Stephen Marmura tries to explain the persistence of mistaken beliefs about 9/11 and about the rationale for invading Iraq among the US and Egyptian publics, concluding that memories and long-term discourses sometimes outweigh short-term media effects.

David Faris looks at the role bloggers played in the campaign to enable Egypt's tiny Baha'i minority to obtain identity cards without identifying themselves as Muslims or Christians. He traces the links between a handful of Baha'i bloggers, a wider circle of sympathetic activist bloggers and some key people in the mainstream media. He concludes that the sustained online attention which the plight of Baha’is appears to have won in the end made it difficult for the Egyptian government to countenance the continued violation of Baha’i rights.

The Arab world's news duopoly is set for a shake-up, and the main contenders are two ventures that are connected to one of the world's biggest media organizations, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Beirut-based journalist Paul Cochrane looks at the latest developments.

Ingrid Wassman reports on the effects the Internet, satellite television, and other cyber technologies are having on marriage, relationships, and gender interaction in Egypt’s traditionally conservative society

David A. Rousu argues that Iraq now qualifies as having a diverse media, despite some government ownership and occasional instances in which the authorities have used legal provisions against media organizations .

Leah Caldwell looks at the travails of Syrian cleric Abdul Rahman Kuki and what his trial means for what public figures in Syria can say, and what indeed they must say

Shereen El Feki reviews Arab Television Industries by Marwan Kraidy and Joe F. Khalil, and Reality Television and Arab Politics: contention in public life, also by Marwan M. Kraidy

Aaron Wenner reviews (Un)Civil War of Words: Media and Politics in the Arab World by Mamoun Fandy, concluding that it is an interesting and timely argument for a more nuanced understanding of the political and social role of Arab media, but would be much stronger if it had more specific case studies, a clearer conception of its terms, and a more precise focus.

The complete text of U.S. House of Representatives resolution 2278, which would penalize satellite providers that contract with broadcasters such as al-Manar and al-Aqsa. The US Senate has not yet acted on the resolution

Sheyma Buali, after attending the annual Arab Media Forum in Bahrain, comments on the elephant in the room that many participants were reluctant to address