-Monitor
The Yazidi community of Iraq takes issue with an Iraqi film which does not depict Yazidi’s favorably; this article highlights how sectarianism, gender representation, and taboos are political issues that cross over from the battlefield and into the cinema.
Video: A tale of two Aleppos
Source: Middle East Eye
In light of official Syrian news agency SANA’s recent release of a promotional video depicting West Aleppo’s nightlife scene, this article features an alternate video depicting East Aleppo’s nightmarish hell on earth.
Arab TV host cheers secular writer’s assassination on television
Souce: The Washington Post
Out of thousands disgruntled by Nahed Hattar’s recent political assassination, The Washington Post has highlighted the one Egyptian TV host who has outspokenly cheered the incident.
Culture
How Arab cinema is making a name for itself at the world’s biggest film festivals
Source: Independent
Commenting on the Arab film industry, this article critically assesses a number of films that are gaining traction in the international film circuit.
Culture minister steals show by blasting Israeli Oscars
Source: Al-Monitor
The Israeli Minister of Culture stormed out of the audience during a reading of Mahmoud Darwish’s poem, "ID Card," during an Israeli film and television award ceremony. The recitation and subsequent walk-out at the awards highlight the precarious role Palestinians have in Israel’s television and cinema industry.
Arab-American comedy: Making America laugh again
Source: Al Jazeera
A group of Arab-American professional comedians are making headlines as they continue with their fully-booked shows for the 13th year in a row.
Media Industries
“شام اف ام" تنافس "الجزيرة"
المصدر: جريدة السفير
تشير المقالة إلى دراسة أجريت مؤخراً عن جمهور الإعلام السوري، ومدى قدرة وسائل اعلامية محلية من التغيير في مجريات الاحداث مقارنة بوسائل اعلامية ضخمة كالجزيرة.
Jordanian media NGO launches series of PSAs to combat extremism
Source: Al-Arabiya
In another attempt to instrumentalize media through nonstate agencies, a new effort is being made to quell radicalism where a Jordanian NGO (not the government) has released several TV and radio PSA spots aimed at combating extremism.
You can now watch your ‘Musalsalat’ on YouTube
Source: Stepfeed
Google is attempting to lure in Arab TV series viewers by releasing a Netflix-clone service dubbed ‘Musalsalat’-- with one extra feature: it is completely free of charge.
التورنت: لماذا ننسحب من حربنا الرابحة
المصدر: مدوّنة حبر
تلقي هذه المقالة الضوء على مواقع القرصنة، ومدى انتشارها في اوساط الشباب العربي خاصة وانها تسمح للوصول الى مواد اعلامية غير متاحة بغير طرق.
Freedom of Journalists/Expression
IDF Censor redacts 1 in 5 articles it reviews for publication
Source: +972 Magazine
The article provides empirical data on the amount of censored articles and redacted material since 2011, and what is published and what is not.
Shutting Arab minds and mouths lead to disaster
Source: Middle East Online
In this article, Rami Khouri is blaming the lack of means for proper citizenship and participation in the public sphere to have caused the complete destruction of all notions of a proper democracy in the Arab world.
Do press freedoms exist in the Middle East?
Source: Ynetnews
As journalists continue to be oppressed and pressured in the Arab world, this article aims to look into the state of journalism in a number of Arab countries.
Israel increases attacks on journalists
Source: Middle East Monitor
Briefly citing the continuous harassments of Palestinian journalists, this piece calls for the freeing of 26 journalists who are still being held captive in Israeli prisons.
Saudi police arrest teen for making video with US `vlogger`
Source: Middle East Eye
Abu Sin, a Saudi Youtuber, has recently gone ‘viral’ as his video with American vlogger ‘Christina’ spread like wildfire, raising questions about online freedom of expression versus ‘unethical’ behaviour (knowing that it is a punishable offense in the kingdom).
12 Kurdish and Alevi TV stations closed in Turkey, as crackdown extended
Source: Middle East Eye
Turkish government’s efforts to control media after the failed coup attempt continue, this time by shutting down a Kurdish-language children`s channel, among many others.
Social Media
New York launches drive against Islamophobia
Source: Middle East Eye
Hoping to reduce heightened levels of xenophobia and Islamophobia among Americans (ahead of the presidential elections), a new social media campaign aims to depict tolerance and acceptance.
Egypt approves spyware to monitor internet users
Source: Middle East Monitor
In another step towards tightening the grip on freedom of expression, Egyptian online users will have to endure yet another ‘protective measure’ for Internet usage in order to ensure that there are no “security risks.”
Sisi`s breakfast with `simple` family outrages Egyptians
Source: Middle East Eye
In shadow of the growing economic crisis in Egypt, Sisi’s appearance eating with a modest Egyptian family has led to endless streams of tweets and commentary surrounding the goals behind such a stunt.
Dunkin’ Donuts Egypt ad: ‘Blackness equals half beauty’
Source: Middle East Monitor
A racist Dunkin Donut franchise ad causes a wave of protest among Egyptian social media users.
Media Practices
‘The Narrative’ derails proportion, drives fear after terrorist attacks
Source: Columbia Journalism Review
Although not directly incorporating Middle East media, this article urges a change in narrative in the coverage of terrorist attacks, saying that it needs be proportionate and remain under control to avoid initiating frenzy and panic among viewers.
Coverage by omission: The dilemma of foreign correspondence
Source: ahramonline
In this article Fatemah Farag questions the process of ‘foreign correspondence’ with international media outlets, citing the pitfalls and problems that the recently published ‘Fractured Lands’ by NYT has served to highlight for the concept of forreign correspondence.
`Thou shall not discriminate`: New rules for Israeli journalists
Source: +972 Magazine
A new law has been approved to guarantee the equal coverage and representations of Palestinian citizens of Israel, aiming for a better representation of ‘reality’.
`Rolling Blackouts` and the doomed state of foreign reporting
Source: Newsweek
Although it doesn’t always question the nature of the new bottom-line pressures on the profitability of news organizations, this article examines how foreign reporting has come to be seen as too costly by many US institutions.
Peter van Agtmael Revisits Ten Years of Photographing the Wars of Iraq and Afghanistan
Source: British Journal of Photography
This interview with Peter van Agtmael he recalls his experience as a photographer covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Others
موقع OrientXXI يطفئ شمعته الثالثة: الإعلام الفرنسي قادر على إنصاف العرب
المصدر: صحيفة الأخبار
بمناسبة مرور ثلاث سنوات على انطلاق الموقع، تسلّط هذه المقالة الضوء على كيفية التعاطي الاعلامي في المواضيع التي تعنى بالشباب، بفريق العمل المتعدد الخلفيات، على عكس العديد من وسائل الإعلام العربية.
From Jadaliyya Media Roundups
Since the beginning of the third Intifada, Israel has ramped up attacks on journalists
Source: Palestine Media Roundup
At least twenty-six journalists are still detained by Israel, in direct violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19, which calls for freedom of expression without any restrictions. The journalists were arrested for reporting on the occupation in the West Bank.
Advertisement published by New York Times promotes racist segregationist zionist Agenda
Source: Palestine Media Roundup
The whole point of the ad is to remind the readers to preserve the homogenous Jewish state, and to fear a supposed existential threat from Palestine and the influx of Arab influence.
How video games are influencing war propaganda in Syria
Source: Syria Media Roundup
The generation that grew up playing modern video games is now making media about war that reflects those influences, including in Syria, where militias are producing sophisticated propaganda films employing tropes from Western popular culture.”
[The "Media On Media Roundup" is an initiative to survey published material in the news and broadcast media that deals with journalism, coverage, or mass communication practices about the region. These roundups are produced and curated in collaboration with the American University of Beirut`s Media Studies Program. The items collected here do not reflect the views of Jadaliyya or the editors of the Media Page.]