Dina Matar, Chair, Centre for Global Media and Communication The story of the popularity of the audio chatroom app. Clubhouse, in the Middle East seems to follow a well-trodden route – the platform is launched in the region and elsewhere; the app is quickly taken up by users eager to talk about anything- from what to wear in Zoom calls to discussions of taboo topics, such as honour killings in
By Deirbhile Ní Bhranáin, MA Media in Development Centre for Global Media and Communication Seven years ago, almost to the day, Palestinian grassroots activist Haneen Maikey spoke in London about the organisation of which she was the director, Al-Qaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity. Al-Qaws, which in Arabic means ‘rainbow,’ was established independently in 2007 and works to provide services and support for LGBTQ+ Palestinians. As stated on their website,
How “post-truth” has failed us Book Review: Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back (Matthew D’Ancona 2017) “Post-truth” has become the zeitgeist-y catchphrase since Donald Trump’s election coincided with the UK’s vote to leave the EU. Matthew D’Ancona argues that 2016 launched the ‘post-truth era’: emotion is now valued over reason and facts are no longer central to politics. Despite only referencing the US and
Dina Matar At no other time in contemporary history has a critical understanding of communication and the structures and regulation of complex media systems been more important and more urgent than during this current historical moment of multiple crises, marked by dysfunctional political communication practices (just witness the US election debates), the dominance of mainly US tech giants in mediation processes, digital surveillance, hateful speech and disinformation. It is a
Media and Crisis Mark Hobart, Emeritus Professor Centre for Global Media and Communication We live, it seems, in a time of crisis. Covid-19 and its attendant economic crisis apart, we face crises of climate change, overpopulation, depletion of natural resources, the global political order and much else. How do we know? Because the media tell us so. What drive the choices behind media coverage? Famously, the newsworthy should be negative
Dr. Dounia Mahlouly, SOAS Centre for Global Media and Communications, has been awarded £75,000 to lead a new six-month research project, investigating British Council’s ‘Strengthening Resilience’ communication activities. The project, on which Dr. Dina Matar will act as advisor, will provide analysis of the experience of British Council’s Strengthening Resilience (SR) programme in promoting youth empowerment and state-civil society relations through media-based capacity building. It will explore the potential, limitations
