Media, Perception, and Change

Over the past six years, Middle East public opinion polls of the United States have revealed that there is little faith in its policy and leadership. But with the inauguration of Barack Obama and an entire new ideology in Washington, hope in the Middle East has risen to bring great expectations from the new administration. Will President Obama make peace in the Middle East a priority of his foreign policy? How will the Arab world respond to proposed solutions?

Perception of the U.S. will be largely influenced by media. In addition to the traditional news sources with which we are all familiar, including Middle East mass media still in its infancy, the World Wide Web has come to replace the consumption-oriented news cycle with a more selective and interactive experience. This new medium has and will continue to exert a large influence on public perception and opinion. Will SMS messaging grow to have a real impact on Arab publics--as it did for a short while in Egypt--or will it become another lost opportunity? Will blogs, email, and trans-regional news services promote an engaged civil society? Or will governments and radicals prevent this potential force from providing meaningful change?

As both the United States and the Middle East shape and react to the evolution of the way information is shared, it is the goal of this blog to comparitavely analyze the types and content of Middle Eastern and American news and information as the U.S.-Arab relationship evolves in the 21st century.