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The Public Diplomacy Blog is intended to stimulate dialog among scholars, researchers, practitioners and professionals from around the world in the public diplomacy sphere. The opinions represented here are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy at the Annenberg School.

Posts by Lawrence_Pintak

WAR OF IDEAS UPDATE: U.S. 1, INSURGENTS 1
FEB 28, 2007 - 5:31AM PST
Posted by Lawrence Pintak
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Egypt this week pulled the plug on al-Zawraa, the controversial channel controlled by Iraq's Sunni insurgency, but it is still available across the Middle East thanks to America's Gulf allies.

The channel broadcasts non-stop footage of attacks on U.S. troops interwoven with verbal attacks on Iran and Shiites, like Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who it accuses of being loyal to Iran. Since its launch in mid-November, al-Zawraa has been distributed by Nilesat, a satellite provider controlled by the Egyptian government.

The U.S. has been working behind the scenes to convince Egypt to pull the plug. The Egyptians have been... FULL TEXT
 
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WAR OF IDEAS: INSURGENT CHANNEL COMING TO A SATELLITE NEAR YOU
JAN 10, 2007 - 5:40PM PST
Posted by Lawrence Pintak
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(Cairo) -- A controversial TV channel that is the voice of Iraq's anti-American insurgents look set to launch another front in the propaganda war against the U.S.

The head of al-Zawraa, which airs footage produced by the Islamic Army of Iraq, says he has finalized a deal for the channel to be distributed on three European satellites, including one seen by American viewers.

The move comes as U.S. officials are pressing Egypt to stop transmitting the channel via its Nilesat satellite.

Al-Zawraa is a television version the now-infamous jihadi websites, featuring non-stop videos of attacks on U.S. troops, alleged American... FULL TEXT
 
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WAR OF IDEAS: SCORE ANOTHER ONE FOR THE BAD GUYS
JAN 3, 2007 - 11:05AM PST
Posted by Lawrence Pintak
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(Cairo) Sunni-Shia power politics and U.S.-Egyptian relations have come head-to-head in a dispute over a satellite television station that is the latest weapon in the arsenal of Iraq’s insurgents.

Al-Zawraa, a television version of the now-infamous jihadi websites, is being broadcast across the Arab world by Nilesat, a satellite provider answerable to the Egyptian government. The Iraqi station features non-stop scenes of U.S. troops being picked off by snipers, blown up by roadside bombs and targeted by missiles.

"We find the channel utterly offensive," said one U.S. diplomat. Getting the Egyptians to pull the plug is “at the top of... FULL TEXT
 
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AL-JAZEERA ENGLISH: BEGINNING TO FIND AN IDENTITY
DEC 2, 2006 - 3:00AM PST
Posted by Lawrence Pintak
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(Cairo) -- Bad news is often good news for journalists. Last week's assassination of Lebanese opposition leader Pierre Gemayel may have been exactly that for al-Jazeera English, the Westernized cousin of the channel the Bush administration loves to hate.

It isn't so much that AJE has triumphed in its coverage of the latest Lebanese crisis -- far from it -- but it has shown signs of finding its footing after an uncertain first week. Since AJE went live Nov. 15, it has looked more like Bob Geldorf TV than a channel dedicated to "fearless journalism" that is "setting the news... FULL TEXT
 
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THE FOG OF WAR (ON CABLE TV)
JUL 21, 2006 - 2:00AM PST
Posted by Lawrence Pintak
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Napa Valley, CA -- As someone who lives and breathes Middle East politics and media, I have had the strange -- and frustrating -- experience of watching the current conflict play out on U.S. cable television. I am reminded again why Americans have such a limited -- and distorted -- view of the world.

I run a center for television and new media at The American University in Cairo, which puts me at the crossroads of journalism in the Arab world. Normally, monitoring a crisis like this would involve the voracious consumption of Arab and U.S. media -- television, newspapers,... FULL TEXT
 
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