Public Media in the Arab World: Exploring the Gap Between Reality and Ideals

The Center for Social Media collaborated with the Arab Media and Public Life (AMPLE) project at American University for a year-long conference series on public media in the Arab world and focused on changes in the media environment, the role of the state, and what “public media” means in the Arab world. Themes that emerged in the series included the tension between political and business interests, and the public interest. Additionally, the series explored the effects of interaction of local audiences with transnational media, the role of traditional versus non-traditional media, changes in the media despite political stagnation, globalization and popular culture, and the difference between “public” and “audience.” In this context, can we speak of a “public” or is it more rigorous to refer to plural “publics” when discussing transnational satellite television? If there are several publics, then how is the “public interest” defined? The project proceeded over three convenings, which featured presentations by leaders in the field and the development of an agenda for research and practice to expand the scope of public media geographically, conceptually and topically