The Lebanese media, much like Lebanon itself, are boisterous and colorful. The pluralism that characterizes Lebanese society is reflected in its Babelesque media. In addition to the gamut of voices represented, freedom of expression is generally respected, with the occasional transgressions. This chapter assesses the state of the Lebanese media from its inception to the present day, taking stock of the legal and political framework and the challenges encountered as well as the prospects for media in Lebanon.
The Image of Africa in Ghana’s Press is a comprehensive and highly analytical study of the impact of foreign news organisations on the creation of an image of Africa in its own press. Identifying a problematic focus on the Western media in previous studies of the African media image, Serwornoo uses the Ghanaian press as a case study to explore the effects of centuries of Afro-pessimistic discourse in the foreign press on the continent’s self-description.
About the seriesGlobal Communications is a book series that looks beyond national borders to examine current transformations in public communication, journalism and media.Books in this series will focus on the role of communication in the context of global ecological, social, political, economic, and technological challenges in order to help us understand the rapidly changing media environment.We encourage comparative studies but we also welcome single case studies, especially if they focus on regions other than Western Europe and North America, which have received the bulk of scholarly attention until now.Empirical studies as well as textbooks are welcome.Books should remain concise and not exceed 300 pages but may offer online access to a wealth of additional material documenting the research process and providing access to the data.The series aspires to publish theoretically well-grounded, methodologically sound, relevant, novel research, presented in a readable and engaging way.Through peer review and careful support from the editors of the series and from the editorial team of Open Book Publishers, we strive to support our authors in achieving these goals.
The State of Qatar is a new, small, and extremely rich country, ruled by the Al-Thani family and with a population of which a majority are non-Qatari nationals. It is also a country mostly known for the satellite channel Al-Jazeera. This cocktail of smallness, royal rule, and money is crucial for understanding the media landscape in Qatar, which in basic terms must be divided between the national media and the global satellite consortium of Al-Jazeera. Despite their different audiences, both media types are used and managed to consolidate and strengthen the rule and influence of Qatar and the Al-Thani family.
This chapter discusses the historical beginnings of the media in Iraq and how it developed over time during the Ottoman control and the British occupation, which was followed by a dictatorial rule that completely restricted the media. Since 2003, Iraq entered a democratic era, which witnessed openness and relative freedom of the media. But, because of the deteriorating security conditions, widespread corruption, and the control of political parties and religious movements over governance, freedom of the press in Iraq is globally ranked among the last in the index of press freedom.
