- April 18, 2024
Media
Journalism in Times of Conflict, Occupation and Political Strife – FOA Interview with Ramzy Baroud
FOA speaks to media consultant, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud about his tips and tricks of the trade and the importance of journalism and media in times of conflict, occupation and political strife. Social media and digital media has become a driving force for the future and the rise of citizen journalism […]
Reclaiming Palestine: How Israeli Media Misread the Intifada
By Ramzy Baroud Israeli commentators, Yaron Friedman, of “Ynet News” and Haviv Rettig Gur, of the “Times of Israel” are clueless about the driving force behind the Palestinian mobilization and collective struggle. In two recent articles, and with unmistakable conceit, they attempted to highlight what they perceive as the failure of the current Palestinian uprising, […]
Sorry, JK Rowling, You’re Wrong over The Israel Boycott
By Ramzy Baroud There is a possibility that you have heard of the famed British author, J.K. Rowling, writer of the popular fantasy series ‘Harry Potter’. While I knew of her books – through my teenage kids – I knew little about the author herself, until recently. Using generalised, ambiguous terminology that offered little by […]
Recasting the Rules over Palestine: An Intellectual Intifada in the Offing
By Ramzy Baroud My first stop, after living for 22 years in a refugee camp in Gaza, was the city of Seattle, a pleasant, green city, where people drink too much coffee to cope with the long, cold, grey winters. There, for the first time, I stood before an audience outside Palestine, to speak about […]
Listen to Syrians: The Media Jackals and the People’s Narrative
By Ramzy Baroud Imagine the Syrian war from the point of view of ordinary Syrians from a variety of backgrounds. They are most likely to offer a different perspective and to hold entirely different expectations than most other parties involved. A resident of Idlib, a villager from Deraa, a housewife, a teacher, a nurse or […]
Seven Points Not on the Arab Media Agenda – What is There to Celebrate?
By Ramzy Baroud It has been recently announced that Arab ‘media experts’ plan to ‘celebrate’ Arab Media Day on April 21, 2016. The theme for the first day, of what is meant to be an annual tradition, is: “The Role of the (Arab) Media in Combatting Terrorism”. The mockery is surely multi-faceted. One is the […]
Huffington Post Arabic and the Absurdity of ‘Liberal’ Expectations
By Ramzy Baroud What does it mean to be a ‘liberal Arab’? Even in the West, definitions of the ‘liberal’ vary. In the American context, the demarcation of the ‘liberal’ overlaps cultural and political lines. Republicans use the term in a derogatory way to describe their opponents. Watch ‘Fox News’ to understand. (On second thought, […]
Misreading the Refugee Crisis
By Ramzy Baroud So far this year, “nearly one quarter of a million migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe”, reported Al Jazeera’s Inside Story, citing the International Organisation for Migration. The situation is indeed bleak, not only because the number of refugees is constantly on the rise, but also because Europe appears rather disinterested […]
Shifting Priorities: The Rise and Fall of Arab Revolutionary Discourse
By Ramzy Baroud Strange how intellectual discussion concerning the so-called “Arab Spring” has almost entirely shifted in recent years – from one concerning freedom, justice, democracy and rights in general, into a political wrangle between various antagonist camps. The people, who revolted across various Arab countries are now marginalized in this discussion, and are only […]
No ‘Crisis in Islam’: Just Apathy of So-called ‘Historians’
By Ramzy Baroud On the “BBC This Week” program, historian Tom Holland labored to counter the argument that the so-called Islamic State should not be labeled as such: “The Islamic State”. Holland’s logic in the program seemed more philosophical, concerned with dialectic and logic of language, and hardly situated in any proper historical context. His […]
Middle East Reporting: The Need for Honest Journalism
By Ramzy Baroud Writing about and reporting on the Middle East is not an easy task, especially during these years of turmoil and upheaval. But I cannot remember another time in recent history when we have needed journalists to shine in order to challenge conventional wisdom, to think in terms of contexts, motives, alliances, and […]
War Begets War: It’s Not about Islam; It Never Was
By Ramzy Baroud It is still not about Islam, even if the media and militants attacking western targets say so. Actually, it never was. But it was important for many to conflate politics with religion; partly because it is convenient and self-validating. First, let’s be clear on some points. Islam has set in motion a […]
The Age of TV Jokers: Arab Media on the Brink
By Ramzy Baroud As I was finalizing my research for this article, I found myself browsing through a heap of hilarious videos by mostly Egyptian TV show hosts Tawfiq Okasha and Amr Adeeb. In one of his numerous videos on youtube, Okasha, the star and host of the Cairo-based privately funded al-Faraeen channel, tries to […]
Nakhwa without Borders: Gaza and the End of ‘Arab Gallantry’
By Ramzy Baroud On its own the Arabic word al-Nakhwa, means “gallantry.” Combined with the word “al-Arabiya” – “Arab gallantry” – the term becomes loaded with meanings, cultural and even political implications and subtext. But what is one to make of “Arab gallantry” during and after Israel’s most brutal war on Gaza between 8 July […]
Principles to Guide the Young Activist
By Ramzy Baroud In a recent radio interview with a National Public Radio affiliate in Juneau, Alaska, I was asked if I had advice for a 16-year-old Palestinian student, Haitham. He had just arrived in the US as part of a school exchange program, and, admirably began reaching out to his peers in his and […]
Of Boston Bombings and Twisted Logic
By Ramzy Baroud We still do not know much about the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, apart from information passed on by the media — citing mostly official sources. If the past was of value then it is fair to conclude that the official narrative could be misleading, dotted with inconsistencies and as was […]
Exploited and Misused: The Impossible Discourse of the ‘Arab Spring’
By Ramzy Baroud A reductionist discourse is one that selectively tailors its reading of subject matters in such a way as to only yield desired outcomes, leaving little or no room for other inquiries, no matter how appropriate or relevant. The so-called Arab Spring, although now far removed from its initial meanings and aspirations, has […]
Understanding Hamas at 25: Beyond the Tired Language
By Ramzy Baroud “In a moment of high theatre he dropped to his knees, placed his lips on the ground and kissed the land he has commanded by proxy”. This is how Robert Tait of the British Telegraph worded the moment Khaled Meshaal arrived in Gaza on Dec 07. Tait’s report on what many in Gaza […]
The Revolution Will Be Televised, and also Manipulated
By Ramzy Baroud In the final days of the Libyan conflict, as NATO conducted a nonstop bombing campaign, an Aljazeera Arabic television correspondent’s actions raised more than eyebrows. They also raised serious questions regarding the journalistic responsibility of Arab media – or in fact any media – during times of conflict. Using a handheld transceiver, […]
Arab Awakening and Western Media: Time for New Revolutionary Discourse
By Ramzy Baroud When President Ali Abdullah Saleh tried desperately to quell Yemen’s popular uprising, he appealed to tribalism, customs and traditions. All his efforts evidently failed, and the revolution continued unabated. When Saleh denounced women for joining men in demonstrations in Sana’a – playing on cultural sensitivities and a very selective interpretation of religion […]
Arab Media Cannot Ignore the Truth about Libya’s Blacks
By Ramzy Baroud, Special to Gulf News When Libyan rebels intercepted and seized a British intelligence and Special Forces unit in early March, the matter was handled with a sense of urgency and diplomacy. While all eight members of the SAS unit were reportedly released ‘unharmed’, black Africans haven’t been so lucky. Since the popular […]
Mixed Messages: Arabs Challenge Israeli Hasbara
By Ramzy Baroud When the Libyan people took on their reviled dictator, Moammar Gadhafi, Israeli officials seemed puzzled by the alarming and unprecedented trend of popular awakenings in the Arab world. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, has claimed that these awakenings are only proof of the ‘weakening’ of the Arabs – even at a time […]
Generalizing Tunisia: Context Overrides Story
By Ramzy Baroud When faced with problems, most authoritarian regimes maintain a policy of rigidity when the appropriate response would be flexibility, political wisdom and concessions. This policy gives authoritarian leaders their ability to control their populations to serve the interests of a few individuals and political and military elites. It can also, however, usher […]
WikiLeaks Indicts, Vindicates U.S. Diplomats
By Ramzy Baroud The WikiLeaks vs. the US government saga started in July, when 77,000 secret US documents directly relating to Afghanistan were made available to major media organizations. Many of us shook our heads with a mixture of disgust and vindication. We had long been aware of the brutality of the war, and the […]
Regarding US Muslims: A Misguided Debate
By Ramzy Baroud Laurie Goodstein’s article, ‘American Muslims Ask, Will We Ever Belong?’ was intended as a sympathetic reading of the concerns of US Muslim communities facing increasing levels of hostility and fear. While generally insightful and sensibly written, the article also highlights the very misconceptions that riddle the bizarre debate pitting American Muslims against […]
Facebook and Muslim Outrage
By RAMZY BAROUD ‘Any depictions of the prophet are considered blasphemous by Muslims,’ wrote Agencies, as reported readily by Aljazeera.net English. The above statement is meant to fully summarize the reason behind the outrage that arises in Pakistan and other parts of the Muslim world whenever some provocative ‘artist’ decides to express his freedom of […]
‘The Internet is a Game Changer’
By RAMZY BAROUD The debate is no longer confined to a few academics in distant universities. It is now a widely prevalent, mainstream topic of discussion. How will the news of the future be distributed? The jury is still out, but not completely. Increasingly, we are driven to believe that the future will be paperless. […]
The South Reduced: How the News Promotes a Mistaken View of the World
By RAMZY BAROUD I am not good at flying kites. But during a recent visit to the Olympic Village of Beijing, I felt compelled to do so. Despite the cold and late hour, there were many kite runners around me. A salesman insisted that I try my hand before committing to any purchase, and I […]
From Neptune to Gaza
In excerpts from a speech prepared for the Hetherington Memorial Lecture, Ramzy Baroud argues for a history of the people, by the people and for the people. By Ramzy Baroud Either you repeat the same conventional doctrines everybody is saying, or else you say something true, and it will sound like it’s from Neptune. — […]
Dispatch from China: Number 15 Has Left the Building
By RAMZY BAROUD Li Changchun is often referred to as one of the most powerful men in China, in Asia and, increasingly, in the world. He is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee. On April 8, he awaited our arrival at the Great […]
