New Issue of Arab Media & Society

The latest issue of Arab Media & Society is out and it's an interesting and provocative read. Earlier we wrote about Egypt Blogs America another project from Larry Pintak who is the co-publisher and editor of Arab Media & Society.

Mark Harmon explores whether, "affluenza," the thesis/meme proposed by British scholar Oliver James applies to Arab youth. Oliver James's thesis asserts "that there is a correlation between the increasing nature of affluenza and the resulting increase in material inequality: the more unequal a society, the greater the unhappiness of its citizens." Harmon's article asks whether "media consumption will correlate positively with higher levels of materialistic traits." Although, Harmon acknowledges that the survey data he is using was not intended for such analysis, he posits that the growth of satellite programming in the Middle East could be resulting in a similar societal result (i.e. more materialism, media and unhappiness). During our collaboration with Nashwa Al Ruwaini in our Live from Doha project, we were struck by the appropriation of popular western television programs into a decidedly Arab paradigm. Nashwa's top-rated program, "Poet of Millions," is a poetry competition on par in popularity with American Idol. It is at once indigenous -- Bedouin poetry competition -- and yet opulent. I hope that Harmon extends his research further.

Courtney Radsch, a Dubai-based a Ph.D. candidate at American University and Associate Editor for AlArabiya.net chronicles the evolution of Egypt's blogger community offering that Egyptian bloggers, since 1993, have gone through a period of evolution from "experimentation" to "activist" to "diversification and fragmentation". She has some interesting quotes from early bloggers from the region, which was both informative as to who is, was and is still blogging as well as what they have to say about it. One of her concluding assertions with which I and other US bloggers would certainly take issue is

In America blogs have been to some extent professionalized and co-opted by the mainstream media, big business and even professional politicians, but the Egyptian blogosphere remains a domain of alterity eschewed by professionals who less often see value in blogging or equate blogging with risky political activity.

While I think it is safe to assert that US corporate and political arms have entered into the US blogosphere to say that blogs have been "co-opted" is probably a bit much. I think what we've seen a maturation of the concept which has brought successful, for-profit players into the field. But independent blogging voices in the US abound.

My favorite read of the mix of new articles is by Arab Media & Society editor Larry Pintak (disclosure, DIP is now working on a virtual worlds project with Larry). Pintak, who spent most of his career covering politics and conflict in the Middle East spent this past summer in Indonesia, "a vast and complex nation that is home to more Muslims than all Arab countries put together." His essay explores lessons to be gleaned from the Indonesian model of managing the media, if you will. He lived in Indonesia in the late 1990s at time in which media outlets were driven underground by government crackdowns. He returned this year to find outlets once suppressed now booming a decade later. He paints a picture of his return home to Cairo that is almost Orwellian in its absurdity, a "bizarre fatwa ordering death to TV station owners who broadcast “immoral” programs, the follow-up fatwa prescribing flogging for journalists who criticize clerics."

DIP was in nearby Malaysia last year speaking at the Global Knowledge Partnership Summit where we found a vibrant and diverse community of cultures in this Muslim nation. In the course of our Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds research we've come to some interesting discoveries about how the manifestation of cultural identity and expression, especially free expression and media are revealing themselves. Perceptions of Islam veer wildly from region to region. And expression of religion does as well.

For public diplomacy folks, Carola Richter's analysis of Deutsche-Welle's Arab-language broadcasting is a worthwhile read, as well as David Faris's first-person account of how social networking tools are being used for political action.

Check it out.