Media in the Middle East & Militainment

Arab Media Ownership

After the political events in the region which took place in 2008 and 2011, the middle east experienced a “media explosion” (Khiabany, 2016).

The explosion of Arab media into the scene was heralded as the clearest indication of forces of globalization, renewed faith in the role of media in social change, and prospect of democratization.

Khiabany, 2016

And according to Khiabany (2016), there are two primary links between the Middle East and the rest of the global community (specifically the US) i.e. oil/gas resources and Israel. Therefore, it is not surprising to know how big of a role Herman and Chomsky’s first filter plays: Ownership.

In one way or another, all media companies that have made it in the industry are owned or supported by Saudi Arabian figures, with Al-Jazeera being the only exception. The Saudi’s control over media companies in the region is strongly related to foreign relations with the US, which means their content must take into account this aspect.

EXAMPLE

Network: Spacetoon

Owner: Dr. Shihab Jamjoom

While Spacetoon is a cartoon network most Arab children grew up watching, it is sad to acknowledge that it is no different than other Arab media companies. The owner is based in Saudi Arabia and is in fact the deputy minister of Information in Saudi Arabia (LinkdIn, n.d.), meaning he must abide by governmental restrictions. Therefore, there must be restrictions on content in terms of broadcasting daring and contemporary shows for kids.

Militainment

Militainment is basically when military meets entertainment. As Andersen & Mirrlee (2014) described it, war and the “media war” are two different things.

War itself refers to actual material referents: invasions, occupations, violent conflicts and coups, and the cities, deserts and jungles where people fight, bleed, kill and die. Media images, tropes, themes and myths of war often bear little resemblance to war itself.

Andersen & Mirrlee (2014)

Reference List

Khiabany, G. (2016). The Middle East. In Birkinbine B., Gomez R., & Wasko J. (Eds.), Global Media Giants (pp. 273 – 286). Routledge.

Andersen R., & Mirrlees, T. (2014). Introduction: Media, Technology, and the Culture of Militarism: Watching, Playing and Resisting the War Society. Democratic Communique Vol 26 No 2.