media

January 21, 2011

Briefly, opening with “I got a hold of your show on the web and I was so impressed with the heart of it,” Jon Stewart began his interview with Kambiz Hosseini and Saman Arbabi, two U.S. Government employees – and U.S. public diplomats – behind “Parazit”, a Voice of America program aimed at Iran.

It would seem then that the 23-year-old television actor was the perfect choice for host of On the Road, Afghanistan's first travelogue and one of the country's most popular television programs. Sponsored by USAID, the show has just entered its second season.

The internet alone won't set anyone free. Between north Africa and Belarus, we are learning just what it can and can't do...What contribution do websites, social networks and mobile phones make to popular protest movements? Is there any justification for labelling the Tunisian events, as some have done, a "Twitter Revolution" or a "WikiLeaks Revolution"?

The U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors is considering asking commercial broadcasters to donate their news programming to Voice of America and other international broadcasters.

As President Obama welcomes Chinese president Hu Jintao for a state visit, Americans should get ready for a Chinese ad blitz on TV. The spots -- with images of ordinary Chinese citizens juxtaposed with celebrities like the NBA's Yao Ming -- are aimed at improving China's image in the U.S. Will it work? Marketplace's Scott Tong takes a look.

Featuring 61 languages, CIBN will be a convergence of a website, online broadcaster, network television and mobile service terminal. It's set to become a new state-level broadcasting organization that caters to audiences from all over the world, thanks to the rapid development of the Internet and mobile communication technology.

“Hope” is the first lesson the Arab street is learning through the Tunisian experience. For decades, the Arab peoples have been depressed, felt helpless and had to live with the injustices, the failures and repressions of their post-colonial states. For the first time, an Arab people, Tunisians, have won against one of their regimes. The event had an echo among all Arab peoples. Many of them felt this strengthened their trust in themselves and their hope in the future.

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