Three new research papers by Reuters Journalism Fellows from the Middle East are now online

12 Jan 2010

Three new research papers by Reuters Journalism Fellows from the Middle East are now online:Mohamed el-Sayed, a reporter for al-Ahram weekly in Egypt, has written a study on the boom in religious satellite channels in Egypt and the Middle East. Titled 'Religious Islamic Satellite Channels: A Screen That Leads You To Heaven', Mohamed's research gives an overview of the history of Sunni Islamic channels, their missions, and their raison d’être. It also provides a critical analysis of their content, the kind of Islam they promote, their programme formats, and the religious scholars they host. Interviews with a sample of twenty viewers of TV in Egypt conducted by Mohamed show that religious channels, and especially Al-Nas, has become a daily habit, especially amongst the rural conservative audience. Download Religious Islamic Satellite Channels: A Screen That Leads You To Heaven Laura El-Tantawy, a photo-journalist also from Egypt, has written an extensive study on the current state of free speech in her country. Entitled 'In the Shadow of the Pyramids: A Case Study of Free Expression in the Egyptian Media, 2004-2009', Laura examines how Egypt's media sector has undergone what appears to be a substantial change in the area of print journalism and on-line blogging since 2004, in which the government has deliberately allowed more freedom of expression. She looks at the restrictions on this opening up, and asks whether the government's current strategy towards the media sector is one of sincere resolve or simply an act of showmanship to please its Western allies. Download In The Shadow of The Pyramids: Free Speech in Egypt's media – newspapers, television and the Internet Firas Saleh Khatib, a Palestinian living in Israel, is Editor-in-Chief of al-Madina Newspaper and correspondent for al-Akhbar Newspaper. Firas' research focuses on the way two British newspapers, the Times and the Guardian, reported the Palestinian refugee situation both in 1948 and through to the 1960s. He concludes that the approach of the two papers to the subject of Palestine, and the refugees in particular, shifted over time but was always an extremely sensitive issue. At times it created tensions and crises between media editors and correspondents, owners and editors, and between the British Press and the British Government. Download British Press Coverage of the Palestinian Refugee Crisis: 61 years of history