Green, Lelia. Technoculture: From Alphabet to Cybersex. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin. 2002. ISBN 1 86508 048 9 [paperback]. 254 pages. Reviewed by Thomas E.R. Maguire, Department of Radio, Television and Film, University of Texas at Austin, USA. Lelia Green provides a comprehensive and refreshingly non-messianic theory of culture and …
Read More »Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East
Sakr, Naomi. Satellite Realms: Transnational Television, Globalization and the Middle East. London: I.B. Tauris & Co., Ltd., 2001. 266 pages. Soft cover ISBN: 1-86064-689-1. US$22.50 soft cover, US$69 hardbound. Reviewed by Dr. Ralph D. Berenger, the American University in Cairo. If Satellite Realms merely documented transnational broadcasting in the Middle East, and the …
Read More »Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends
McPhail, Thomas L. Global Communication: Theories, Stakeholders, and Trends. Paperback. Allyn and Bacon: Boston. 2002. Paperback. 272 pages. ISBN 0-205-5635-5. US$49. Reviewed by Ralph D. Berenger, the American University in Cairo. Just as media delivery systems are converging from separate mass media subtypes, so are the once-distinct, unhomogenized fields of the …
Read More »Voyeur Nation: media, Privacy, and Peering in Modern Culture
Clay Calvert. Voyeur Nation: media, Privacy, and Peering in Modern Culture. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 2000. 274 pages. ISBN 0-8133-6627-5. US$25. Reviewed by Dr. Ralph D. Berenger, the American University in Cairo. As transnational broadcasters rush toward privatization, calling for more democratization and transparency by more laissez-faire governments, Clay Calvert's Voyeur Nation should be thoughtfully …
Read More »Electronic Media & the Arab-Islamic World
This paper was presented at a seminar on "Media and the Muslim world" held at George Washington University's Department of Religion in April 2002. Our topic-Media and the Muslim world-is broad enough to support a two-day conference and susceptible enough to change, given the nature of media and the circumstances …
Read More »From the Editors
TBS 9 goes online under the shadow of an imminent second war between an American-led alliance and Iraq. How extraordinary have been the developments in transnational satellite broadcasting in the 11 or 12 years (depending whether you date the Gulf War, as the Kuwaitis do, from the Iraqi invasion in …
Read More »A New Order Of Information In The Arab Broadcasting System
Introduction: The Re-Structuring Of The Arab Broadcasting Space A process of restructuring of the Arab broadcasting space began in the mid 1990s. It has given rise to a metamorphosed and completely new media scene, manifested in the expansion and the liberalisation of transnational satellite channels. The technological innovations that led …
Read More »Transnational Broadcast Services and Their Impact on the Peace Process in the Middle East
At the beginning of the new millennium and almost a quarter of a century after the Camp David accords that established hope for peace in the Middle East, a comprehensive peace is still a dream and Arab-Israeli relations are at a peak in terms of conflict and disagreement. Israel and …
Read More »Satellite TV Welcomed at The Cairo Film Festival
The role of satellite television, particularly those channels making intensive use of movies in their programming, was acknowledged as an increasingly important factor in the film industry during the 26th Cairo Film Festival (October 15-25, 2002). "Satellite channels with films have helped create a new outlet for independent films." Ismail …
Read More »On-demand and Interactive – TV’s Fifth Generation
The Arab World is at the dawn of a new entertainment era. Communication technology revolution and the expansion of new media in the region have led the way to the effective delivery of on-demand entertainment and introduced a unique opportunity for passive Middle Eastern viewers to become active users and …
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