VOL. V NO. 10, April 24-May 7, 2009

Arab Media Tackle 'Change and Crisis' at Annual Forum

Organized by the Dubai Press Club, the Arab Media Forum "will be attended by well over 600 top media persons from all across the Arab world and beyond, making it the largest and most significant media gathering in the Middle East," reports Gulf News.

With the slogan "Arab Media: Weathering a Period of Change and Crisis," the Forum will be held on May 11 and 12 at the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. The Forum will conclude with the Arab Journalism Awards to honor outstanding work in Arabic-language journalism, continues the news site.

As part of the Forum, remarks Gulf News in a separate article, award-winning American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh will deliver a keynote address touching on "the fundamentals of investigative journalism, his own experiences in the Middle East chasing stories, the current political situation in the region following the Obama presidency and recent international developments."

The Forum will feature a plethora of workshops covering a variety of issues relative to the Arab media landscape. Specifically, "three workshops will focus on the growth of private TV channels in Egypt, the proliferation of fatwa programs, and the emergence of popular heritage channels in the Arab world," reports AME Info.

The Egyptian workshop "will look at the immense growth of private channels in Egypt in recent times," including "bold programs that deal with Egyptian and Arab issues with grit and professionalism," notes the news site. The workshop entitled " From Terrestrial Fatwa to Satellite Fatwa" will investigate "the phenomenon of instant fatwa, an issue that raises a number of questions about the credibility and propriety of this whole exercise." Finally, the third television workshop will analyze the emergence of channels devoted to popular heritage which " either convert heritage-related concepts into mere entertainment and recreation, or rake up sectarian issues, regional disputes and tribal animosities," according to AME Info.

In addition to those on television, several workshops will highlight developments in print media and new media. AME Info reports that the Forum will host a workshop "on the growth and decline of daily newspapers in the Arab world and the West respectively," entitled "Daily Newspapers: Crisis in the West, Growth in the Arab World."

Print media in the Arab world have "seen an expansion in more than one country, such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and the number of daily publications have multiplied," notes the news site. Discussion at this workshop will focus on the challenges facing print media in light of advancements in the communications technology.

In terms of new media, the Forum will "look at the latest developments in new media in the region, which has seen tremendous growth in recent times thanks to the electronic revolution," continues AME Info. The news site argues that developments in new media are "sure to have a direct impact on cognitive and moral fabric, particularly of the younger generations."

In further coverage of the approaching Forum, Gulf Times also discusses the phenomenon of Arabic versions of foreign TV channels – a topic to be covered in Dubai. Over the past few years, "after the arrival of the American Al-Hurra, BBC and the German DTC FILI, Russian and French channels also made their appearance," notes the news site.

"The mushrooming of Arabic versions of foreign television channels raises a number of pertinent questions about their true objectives as well as the way the outside is looking at the Arab world," remarks Maryam Bin Fahad, Executive Director of the Dubai Press Club.

The Forum will conclude with a debate on Gaza that will "center around the media coverage of the war in Gaza, especially the divisions within the Arab media such as the debate on describing slain Palestinians as martyrs," continues AME Info.

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