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November 2007 - Posts

Friday, November 30, 2007 5:49 AM

Al-Jazeera English offers more insight into Middle East than most American TV news stations

The name "Al-Jazeera" is often associated (wrongly) with "terrorism." Prejudice and ignorance among Americans has put pressure on many stations to ban the Arab World satellite station from being broadcast in mainstream American television cable and commercial
posted by RayHanania | 2 Comments
Sunday, November 25, 2007 12:17 AM

Would we allow Imus to return to the airwaves if he called Black people "cockroaches?"

Don Imus is returning to the radio airwaves, but would he last long if he blurted out that Black people were like "cockroaches?" That would be the end of his career. Well, Imus, who is returning to radio via WABC in New York, where many Muslim and Arab
posted by RayHanania | 1 Comments
Friday, November 23, 2007 3:44 PM

Not alone in media bias charges

I'm in London (with Yusef Islam -- Cat Stevens) doing comedy at the Global Peace & Unity Conference at the Excel near the Canary Wharf in West India Quay. (Okay, the Brits love titles and lots of names in titles). One of the stories being distributed
posted by RayHanania | 2 Comments
Thursday, November 22, 2007 1:10 PM

Media bias behind political persecutions in American

Mohammed Salah and Abdelhaleem Ashqar both defeated the false charges filed against them by disgraced U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft in the hysteria that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But prosecuters managed to get both political victims
posted by RayHanania | 0 Comments
Sunday, November 18, 2007 12:47 PM

Filmmaker Demme portrays Jimmy Carter's campaign against biased media over his book

I had a chance to review Jonathahn Demme's new documentary/movie "Jimmy Carter: A Man from Plains" (SONY Pictures, 2007). It's an amazingly powerful film. Besides being a very powerful look at the controversy surrounding the former president's passioned
posted by RayHanania | 2 Comments
Saturday, November 17, 2007 10:07 AM

Media reacted to Imus on Blacks, but ignores racists who target Arabs and Islam

When Don Imus expressed racist comments about African American women, he was immediately targeted by African American groups and the protests were immediately reported by the mainstream news media. The real tragedy of the Imus story is that he was expressing
posted by RayHanania | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 15, 2007 11:09 PM

An event examining Arab American History in Maryland, Dec. 7-9

The SPJ-Arab Journalists, the National Arab American Journalists Association is proud to support a conference organized by one of our esteemed journalism members, the News Circle Magazine (which has been around since the 1970s) and its founder, veteran
posted by RayHanania | 0 Comments
Thursday, November 15, 2007 10:05 AM

The rebellion against "Happy Holidays" and a journalist's role

Thanksgiving represents a secular national holiday marking the date when European pioneers settled in America and Native Americans greeted them by helping them to survive. Of course, if I write too much more on this topic, I'll have to get into the
posted by RayHanania | 3 Comments
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 11:36 AM

Jakarta Islamic Journalism conference distorts meaning of "free press"

Way back in 1980, when Muslims were really under siege and they had absolutely no voice, a small group of Muslim activists with no journalism training met in Jakarta and adopted what they called "The Islamic Mass Media Charter." Here's the link
posted by RayHanania | 2 Comments
Sunday, November 11, 2007 10:53 AM

SPJ-Arab Journalists Bringing Palestinian and Israeli journalists together at Dec. 3 conference in Jerusalem

The SPJ-Arab Journalists will be hosting a journalism conference in Jerusalem on Monday Dec. 3 from 12 until 5:30 at the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem (about two blocks from the American Colony Hotel). The purpose is to bring Palestinian and Israeli
posted by RayHanania | 1 Comments
Saturday, November 10, 2007 10:55 AM

Assault on Arab/Islamic Media coverage reflects failing of American media

It isn't just the "conservative right" that is attacking the Arab and Islamic World news media. It's the "liberal left." But worse, the attacks against the Arab and Islamic media are coming from the news media itself. Why? I think the American news media
posted by RayHanania | 1 Comments
Saturday, November 03, 2007 12:25 PM

What is the responsibility of ethnic journalists who are "under siege?"

There is an interesting discussion taking place among several members of the National Arab American Journalists Association (www.NAAJA-US.com) and SPJ-Arab Journalists. It has to do with this question: With so much negative coverage of Arab and Muslims
posted by RayHanania | 1 Comments