Zaven Kouyoumdjian is a Lebanese talk show host, producer and television personality of both Armenian and Arab descent. He is also a media researcher and author of four books, including Lebanon's best-seller Lebanon Shot Twice. in 2021, Zaven joined The Munathara Initiative as the host of their Lebanese version of Townhall, a show that brings together key national broadcasters to commit to public interest journalism. Simultaneously, Zaven hosts and produces the morning show of Sawt Kel Lebnan radio station and DRI’s online talk show, Nafas Jdeed.
Arab cinema or Arabic cinema refers to the film industry of the Arab world. Most productions are from the Egyptian cinema.
RT Arabic, formerly known as Rusiya Al-Yaum is a Russian state-owned free-to-air television news channel broadcasting in Arabic and headquartered in Moscow, Russia. Rusiya Al-Yaum started broadcasting on 4 May 2007. The parent company of RT Arabic is TV-Novosti, which is an Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization owned by the Russian Federation.
Mass media in Saudi Arabia provides unwavering support for the Mohammed bin Salman regime and routinely ignores negative reporting about the kingdom. Independent media are non-existent in Saudi Arabia. Outlets and journalists that fail to support the regime are subject to suspicion and repression.
Octavia Nasr is a Lebanese-American Rhetoric scholar and author whose research focuses on Yoga's identity and ethical code and how they apply to journalism and other fields. She is a certified yoga instructor who teaches in the U.S. and India. She was a war correspondent for Lebanon's LBCI in the 1980's. She served in various positions at CNN for twenty years until her departure in 2010 following a controversial Twitter posting related to cleric Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.
Television in Lebanon arose as a private initiative and not a state-institution. Lebanon was the first country in the Middle East & the Arab world to have indigenous television broadcasting. Various Arab televisions emulated the Lebanese model.
The tradition of women's literary circles in the Arab world dates back to the pre-Islamic period when the eminent literary figure, Al-Khansa, would stand in the 'Ukaz market in Mecca, reciting her poetry and airing her views on the scholarship of others. From this, a culture of literary criticism emerged among Arab women, and under the Umayyad dynasty, Sukaynah Bint Al-Husayn established the first literary salon in her home. The tradition was revived during the late nineteenth century, as a result of sweeping social, political and economic change within the Ottoman Empire and Europe's increasing political and cultural influence in the region. The initial pioneers of the Arab salon were women from wealthy families in Greater Syria and Egypt, who returned influenced by interaction with European women during their time spent studying abroad and frequenting Parisian salons, or studying in schools run by European or American missionaries. The salon evenings, run by women but attended by both men and women, provided a unique opportunity to have discussions about social, political and literary trends of the day. Though the tradition died out somewhat after the Second World War, it has left a lasting legacy on literary culture and women's issues throughout the Arab world. Indeed, more than one hundred years later, the UN Arab Human Development Report echoes what many people in Arab societies were coming to realise at that time: "An Arab Renaissance cannot be accomplished without the rise of women in Arab countries."
Rima Maktabi is a Lebanese TV presenter and award-winning journalist who returned to al-Arabiya after hosting CNN's monthly program Inside the Middle East for two years and previously working at the Arab satellite channel since 2005. She was among several female Arab journalists who first became known through her reporting during the 2006 Lebanon War and who had successful careers afterward, including Maktabi and her former colleague at al-Arabiya Najwa Qassem.
Assaad Taha is an international award-winning Egyptian journalist and documentary filmmaker. He began his career in print journalism, soon after moving over to radio and television. Reporting became the main medium in which he chose to cover areas of conflict, before specialising in documentary filmmaking.
Dubai Debates is an online video debating forum based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. According to its website, Dubai Debates offers "a platform for online opinion leaders, pundits, academics, journalists, politicians, activists and all interested users to exchange ideas through videos." In addition to video debating via its website, regular debates are also held in Dubai, bringing together opinion leaders for panel discussions.
Lara Setrakian is an Armenian American journalist, digital strategist and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and Executive Editor of News Deeply, a digital media company that builds single-topic platforms that provide journalistic reporting, expert analysis, dialogues and opportunities for knowledge exchange on the issues they cover. Prior to founding News Deeply, she worked for five years as a Middle East correspondent for ABC News, Bloomberg Television, the International Herald Tribune, Business Insider and Monocle magazine, covering several major news events in the region like Iran’s election protests and the Arab Spring of 2011. As a Middle East correspondent Setrakian covered uprisings, conflicts, politics and economics around the region. She was instrumental in Bloomberg Television’s live on-the-ground coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Following the toppling of Tunisia's president Ben Ali during what became known as the Arab Spring, Setrakian arrived in Egypt before the January 25th protest and was reporting live from Tahrir Square when Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak stepped down. While reporting on the rise of piracy off the horn of Africa, Lara was the first American to interview the new president of war-torn Somalia, Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.
Courtney C. Radsch is an American journalist, author and advocate for freedom of expression. She is the author of Cyberactivism and Citizen Journalism in Egypt: Digital Dissidence and Political Change and worked as the advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists until 2021. She has written and been interviewed extensively about digital activism and social media in the Middle East since 2006.
Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians refers to Lebanese people who are adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch in Lebanon, which is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and is the second-largest Christian denomination in Lebanon after the Maronite Christians.
Raghida Dergham is a Lebanese-American journalist based in Lebanon. She is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Beirut Institute and Columnist for Annahar Al Arabi and The National. She served as Columnist, Senior Diplomatic Correspondent, and New York Bureau Chief for the London-based Al-Hayat daily for 28 years. She is well known internationally as a Middle Eastern female journalist, and has received awards for her career achievements.
Women played a variety of roles in the Arab Spring, but its impact on women and their rights is unclear. The Arab Spring was a series of demonstrations, protests, and civil wars against authoritarian regimes that started in Tunisia and spread to much of the Arab world. The leaders of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen were overthrown; Bahrain has experienced sustained civil disorder, and the protests in Syria have become a civil war. Other Arab countries experienced protests as well.
A growing number of film festivals are held in the Arab world to showcase films from the region as well as international standouts. In addition, institutions and organizations in other parts of the world are increasingly honoring the new generation of filmmakers in the Arab world with Arab film festivals.
Orient News was a Syrian media group owned by Syrian businessman, journalist and opposition figure Ghassan Aboud, based in Istanbul, providing news service to the Middle East with a focus on Syria. It ceased to exist on 21 November 2023.
Mustafa Khalid Agha, a Syrian of British citizenship, is a sports journalist for the Middle East Broadcasting Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is best known for his Arabic language programs about soccer and Arab and world sports, and he is one of the foremost authorities on sports in the Middle East.
Mona Ghanem Al Marri is a government media official in the United Arab Emirates.
Syria TV is a pro-opposition Syrian television network launched in March 2018 in Istanbul. It broadcasts a variety of programs and news shows in Arabic, covering society, politics, entertainment and culture. The channel's headquarters are currently in Istanbul. Syria TV is part of the Qatari pro-Muslim Brotherhood Fadaat Media network, of which Qatari sponsored The New Arab and Al Araby TV are also a members.
