Annie B Lawrence

In this report from the United States Institute of Peace’s Centers of Innovation for Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding, and Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding, a team of scholars from George Washington University and American University analyze the role of social media in the Arab Spring protests of 2011–12. It builds on a previous report, published in 2010 by USIP Press, titled Blogs and Bullets: New Media in Contentious Politics, and applies its five-level framework for studying and understanding the role of new media in political movements. The authors utilize a unique dataset from bit.ly, the URL shortener commonly associated with Twitter and used by other digital media such as Facebook. With these data, the authors are able to test empirically the claims of “cyberoptimists” and “cyberskeptics” about the role of new media in bringing down autocratic regimes in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya and in spurring protests in other parts of the Arab World, such as Bahrain. - Annie B Lawrence

There has been criticism in pan-Arab and regional media of the US-produced film which has provoked violent protests in Egypt and Libya. It features an actor portraying the Prophet Muhammad, which is forbidden in Islam. The film is reportedly being promoted by two US-based Egyptian Christians (Copts), and said to be directed by an Israeli American. - Annie B Lawrence

Angered by reports in the Egyptian media that members of the Coptic Christian diaspora in Washington had produced a crude film mocking the Muslim prophet, protesters climbed the walls of the United States Embassy in Cairo on Tuesday and tore down the American flag. Later, a Libyan security official told Reuters that armed militiamen had attacked the United States consulate in Benghazi, killing a staff member. A a 14-minute trailer for the English-language film, which was posted on YouTube in July, attracted little attention until last week, when a version dubbed into Arabic was posted on the same YouTube channel and then copied and viewed tens of thousands of times more. - Annie B Lawrence

One of India's largest media companies has invested $100 million (Dh367m) on a new Arabic-language TV station, and plans to launch three additional channels serving the Middle East.Zee Entertainment, which is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, went live with its Zee Alwan channel on July 1. The channel was officially launched yesterday. - Annie B Lawrence

Much has been written of late about the relatively low quality of academic research in the journalism and mass communication field. Since this is a critical time, the dawn of a new age of communication, there’s much to learn. The research gap is a major source of disagreement between professionals and scholars. Professionals argue that much research is unreadable and, frankly, useless. If you take the time, scholars counter, you’ll find important insights. Why do we care about research? It’s important to the future of journalism education because publication in the so-called peer-reviewed journals traditionally has been the number one criteria for faculty promotion and tenure. Yes, research beats teaching. - Annie B Lawrence

When the Arab Spring reached Jordan last year, a newspaper columnist, Muwafaq Mahadin, was one of the first to march with pro-democracy protestors demanding reforms in his country. He also backed Syrian demonstrators who began taking to the streets in March 2011. But a few months later, he made an about-face, aligning with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Like many other Arab intellectuals, he says he did so out of fear for the future of the region. - Annie B Lawrence

In late March 2011, as the Arab Spring was spreading, CNN sent a four-person crew to Bahrain to produce a one-hour documentary on the use of internet technologies and social media by democracy activists in the region. Featuring on-air investigative correspondent Amber Lyon, the CNN team had a very eventful eight-day stay in that small, US-backed kingdom. By the time the CNN crew arrived, many of the sources who had agreed to speak to them were either in hiding or had disappeared. Regime opponents whom they interviewed suffered recriminations, as did ordinary citizens who worked with them as fixers. Leading human rights activist Nabeel Rajab was charged with crimes shortly after speaking to the CNN team. A doctor who gave the crew a tour of his village and arranged meetings with government opponents, Saeed Ayyad, had his house burned to the ground shortly after. Their local fixer was fired ten days after working with them. - Annie B Lawrence

An international rights group called Monday for Tunisian prosecutors to drop charges against two sculptors for artworks deemed harmful to public order and good morals, a legal action seen as part of a clampdown on free speech in the country where the Arab Spring began.Human Rights Watch said that the prosecution of artists Nadia Jelassi and Mohamed Ben Salem in Tunisia, the country whose protests against its longtime dictator helped set off similar uprisings across the Arab world, violated the right to freedom of expression because the works did not incite or discriminate. - Annie B Lawrence

In a country where more than 70 percent of women wear a headscarf, according to Egypt’s newly appointed information minister, it stands to reason that at least one of them could be seen on television, anchoring a news show. But until now, there was nary a scarf in sight, as state media upheld an unspoken, long-standing ban on having any woman with her head covered serve as a newsreader or anchor in official television programs. - Annie B Lawrence

By adding new channels and offering HD capabilities on existing ones, India’s satellite TV majors are aiming to get a better lock on to their viewership numbers in the Gulf. By doing so, the broadcasters hope to tap into an advertising market that is estimated at $30 million (Dh110 million) to $35 million and, more importantly, growing at a fairly healthy 5 to 10 per cent. - Annie B Lawrence

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