People are on the move across the Arab world, organizing politically in new ways. The Arab media have also undergone a transformation and are still in a state of flux. It is therefore crucial to be able to discuss political initiatives in the region in the light of media developments. This authoritative book answers key questions about the connections between media and political change in the Arab world. Using research into, for example, practices of Internet users, journalists, demonstrators and producers of reality TV, it explores the interface between public interaction over the airwaves,...

In transcending territorial boundaries, satellite television has the potential to liberate viewers from government controls on national media. Why in the Middle East has this potential liberation yet to be fully realized? This book explores the development through the 21st century of cross-border television in the region, exploring issues at the heart of the international political economy of communication.

Is today's changing media landscape in the Middle East empowering women? This is the first book to address the dynamics of media ecology and women's advancement in the contemporary Middle East. The book spans a wide period, crosses the region and the media forms, from Iran's women's press, via Maghrebi women filmmakers and Egyptian political films, to Palestinian TV and Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar. It takes as its starting point the diverse experiences and multi-layered identities of women and treats media institutions and practices as part of wider power relations in society. By...