"This book focuses on eight films by some of the nation's best-known directors, including Man of Ashes (1986), Bezness (1992), and Making Of (2006) by Nouri Bouzid, Halfaouine (1990) by Férid Boughedir, The Silences of the Palace (1994) by Moufida Tlatli, Essaïda (1997) by Mohamed Zran, Bedwin Hac
...
ker (2002) by Nadia El Fani, and The TV Is Coming (2006) by Moncef Dhouib. It explores the political economy and social, historical, and psychoanalytic dimensions of these works and the strategies filmmakers deployed to preserve cinema's ability to shape debates about national identity. These debates, the book argues, not only helped initiate the 2011 uprising that ousted Ben Ali's regime but also did much to inform and articulate the aspirations of the Tunisian people in the new millennium." (Publisher description)
more
"According to the Danida website "The Danish Arab Partnership Programme (DAPP) is a long-term programme with the dual objectives of 1) supporting local reform processes in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) and 2) Establishing a basis for improved dialogue, understanding and cooperation
...
between Arab countries and Denmark. Media support has been the biggest programme under the DAPP with a total of 178 million DKK (approx. Euro 24 Mio) being allocated to these activities during the period 2005-2012. The evaluation applies OECD/DAC’s five criteria: relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, (emerging) impacts, and sustainability to answer the overall evaluation questions, including whether and how the media cooperation activities have contributed to media reform in the Arab countries and to enhanced dialogue between professional media partners in Arab countries and in Denmark. Other key questions include the extent to which DAPP and MCP programmes and projects have been able to adjust and respond to the dynamic changes in the region and which lessons can be learned for future media cooperation and professionalization of the media in the MENA region". The overall study frame included 20 different regional and country programmes. Five countries were assessed: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Yemen and Tunisia. The intervention areas sampled for assessments were: investigative journalism, media monitoring, legal reform, online media, public service broadcasting (PSB), documentary filmmaking and twinnings." (commbox)
more
"In assessing attitudes toward the media, one notable finding was a vote of confidence for improved quality of news media reporting between 2011 and 2013 with a majority of adults agreeing that it has improved in six of the eight countries surveyed. This optimism is also reflected in overall percept
...
ions of media credibility in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and the UAE, while less so in more volatile states including Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. Internet use is strongest in the Gulf countries—UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and lowest in the most populous Arab country, Egypt, which appears in question after question to be a media-poor country in spite of its large population. Only in Qatar is the internet regarded as a more important source of news than is television. In all countries respondents are multi-media users, of course. In the midst of great enthusiasm for the internet, the importance of satellite television, notably Al Jazeera, is the most popular source for news and public affairs across the region. While its popularity varies by country depending on local sources of news and other factors, Al Jazeera was mentioned by respondents in every country surveyed as a top source of news. At the same time, social networking is nearly universal among those online and no other social media site comes close to Facebook in popularity. Twitter and Google+ also get high marks in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and UAE. Although critics once complained “that the internet only speaks English,” Arabic language use exceeded that of English across the region on most media platforms." (Introduction, page 8)
more
"By delving into the detailed account of the Tunisian uprising, this article offers an explanation that sets the 2010 uprising apart from its precursors. The 2010 uprising was successful because activists successfully managed to bridge geographical and class divides as well as to converge offline an
...
d online activisms. Such connection and convergence were made possible, first, through the availability of dramatic visual evidence that turned a local incident into a spectacle. Second, by successful frame alignment with a master narrative that culturally and politically resonated with the entire population. Third, by activating a hybrid network made of the connective structures to facilitate collective action – among Tunisians who shared collective identities and collective frames – and connective action – among individuals who sought more personalized paths to contribute to the movement through digital media." (Abstract)
more
"Through the methodological framework of the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), the report measures the extent to which 144 economies, from both the developed and developing worlds, take advantage of ICTs and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being. The NRI identifies the most r
...
elevant factors driving ICT readiness and impacts, providing policymakers, business leaders, and civil society at large with a useful tool for designing national strategies for increased networked readiness and for benchmarking their country’s performance against other relevant comparators. The Global Information Technology Report 2013 features the latest computation and rankings of the NRI, and in referring to this year’s theme, dives deeper into the connection between ICTs and economic growth and job creation. As in previous years, it also showcases a number of ICT development stories of particular interest. In addition, the report includes detailed profiles for the 144 economies covered this year together with data tables for each of the 54 indicators used in the computation of the NRI." (Back cover)
more
"Freedom House has conducted a comprehensive study of internet freedom in 60 countries around the world. This report is the fourth in a series and focuses on developments that occurred between May 2012 and April 2013. The previous edition, covering 47 countries, was published in September 2012. 'Fre
...
edom on the Net 2013' assesses a greater variety of political systems than its predecessors, while tracing improvements and declines in the countries examined in the previous editions. Over 70 researchers, nearly all based in the countries they analyzed, contributed to the project examining laws and practices relevant to the internet, testing the accessibility of select websites, and interviewing a wide range of sources. Of the 60 countries assessed, 34 have experienced a negative trajectory since May 2012." (Page 2)
more
"Fostering a participatory political culture is a crucial part of the on-going transformation processes which we witness across North African and Middle Eastern countries since 2011. This paper considers which role participatory communication plays in these processes, by examining the potential of c
...
itizens’ radios to accompany Tunisia’s transition at a grassroots level. Analysing the case of Radio 6 Tunis – a local, non-commercial Internet-radio founded by Tunisian journalists under the rule of Ben Ali in 2007 – citizens’ radios are discussed as sites of political contestation and cultivation of critical consciousness. While they empower citizens to reclaim both their voice and public space, their influence is however limited. The manifold challenges which citizens' radios face in the transitional context of post-autocratic Tunisia, may well impede nascent democratisation dynamics." (Abstract)
more
"This article discusses the role of ‘cyberactivism’ or the role played by new media in paving the way for political transformation, in both the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions of 2011. It starts with a discussion of the potentials of cyberactivism in both of these revolutions, especially how t
...
hese new types of social media can act as effective tools for supporting the capabilities of the democratic activists by allowing forums for free speech and political networking opportunities; providing a virtual space for assembly; supporting the capability of the protestors to plan, organize and execute peaceful protests, while documenting the protests and governmental reactions to them; and providing forums for collaboration between the Tunisian and the Egyptian activists. It also sheds light on some of the limitations of the role of social media in both of these revolutions and highlights some of the overlaps and divergences between the role of cyberactivism in both of them, through comparing the similarities and differences in contexts, actors and tools." (Abstract)
more
"A state-of-the-art analysis of the situation of national television in Arab countries, addressing what Arab national broadcastings today say about public policy and political opening. The essays deal with the reforms of public broadcasting organizations and the evolution, perspectives and issues of
...
national broadcasting." (Publisher description)
more
"Die Studie eines Autorenteams der Universität Erfurt geht der Frage nach, ob der "Arabische Frühling" als großes Medienereignis in der Lage war, eingefahrene journalistische Nachrichtenroutinen der deutschen Presse aufzubrechen und zu verändern. Wurde das Islambild differenziert oder wurde es l
...
ediglich kurzfristig überlagert von dem populären Bild eines scheinbar jugendlichen und nach "westlichen" Werten strebenden Volksaufstandes? Neben einer umfangreichen Inhaltsanalyse wurden Interviews in den Redaktionen der überregionalen deutschen Presse geführt." (Verlagsbeschreibung)
more
"The study “Tunisia: from revolutions to institutions” stresses how technology-oriented small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) can generate economic expansion and job growth, including in the economically-isolated interior provinces. Tunisian ICT companies are likely to find an attractive marke
...
t in Northern Africa and parts of Europe, thanks to Arabic and French language skills and lower labor costs. Entrepreneurs, however, expressed frustration with the cost of doing business and government control of critical markets, which was installed by the previous regime. They also recognized the need for a more market-responsive higher education system that produces graduates with more up-to-date and practical knowledge. Central to the Tunisian revolution of 2011, ICTs remain critically important to helping address the root causes that led to the uprising in the first place, according to the report. New technologies and applications are necessary to creating a vibrant economy that produces sustainable jobs for the country’s young population and helping to constitute an open and transparent society." (www.infodev.org, March 20, 2012)
more
"This is the first scholarly analysis of how young women used social media and cyberactivism to help shape the “Arab Spring” and its aftermath. It argues that women's engagement with social media has coincided with a shift in the political landscape of the Middle East, and it is unlikely that th
...
ey will ever retreat from the new arenas they have carved out for themselves because they have reconfigured the public sphere in their countries, as well as the expectations of the public about the role women can and should play in the political lives of their countries."
more
"Drawing on evidence from the popular protests in Tunisia between December 2010 and January 2011, expert interviews with Tunisian bloggers, and a web survey conducted among Tunisian Facebook users, this paper argues that social media (1) allowed a “digital elite” to form personal networks and ci
...
rcumvent the national media blackout by brokering information for outside mainstream media; (2) helped to overcome the “free rider” problem of collective action by reporting the magnitude of protest events; and (3) facilitated the formation of a national collective identity which was supportive of protest action and transcended geographical and socio-economic disparities by providing a shared, mobilizing element of emotional grievance." (Abstract)
more
"The present study is a review of the mission of public service broadcasting in eight countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It examines the books of specifications and the legal frameworks that regulate public broadcasting as well as it looks into the means made available to implement it. F
...
urthermore it analyses segments of the programmes to assess the extent to which national television channels actually deliver a mission of public service. The present book represents the synthesis of research work conducted by NGOs and associate experts to the Institut PANOS Paris and to the Observatoire méditerranéen de la communication in all of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Tunisia. The outcome of this research varies greatly from country to country, whereas in some cases the failure to deliver a mission of public service is obvious, there are also examples of programming that indicate attempts to make some headway towards the ideals of public service broadcasting." (Publisher description)
more
"The Tunisian media is still a venue for manipulation, intimidation, and bias. Media outlets are becoming the main stage for the fierce political and ideological battle between the country’s opposing camps: conservative Islamists and secular elitists. Ennahda, the Islamist winner of the first free
...
elections in the history of this deeply secular country, gradually awakened to the ongoing influence of the national media and turned to old regime tactics. The Islamist party and its supporters are raising their voices against what they view as the “leftist lobbies” that are turning the media into a weapon against government policies. The true liberalization of the media sector will be impossible without the training that instills professional standards in the industry and helps members of the Tunisian media overcome entrenched habits. Guaranteeing journalists a degree of job security must also be a priority. As long as working conditions remain a concern and journalists are unable to secure decent contracts with reasonable stability and salaries, the quality of content will not be a priority." (Summary, page 1)
more
"This article deals with the increasing connections among the Tunisian diaspora and its homeland provided by a widespread use of the social Web. The main aim is to evaluate to what extent the Tunisian diaspora has contributed to a wider diffusion of cyberactivism concerning legitimate claims for dem
...
ocracy and human rights, considered as one of the main driving forces behind the 2011 revolution. After introducing some epistemological and methodological issues related to the study of the Web, the paper deepens the history of Tunisian migrants’ online activism in order to grasp connections with the later configuration of the cyberdissidence in the homeland. The last section is dedicated to interpretation of the graphs, in order to compare the research hypothesises with the results stemming from the e-Diaspora project methodology." (Abstract)
more