commbox Middle East & North Africa

Local media in transitional fragile states: The cases of Iraq and Libya

Carola Richter, Anja Wollenberg, Reda Fhelboom

Journal of Alternative and Community Media, volume 7, issue 2 (2023), pp. 137-155

"Local media that cater to their local communities are still rare in Arab countries due to government control and centralization of media production. In some transitional states, however, we observe a mushrooming of new local small media initiatives after regulation modes have changed. Yet, these me ... more

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Die Hydra des Dschihadismus: Entstehung, Ausbreitung und Abwehr einer globalen Gefahr

Asiem El Difraoui

Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (bpb), Sonderausg. (2023), 366 pp.

"Die grausamen Handlungen dschihadistischer Gruppierungen wie der „Al-Qaida“ oder des „Islamischen Staates“ schockieren und verbreiten Angst. Immer wieder scheinen neue Attentäter nachzurücken, ein Phänomen, das Asiem El Difraoui mit den stets nachwachsenden Köpfen einer Hydra vergleicht ... more

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FAO Yemen communication strategy and workplan for 2023: Saving livelihoods saves lives

Rome: FAO (2023), 9 pp.

"This Communication Strategy takes a holistic approach to communication. Additionally, it takes a long-term view in implementing effective ways of influencing discourses within the information environment. The communication strategy underlines the fact that all FAO activities have an important infor ... more

Enslaved. Trapped and Trafficked in Digital Black Holes: Human Trafficking Trajectories to Libya

Mirjam van Reisen, Munyaradzi Mawere, Klara Smits, Morgane Wirtz (eds.)

Bamenda: Langaa (2023), xxix, 791 pp.

"Eritrean refugees are being trafficked and enslaved in Libya, where they are tortured to force relatives to pay a ransom for their release. Labelled with a digital code, they are moved along in the possession of the traffickers through a series of ‘black holes’, in which their access to digital ... more

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La télé dans les bidonvilles: Réceptions des messages politiques télévisés dans le quartier marginalisé des chiffonniers du Caire

Catherine Gaber

Paris: L'Harmattan (2023), 342 pp.

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Media Loves Tech: Impact Stories

Asma Habidi, Benoit Faedo, Leah Winnett, Louisa Wright

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2023), 24 pp.

"MEDIA LOVES TECH is the name and the idea behind this project that got underway in 2018. The goal is to bring together two worlds that are often too far apart: journalism and the startup community. Together with Al Khatt, a local project partner and non-governmental media organization, we wanted to ... scout, promote, develop and test innovations for the media sector. That same year, a legal support framework for startups in Tunisia came into effect, structured around a label of merit and benefits for entrepreneurs, investors and startups. Just like MEDIA LOVES TECH, it aims to support development through bold entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas. Since its launch, the annual MEDIA LOVES TECH incubation program, financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), supports eight to twelve startups. Implemented almost entirely online, and originally as a three-day mentor-supported hackathon, it has grown to become an incubation cycle that lasts three months. It promotes all phases of a startup — from the original idea to market entry. It has been five years since the program was started and it is still going strong. This publication is an initial assessment. Does the belief that progress comes from promoting innovation hold true? Can promoting new media projects with viable business models succeed in an unstable economic or political environment? One needs to look at various aspects to find answers. It is often said that over 90 percent of startups go under in the first two years. Still, startups are often seen as a forerunner to economic development and as having a stimulating effect on the overall economy. Even if initiatives do flop, their traces can still be found in the ecosystem. When assessing the MEDIA LOVES TECH program, it is worth reflecting on what has been achieved and gaining insights for the future. Five projects are presented here. Our team has taken an in-depth look at the projects’ stories and progress and includes key performance indicators. Measuring impact in an unsteady startup environment can be a challenge, and our success stories address this. But as we at DW Akademie believe, “big changes start small,” and so do the startups presented here." (Foreword) more

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The Handbook of Media and Culture in the Middle East

Joe F. Khalil, Gholam Khiabany, Tourya Guaaybess, Bilge Yesil (eds.)

New Jersey: Wiley Blackwell (2023), xvi, 550 pp.

"Rather than viewing the Middle East as a monolithic culture, this Handbook examines the diverse and multi-local characteristics of the region’s knowledge production, dynamic media, and rich cultures. It addresses a wide range of topics, including the evolving mainstream and alternative media, com ... more

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Histories of Children's Television Around the World
Top Insights

Yuval Gozansky (ed.)

New York et al.: Peter Lang (2023), viii, 288 pp.

"This edited book based on a collective effort of researchers and professionals dedicated to compile the stories of children's television around the world. With 12 national chapters, the book includes historical accounts of children's television from the following countries: Australia, Brazil, Canad ... more

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Reporting on Sexual Violence in the #MeToo Era

Andrea Baker, Usha Manchanda Rodrigues (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xvi, 207 pp.

"Bringing together 15 journalism scholars from around the world, this book explores and offers solutions to the common issues and inadequacies of reporting on sexual violence in the media. Presenting a range of conceptual, methodological, and empirical chapters, the book tackles issues related to, o ... more

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The Routledge Handbook of Media Education Futures Post-Pandemic

Yonty Friesem, Usha Raman, Igor Kanižaj, Grace Y. Choi (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xxvi, 531 pp.

"Combining an innovative mix of traditional chapters, autoethnography, case studies, and dialogue within an intercultural framework, the handbook focuses on the future of media education and provides a deeper understanding of the challenges and affordances of media education as we move forward. Topi ... more

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Digital Dissidence and Social Media Censorship in Africa

Farooq A. Kperogi (ed.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), 292 pp.

"Drawing on cases from across the continent, contributors explore the form and nature of social media and government censorship, often via antisocial media laws, or less overt tactics such as state cybersurveillance, spyware attacks on social media activists, or the artful deployment of the rhetoric ... more

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Reporting the MENA as Conflict: Political Influences, Routine Practices, and Journalists' Struggles in the Field

Claudia Kozman

In: The Routledge Companion to Journalism in the Global South

Bruce Mutsvairo; Saba Bebawi; Eddy Borges-Rey (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), pp. 260-268

"Working in a conflict-ridden region, journalists in the Middle East have always struggled to report fairly and accurately while keeping in mind the power structures in their countries. For these journalists, practicing journalism in mostly authoritative governments has meant facing additional hurdl ... more

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Is the Arab Audience Willing to Pay for Online News? Predictors of Their Paying Intent

Elsayed Bekhit Darwish

Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, volume 16, issue 1 (2023), pp. 35-53

"This study examines to what extent Arab audiences are willing to support these strategies, and what factors influence their willingness to pay (WTP) for online news, using a survey of 530 adults. The study found most of the public is not willing to pay for online newspapers, but are willing to pay ... more

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Examining Terrorism, Extremism and Radicalization Through a Peace Communication Perspective

Flora Khoo (ed.)

New York: Peter Lang (2023), 322 pp.

"This edited book expands the applicability of peace journalism research beyond war to cover terrorism and radicalization, an issue that has not yet been touched by peace journalism scholars." (Publisher description)

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Mixed Methods Perspectives on Communication and Social Media Research

Reynaldo Gacho Segumpan, Joanna Soraya Abu Zahari (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2023), xxviii, 280 pp.

"Mixed Methods Perspectives on Communication and Social Media Research addresses the need for a discipline-cum-methodology-tailored book that navigates the current research spectrum of communication and social media ("CommSocMed"). It examines contemporary and relevant issues that intertwine the exp ... more

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Traumatic Past in the Present: COVID-19 and Holocaust Memory in Israeli Media, Digital Media, and Social Media

Liat Steir-Livny

Media, Culture & Society, volume 44, issue 3 (2022), pp. 464-478

"The COVID-19 pandemic began in 2019, spread to the rest of the world in 2020 and still holds nations in its grip in 2021. There is scant research on the way it has affected Holocaust awareness. Based on scholarly work on Holocaust awareness in Israel, the top-down memory of the Holocaust in the med ... more

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