Global Media News

Iraqi Music

Iraqi Music

Music is a form of art that represents different cultures, traditions and ways of life. It should be a right for citizens in all regions of the world to be able to perform music representing their region, but unfortunately in Iraq this doesnt hold true. "Musicians, music shop owners and music fans flee from death squads of Islamic extremists in Baghdad. It is no longer safe to sell music in central and southern Iraq, reported Associated Press on 16 March 2007."(AP)

These Islamic Extremists put pressure on anybody associated with music to close down their operations.  Their have been many  killings associated with this operation of stopping music from getting out to the Iraqi public. According to Free Muse  

"In November 2006, it was reported by a UN news agency that at least 75 singers have been killed since the turmoil began in Iraq in 2003, among these the 20-year-old singer Muhammad Jabry whose decapitated body was found with a note saying that "this was the destiny of those who sing American words".

Many Iraqi citizens are scared to walk down the street listening to music especially if it is Western based music. If you are seen listening to western music extremists feel as if your supporting the American troops, and everything they stand for. You are labeled a devil, and corrupted. With this being said many of the citizens who really love music find ways. Alot of the Iraqi population who love music turn to the internet or their mobile phones so they wont be judged.

Even with these strict guidlines there are people who put their life on he line just to sell, perform or teach the music they love. In 2006 a Music teacher in Baghdad changes her car  every day just so the Islamic Extremists wont track her. She knows its not recieved well by these people, but she knows its for a greater cause. She feels as if these people disallowing the music are blaming music for corruption and that isnt right. She has elluded gunmen while driving numerous times.  A young artist who plays a lute is scared to walk in the streets with his instrument. If it is found he will be gunned down. He was asked why he takes such a risk, and he answers by saying he just loves the art. He then goes on to say he rather be known as a singer than a killer. As you can these artists do not disclose their names in fear for their life. Free Muse shows 80 percent of the artists leave Iraq in order to pursue their career.
 This is a example of Iraqi dance  Music composed  from Kawleeya  Youtube

MAC Awards Screening: April 20 @ 5pm

 

MAC Awards Screening

Wednesday, April 20

5:00-8:00pm

Recital Hall, Campus Center.

Get a sneak preview of this year's MAC Awards nominees in Digital Arts, Television, Video and New Media!  

The screening will include full-length TV and  video works that will only be seen as short excerpts at the big MAC Awards show in the Maguire Theater on Wednesday, May 4.

Check out the MAC TV, Video, Digital Arts & New Media Nominees on our YouTube Channel.

Visit  MacAwards.org for all of the latest MAC info.

Social Networking: Different Uses in The Middle East

    Social networking has been on the up rise through out the world in a very obvious fashion.  Although many people use these networks to connect with friends and to share photos and videos, it has become very clear that these sites can be used in many other ways then the original sites intended. 

    An example of how one of these social networking sites was used in a different was the use of twitter during the re-election of President Mouhamad Ahmadbinejad.  Twitter is a social network that allows the subscriber to post up to 140 characters in one “tweet” to update what you are doing at that very moment.  This is something used by many celebrities for all there fans to follow.  Although this was the original intent of the site, the people of Iran decided to use this social network to their advantage by organizing large protests during the re-election.  Twitter was such a big part of these protests that the protests were eventually known as the “Twitter Revolution”. 

    The “Twitter Revolution” encouraged other countries to use social networks in similar ways.  Ashwini Menen from the International Business Journal said:

“Facebook along with a host of other social networking sites like Twitter and YouTube, has been the backbone of the protests in Egypt; opposition leaders posted updates and called for a new wave of democracy to hit Egypt.  Opposition leader Mohammad El Baradei for example used Twitter to respond to Mubarak’s speech the day before his resignation.”

    This is a famous line that was said by the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, in the award winning movie The Social Network, “We don’t know what it can be, we don’t know what it will be.”  This is showing that even the creators of these networks don’t know what the final uses of these sites are going to be.  The just lay down the foundation of what it can be used for, and the rest is up to the subscribers.   

 

Facebook in Iraq 2

    Facebook is the number one social networking site throughout the world.  This is mostly due to its ever expanding languages that the social networking site comes with.  Facebook now comes with over 100 languages.  The Facebook staff claims they will not stop there, they want to try and reach ever corner of the Earth.  

    What does this have to do with Iraq?  For a long time Facebook did not come with Arabic, the most used language in Iraq.  Arabic was not an easy language to translate, claims Jessica Lee a writer for www.insidefacebook.com.  Lee goes on to state:

 "What’s interesting about this particular translation project is the linguistic challenge of translating an English site into langauges, like Arabic, that read right to left, that are more gender-based, and that have different dialects that are constantly changing."

    Facebook has solved this problem by using a system that detects certain words that the used is typing to pick the correct gender.

    The types of reasons that people in Iraq use Facebook range from just meeting people, to keeping in touch with someone, to forming groups.  Tim Arango, a writer for the New York Times reports:

"A common sentiment from nearly three dozen interviews with young Iraqis around the country recently is a persistent disenchantment with both their political leaders and the way democracy has played out here. “The youth is the excluded class in the Iraqi community,” said Swash Ahmed, a 19-year-old law student in Kirkuk. 'So they’ve started to unify through Facebook or the Internet or through demonstrations and evenings in cafes, symposiums and in universities. But they don’t have power.'"

    Just like any new technology, the youth of that nation or even the world seem to use it and pick it up first.  This is no different in Iraq.  The only difference between the youth of Iraq and the rest of the world is that they are forming groups and meetings against the government.  Of course this is not allowed in many other countries because of a strict government.  Since the help of the United States in Iraq, they are helped in forming groups and meetings. 

    As for other social networks in Iraq, there are not to many to mention.  Myspace has played a big role with the military of both Iraq and United States forces.  Facebook has been more of an all around social network.  Myspace has also been in the process of being blocked from military computers.  "Soldiers serving in Iraq are disappointed and annoyed by the military’s recent move to block MySpace on official Defense computers, but also said that they understand the reasons behind the move," a quote by Leo Shane a writer for www.stripes.com. 

    There is a huge difference between Facebook and Myspace.  Facebook is more of a place to talk and keep in touch with other family or friends, while myspace is more of a place for entertainment like music, videos, ect. 

Journalists detained in Libya, Jailed blogger in Egypt

For many weeks now, journalist have all seemed to be following a pattern especially when it comes to conflict concerning Libya. As of April 11, 2011, the government of Muammar Quaddafi is “detaining two more television journalists”.  The Committee to Protect Journalist reported this statement to others.

Problems are arising in Egypt as well. In Egypt there is a setback for “press freedom under the transitional government. Since this incident, a court has then sentenced an individual blogger to a prison term reaching three years for “insulting the military. In Libya two camera men by the names of Magdi Hilali and Mohamad al-Shuwayhadi were being held since April 6^th. These two men worked for the privately owned Middle East Broadcasting (MBC). These two men were caught in the north-central city of Brega.  Another journalist was also detained but was soon released. The driver for this MBC crew was detained at the same time but was soon separated from the group, and since then this individual’s whereabouts are unknown.

 Ahmed Vall Ould Addin is a journalist who was also detained in Libya. Two other correspondents he was with remained in custody. Mohamed Abdel Dayem stated “We are relieved to hear that our colleague Ahmed Vall Ould Addin has been released and we urge the Libyan government to also release the two Al-Jazeera journalists who remain in custody,".  It was also stated that "The total number of detained journalists in Libya keeps rising because the government is detaining new journalists faster than it is releasing those it holds."

  Research shows that in Libya 17 journalist and media workers are in government custody or missing. A blogger by the name of Maikel Nabil Sanad was sentenced to three years in prison for “insulting the military” by an Egyptian military court in Cairo. Sanad’s defense lawyer stated that Sanad was arrested on March 28^th due to an article which Sanad criticized the military for “not being transparent in decision-making”. Sanad was soon found guilty and has to do the time sentenced by the judge.

  Things have gotten so out of control that Iraqi authorities soon started to make a mark. Iraqi authorities “prevented local and foreign journalists from accessing Ashraf, an Iranian refugee camp”. Journalists were covering stories concerning the conflict between Iraqi security forces and the camps residents.

Press Censorship: Iraq

While under Saddam Hussein's rule, much of the media was blocked and/or censored in Iraq. Once he was out, the doors to new media regulations were open, and Iraq begun to see new things like: Provocative music videos, news castings from America and Israel, Pornography, and much more. Because certain media coverage was causing violence, the government decided to work on a new censorship law. In an article by the New York Times , Iraq's Deputy Cultural Minister stated:

“Our Constitution respects freedom of thought and freedom of expression, but that should come with respect for society as a whole, and for moral behavior, It is not easy to balance security and democracy. It is like being a tightrope walker.”

Televisa

Televisa is a Mexican media conglomerate. Mexico’s media was dominated by Televisa. They were able to do this by having strong influences with the PRI. Over the last few years the PRI has loosened up and allowed competitors. According to an article on the BBC

“Televisa once had a virtual monopoly in Mexican TV and it is still a major global supplier of programmes in Spanish."

 Many foreign satellite and cable operators are against Televisa’s dominance in Spanish television. Much of its US airing airs on Univision. Televisa is the second largest media company in Latin America.

According to the Televisa website

 “Since the beginnings Televisa’s strategy was to create a multimedia corporation mindful of the tastes of all its audiences”.

 The websites claims Televisa stands for communication, creativity and teamwork. One of their main values of this conglomerate is credibility. On the Televisa website they describe credibility as

“To inspire the trust of our employees, through the behavior of their bosses and directors”.

Their vision is quite clear and that is to become the largest Spanish -speaking media leader in the world.

Televisa has a logo that looks almost like the CBS logo. Televisa claims their logo represents contemporary global tendencies in which television helps shorten distances and erase the frontiers that separate human beings. According to the BBC

“ The media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in 2008 that Mexico was the most deadly country in the Americas for journalists.”

Iraq Media History: From Saddam Hussein to Present

 

Iraqi journalists regularly hold protests calling for greater freedom of speech [GALLO/GETTY]

Iraqi media has a long history of repression under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.  The Iraqi media suffered relentless repression for 25 years under Saddam Hussein.  According to a report from Reporters Without Borders titled The Iraqi Media: 25 years of relentless repression,  Iraqi media used to be one of the freest in the Middle East through the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire and under the English monarchy.  The radio stations and printed press played an active role in promoting Arab nationalist ideology.  Iraqi media until the revolution in 1958 experienced freedom.

After the revolution Iraq was in constant political turmoil and violence.  The press suffered greatly in this period of civil unrest.  As the press shifted allegiance with each regime that took control such as the Islamist, the Democrats, the Kurds, the Ba'athists and the Communist the press freedom became more and more limited.

In the beginning control of the media was non-violent but by the 1970's that all changed for the worst. 

Mexico and Central America: The Media and Drugs

In an article from the News Daily in Mexico City, posted through Reuters, it was reported last month that Mexico's main television networks and other news groups had vowed to put tighter controls on the publication of of gruesome images from a drugs war that has hurt President Felipe Calderon's government.

Calderon has criticized Mexico's media for publishing the threats , and occasionally showing grainy images of hitmen interrogating tied-up enemies before executing them.

A New York Times article this past December, discusssing diplomatic leaks (Wikileaks), mentioned that President Obama had called the leader of Mexico regarding the leaked cables quoting officials there admitting pessimism about the nation's war on drug lords.

Opinion polls show public confidence in security has been shaken, and Calderon's conservative ruling party is lagging the main opposition party ahead of next year's presidential vote.

Twenty two journalists have been murdered during Calderon's term, at least eight in direct reprisal for reporting on crime and corruption, according to the Committee to Protect Journalits, or CPJ which welcomed the media accord.

The drug cartels now threaten the basic stability and social fabric of many Central American countries as well.  As reported in Mexidata.Info,  Laura Chinchilla Miranda, President of Costa Rica, speaking to the United Nations this past September, warned that the battle against narco-trafficking can only be won if nations worldwide overhaul their current strategies.

Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal also sounded the alarm during his address to the General assembly

 Last month, Randal Archibold and Damien Cave, writing for the the New York Times , commented that the issue took center stage when President Obama, during a visit to El Salvador , announced a plan to fight organized crime in the region by providing training for local authorities, weapons and equipment.

Global Media News from Turkey & Iran: Our Ninth Webcast!

Global Media News from Turkey & Iran

• The censorship of the Turkish press:  What gets cut?
• Internet Censorship in Turkey
• What's it like to report from Iran?
• What's it like to be an Iranian reporter?
• Iranian bloggers:  A revolutionary media?
• Iranian social media:  Can it be controlled?

Next Week:  Media News from Iraq & Libya

• Press  and Internet censorship in Iraq
• Hardtimes for Journalists in Iraq & Libya
• What part has Aljazeera played in the tumult in the Middle East?
• Facebook in Iraq 
• Social networking in Middle Eastern politics and protest 
• Media & Music in Iraq:  Is there a national culture?

Listen to our webcast streaming live every Thursday @ 11am EST.

Can't listen live?   Our next webcast will be posted by 1:00pm, Thursday, April 21.

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