Arab Journalism

NAAJA urges community to help InFocus Newspaper

2012-01-24T07:29:00.000-08:00

The Anaheim-based mainstream American Arab-Muslim newspaper InFocus is facing severe financial challenges and is on the verge of shutting down. We urge community members to do what they can to help support this newspaper which reflects the highest journalism values and professional journalism.

Here is the open appeal that was published by InFocus to explain their difficulties. Although the newspaper is in California, American Arabs and Muslims throughout the country should be concerned.

Ray Hanania
National coordinator NAAJA
www.NAAJA-US.com

Their web site is (CLICK HERE) ... and their Facebook Page is (CLICK HERE)

Assalaamu Alaikum!

We, as community leaders, are proud to write to you about the role InFocus News plays in our community.

Recent news – such as learning the FBI used paid informants to monitor activity at mosques – made it clear to us that our most important challenge as Muslim Americans is informing the public and shaping public opinion to counter the heavy load of misinformation being spread about Islam and Muslims. Those who have access to a more balanced perspective through IFN are more supportive of our community and more vocal in advocating for justice and tolerance.

IFN is distributed free of charge to more than 70 mosques, 350 Muslim businesses, and 35 public libraries, and at major Muslim events across California, Nevada, Arizona and Oklahoma. Making a profit is not the objective of IFN. In fact, IFN is a non-profit organization. With your support, IFN plans to soon become a national newspaper; a newspaper that will also reach elected officials, interfaith leaders, media professionals, and other fellow Americans.

We are contacting you to join us in supporting IFN's work. We have been big fans of their success and professionalism and have volunteered our help to build on their efforts.

We invite you to support the unique educational efforts of the newspaper. About 70% of IFN’s operating costs are supported by advertisers. The rest comes from those in our community who value having an American Muslim outlet telling our story to the general public. There are a number of ways to get involved in supporting this project.

Sponsor subscriptions to at least five (5) people of influence or to public libraries or prisons

Become a Friend of IFN by automatically giving $100, $50, $20 or even $10 every month

Make a one-time generous donation to help IFN’s operating expenses.

We finally have a great opportunity to establish our own strong media outlet that will reach the public at large. We hope we can count on your generous support to realize this goal. Please use the attached envelope to make your donation today. Every amount will help.

Wasalaam,

NAAJA Condemns Atlanta Jewish Times for calling for "hit" on President Obama

2012-01-21T06:23:00.000-08:00

The National American Arab Journalists Association today denounced the Atlanta Jewish Times which published a column by its publisher, David Adler, calling for the Mossad to "hit" President Barack Obama. Click here to read London Guardian Story on the controversy which many American media are trying to ignore.

Anyone who speaks English knows the meaning of that phrase, that to place a "hit" on someone is to call for their murder.

Mr. Adler's newspaper has promoted all kinds of anti-Arab and racist propaganda over the years. But because he is American Jewish, his ignorance is tolerated. In fact, many of the mainstream American news media have ignored the story and are trying to play it down.

Adler quickly took the column down when foreign media began to criticize the hypocrisy and the call to violence. But thanks to Gawker, it was been preserved, Click here to read the column (PDF) that Adler later removed.

Here's a section from the column that has been preserved:

Three, give the go-ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a president deemed unfriendly to Israel in order for the current vice president to take his place, and forcefully dictate that the United States' policy includes its helping the Jewish state obliterate its enemies.

Yes, you read "three" correctly.

Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israel's existence. Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, don't you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israel's most inner circles?

Another way of putting "three" in perspective goes something like this: How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives...Jews, Christians and Arabs alike?

You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table.

Adler even speculates that Israeli leaders have thought about killing the president, in a manner that suggests he is okay with it. (He doesn't even protest the idea after writing it.)

Ironically, in the same newspaper, there was a story published about an Atlanta woman who sent an anti-Semitic package who was then killed by police in Atlanta.

Wow. The hypocrisy is outrageous here.

David Adler of the Atlanta Jewish Times writes that the Israeli Mossad should take out a "hit" against President Obama, and no one screams at all, except maybe some members of the foreign press. That's okay. But it's just routine news when an American expresses anti-Semitism, an act of ugliness and hatred, and then is killed by Police.

Mr. Adler, shame on you. But worse, shame on the American mainstream news media for ignoring Adler's venom. He should be fired from the newspaper or the newspaper should be shut down. That we tolerate some forms of vicious hatred only exposes the hypocrisy of American journalism.

Mr. Adler took down the column, as he should. But that is not enough. He should be punished and the Society of "Professional" Journalists should stop playing politics with Middle East and Arab-Jewish issues, and stand up for what's right. Of course, when was the last time the biased SPJ did that?

NAAJA Urges the SPJ and all Journalism groups to condemn Adler's call to violence and we urge officials in Atlanta to shut down the Atlanta Jewish Times for promoting violence against the President of the United States.

-- Ray Hanania

Ikhras loves the Syrian Dictatorship: Just read their "Twits"

2011-12-09T04:40:00.001-08:00

Ikhras haters Thabit al-Arabi and Qassem Lufti, who have a life-long difficulty with the English language, moderation and accuracy, have laid out (or lied out) a long list of reasons why they think Syrian Dictator Bashar al-Assad shouldn't be attacked and that the pro-Democracy protesters should be blamed and criticized.

But they know that their support for the Syrian government, which has murdered more than 4,000 innocent civilians including hundreds of children, is not an easy one to argue. It makes them look like hypocrites as they assault and slander an array of people including. Their targets include star comedians Dean Obeidallah and Maysoon Zayid (who host the annual New York Arab Comedy Festival), and writers Hussein Ibish, Ray Hanania and Mona eltahawy. These are but a few of the scores of people that Ikhras brutalizes in their online verbal assaults as if they were the Syrian military police attacking civilians seeking freedom in Homs. (I can just see the Ikhras goofs cheering as new statistics surface about innocent Syrian civilians being killed by the Syrian Government that they consistently defend.)

All you have to do is read their Twitter posts, posts that Qassem and Thabet recently referred to as "Twits" in an email. Maybe that's because they are the "twits."

Hussein Ibish has penned a scathing expose of who these sad refugees from truth really are.

(Click here to read that priceless unveiling of the rotten core of Ikhas.)

Here's a direct link to Ibish's article: Click here.

But here are some of their most recent Tweets (Yes Thabet and Qassem, they're called Tweets, not Twits!) that demonstrate and prove their loyalty to the Syrian Dictatorship and why they pick and chose their words carefully to pretend as if they care about, say, the Palestinian refugees (they don't) or the people of Egypt (they don't) or ADC (which upsets them the most because ADC fights for the rights of victims of discrimination including those bullied by cowards like Qassem and Thabet and the Ikhras gaggle of online bullies).

Read how they carefully tiptoe and pretend they do not support the brutality of the Syrian regime, and then use that argument as a means of attacking others. The way they exploit the suffering of the Palestinians as a means of saying, hey, what's happening in Syria isn't that important because Bush is a liar and a murderer, too.

Their theme here is right out of the Little Red Book published by Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian Baath Party dictators.

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

The show is sponsored by Royal Jordanian Airlines. Unlikely RJ would sponsor these clowns w/o involvement of Gov agencyascf.jo/index.html

2 hours ago Favorite Retweet Reply

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Can anyone provide info on this show in Amman, Jordan?ascf.jo/index.html Interested in role of US Embassy in this event.@Deanofcomedy.

2 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Interesting to contrast Western officials descriptions of Eric Honeker/Gustav Husak/Nicolae Ceaușescu w/descriptions of Qadhafi/Saddam/Assad

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Why do some ignore mass murder of 1.5 Million people by Bush & Blair in Iraq & feign humanity over crimes by Arab rulers US Gov opposes?

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Arabs must oppose Arab tyranny w/o adopting racist double standards which dehumanize an entire culture and not just a regime or ruler.

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Arabs who oppose Arab dictators shouldnt accept the West's dehumanization of Arab rulers because it includes dehumanization of Arab culture

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Those who call #Syria n President a "liar" (and lets all assume he is): Would you dare call US officials liars? Dont accept double standards

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

For those who oppose the #Syria n regime: Its in your interest to not lie. Youre better off trying to preserve your credibility.

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

It appears some people paid more attention to State Dept's characterization of the Bashar Al-Assad interview than to the interview. #Syria

4 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

Arabs deserve better than to have to choose between dictatorship and imperialism.

18 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

If you must collaborate with a foreign force, at least collaborate with Sweden or Vietnam or someone without Arab blood on their hands. #snc

18 hours ago

ikhras Ikhras اخرس

just coined a new term. Housism (n): collaboration with the oppressors as a "strategy" to end their subjugation of the oppressed.

Journalists’ Troubling, If Divided Vote on Thomas

2011-09-29T08:35:00.000-07:00

Journalists’ Troubling, If Divided Vote on Thomas

BY CHRISTINE TATUM

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 2011 09:00:00 AM
Published at Falls Church News-Press

On some levels, it has been a great deal of fun to watch the Society of Professional Journalists, one of the nation's oldest and largest journalism advocacy organizations, wrestle over the fate of a lifetime achievement award it has given for more than a decade in legendary White House Correspondent Helen Thomas' name.

Earlier this week, SPJ members voted by a slim margin, 85-71, to uphold a national board decision that euphemistically "retired" the award.

Oh, the hand wringing leading to that decision. Let's just say that if the Anti-Defamation League launches another campaign calling for an SPJ member's head -- as it did for Thomas' last year
-- the organization's national office will be prepared. The staff received training in crisis communication a few months ago. And there's now a prevailing sentiment among some of these "professional journalists" that it's not smart to name awards after living people because you never know when they're going to exercise their right to free speech in ways that make some folks plain, old mad enough not to attend award dinners. And if a prominent journalist refuses the award itself? Oh. The. Horror!

On other levels, watching a bunch of journalists -- many of whom shape the nation's news and opinion -- debate Thomas' speech has been anything but amusing. Thoroughly disturbing is more like it. Take a look at how far too many SPJ members simplistically processed her remarks, and it's no wonder that Americans have - and have had for quite some time - a lopsided view of the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Consider, for example, that not one person on behalf of this esteemed association ever contacted Thomas to ask questions that would help ensure her views were debated in a full and accurate context. Instead, SPJ members read to each other passages from published reports and characterized Thomas' comments from those. Frankly, they did no research of their own. So much for the Society's ethics code, which instructs journalists to "seek truth and report it," "minimize harm" and "act independently."

The Israel lobby’s influence and wrath are very old news to just about every American editor.

Then there were the journalists who skipped straight to charges of anti-Semitism. Never mind that Thomas has said repeatedly she is a critic not of Jewish people, but of Israel's government and of Zionist politics, which are supported by millions of people who aren't Jewish. It is entirely possible to criticize Israel's government without harboring a trace of anti-Semitism - as Israelis demonstrate every day. But that critical distinction is lost - often intentionally -- on a lot of people in the United States.

Thomas' criticism of the Israel lobby's influence on American policy and commerce surely ticked off some SPJ members, but what really steamed them was her criticism of the lobby's influence on American media. Thomas has never said that influence has no place in our country; she simply wants people to be aware of it and how it potentially affects the news and opinion that shape our country's views of the Middle East. When Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas received a standing ovation in the United Nations General Assembly last week, know that many of the world leaders who jumped to their feet were reacting in part to news coverage and editorial opinions about Israel's behavior that we don't see often in the United States.

The Israel lobby's influence and wrath are very old news to just about every American editor who has handled opinion pages or dealt with the public. However, only those with backbones of steel will say so outside circles of trusted colleagues.

"... To discourage unfavorable reporting on Israel, groups in the lobby organize letter-writing campaigns, demonstrations and boycotts against news outlets whose content they consider anti-Israel," wrote John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt in their 2007 book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy.

The book also notes that Menachem Shalev, a former spokesman for the Israeli consulate in New York, once put it another way: "Of course a lot of self-censorship goes on. Journalists, editors and politicians are going to think twice about criticizing Israel if they know they are going to get thousands of angry calls in a matter of hours. The Jewish lobby is good at orchestrating pressure."

It is a pressure 91-year-old Helen Thomas has observed for decades - and one that was applied to her when she dared to complain about it and Israel's treatment of Palestine. One would think a journalism-advocacy group would ardently defend her right to free speech and be smart enough to make many of the same distinctions between politics and people that she does. You'd think an organization like SPJ would celebrate that this pioneer in journalism has, in many respects, prompted more Americans to scrutinize one of the world's most complex and pressing problems - and our nation's role in it.

Perhaps a journalism organization will be courageous and principled enough to give Helen Thomas the praise she deserves. Clearly, it's not this one. SPJ has sensitive members to soothe and polite, professional dinners to host.

Christine Tatum served as 2006-07 national president of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Al Jazeera English wins New York Press Club Award

2011-06-13T18:41:00.001-07:00

Al Jazeera English wins New York Press Club Award

13 June 2011 - New York Press Club has awarded Al Jazeera English the “Best News Videography of a Breaking Story by an Individual or Crew” in the Spot News Video category. The award will be presented to Al Jazeera journalists Cath Turner, Alessandro Rampietti and Geoff Mills for their piece on "Haiti Cholera Protests.”

This prestigious award recognizes the best news videography of a breaking story by an individual or crew that was shot and aired within 24 hours of the story. It is the first time Al Jazeera English has won an award from the New York Press Club. Entries were judged by prominent working journalists or former journalists and academics and were selected for their expertise in each category. The crew accepted the award this evening at the New York Press Club’s annual awards gala held at the Water Club in New York City.

‘Haiti Cholera Protests’ featured reporting by Cath Turner, an Al Jazeera English reporter based in New York. In the build-up to the first round of Haitian elections in 2010, Cath and her crew reported on the ground from Cap-Hatien. With anti-UN protests, a deadly disease outbreak, and ongoing fallout from the earthquake and hurricane all during pre-election campaigning, Haiti was in a very critical and potentially dangerous situation. Cath along with Alessandro and Geoff took to the streets of Haiti to bring this volatile story to Al Jazeera’s audience worldwide in real-time.

Cath Turner stated, “We are very honored to have received this award tonight. Haiti has been such an important story for us during the recent difficulties it has been experiencing. It means a lot to have our work recognized and appreciated as it has been tonight.”

To view ‘Haiti Cholera Protests’ please follow the below link

http://english.aljazeera.net/video/americas/2010/11/201011198102062157.html

--ENDS--

Abbas: The Long Overdue Palestinian State

2011-05-17T11:10:00.001-07:00

The Long Overdue Palestinian State

By MAHMOUD ABBAS

Ramallah, West Bank

SIXTY-THREE years ago, a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was forced to leave his home in the Galilean city of Safed and flee with his family to Syria. He took up shelter in a canvas tent provided to all the arriving refugees. Though he and his family wished for decades to return to their home and homeland, they were denied that most basic of human rights. That child’s story, like that of so many other Palestinians, is mine.

This month, however, as we commemorate another year of our expulsion — which we call the nakba, or catastrophe — the Palestinian people have cause for hope: this September, at the United Nations General Assembly, we will request international recognition of the State of Palestine on the 1967 border and that our state be admitted as a full member of the United Nations.

Many are questioning what value there is to such recognition while the Israeli occupation continues. Others have accused us of imperiling the peace process. We believe, however, that there is tremendous value for all Palestinians — those living in the homeland, in exile and under occupation.

It is important to note that the last time the question of Palestinian statehood took center stage at the General Assembly, the question posed to the international community was whether our homeland should be partitioned into two states. In November 1947, the General Assembly made its recommendation and answered in the affirmative. Shortly thereafter, Zionist forces expelled Palestinian Arabs to ensure a decisive Jewish majority in the future state of Israel, and Arab armies intervened. War and further expulsions ensued. Indeed, it was the descendants of these expelled Palestinians who were shot and wounded by Israeli forces on Sunday as they tried to symbolically exercise their right to return to their families’ homes.

Minutes after the State of Israel was established on May 14, 1948, the United States granted it recognition. Our Palestinian state, however, remains a promise unfulfilled.

Palestine’s admission to the United Nations would pave the way for the internationalization of the conflict as a legal matter, not only a political one. It would also pave the way for us to pursue claims against Israel at the United Nations, human rights treaty bodies and the International Court of Justice.

Our quest for recognition as a state should not be seen as a stunt; too many of our men and women have been lost for us to engage in such political theater. We go to the United Nations now to secure the right to live free in the remaining 22 percent of our historic homeland because we have been negotiating with the State of Israel for 20 years without coming any closer to realizing a state of our own. We cannot wait indefinitely while Israel continues to send more settlers to the occupied West Bank and denies Palestinians access to most of our land and holy places, particularly in Jerusalem. Neither political pressure nor promises of rewards by the United States have stopped Israel’s settlement program.

Negotiations remain our first option, but due to their failure we are now compelled to turn to the international community to assist us in preserving the opportunity for a peaceful and just end to the conflict. Palestinian national unity is a key step in this regard. Contrary to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel asserts, and can be expected to repeat this week during his visit to Washington, the choice is not between Palestinian unity or peace with Israel; it is between a two-state solution or settlement-colonies.

Despite Israel’s attempt to deny us our long-awaited membership in the community of nations, we have met all prerequisites to statehood listed in the Montevideo Convention, the 1933 treaty that sets out the rights and duties of states. The permanent population of our land is the Palestinian people, whose right to self- determination has been repeatedly recognized by the United Nations, and by the International Court of Justice in 2004. Our territory is recognized as the lands framed by the 1967 border, though it is occupied by Israel.

We have the capacity to enter into relations with other states and have embassies and missions in more than 100 countries. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union have indicated that our institutions are developed to the level where we are now prepared for statehood. Only the occupation of our land hinders us from reaching our full national potential; it does not impede United Nations recognition.

The State of Palestine intends to be a peace-loving nation, committed to human rights, democracy, the rule of law and the principles of the United Nations Charter. Once admitted to the United Nations, our state stands ready to negotiate all core issues of the conflict with Israel. A key focus of negotiations will be reaching a just solution for Palestinian refugees based on Resolution 194, which the General Assembly passed in 1948.

Palestine would be negotiating from the position of one United Nations member whose territory is militarily occupied by another, however, and not as a vanquished people ready to accept whatever terms are put in front of us.

We call on all friendly, peace-loving nations to join us in realizing our national aspirations by recognizing the State of Palestine on the 1967 border and by supporting its admission to the United Nations. Only if the international community keeps the promise it made to us six decades ago, and ensures that a just resolution for Palestinian refugees is put into effect, can there be a future of hope and dignity for our people.

Mahmoud Abbas is the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the president of the Palestinian National Authority.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17abbas.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212

Society of Professional Journalists members draft resolution to restore the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award

2011-05-10T17:11:00.000-07:00

This resolution will be presented to the Convention of the Society of Professional Journalists for a vote to restore the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award. The resolution has been drafted and endorsed by many members of the SPJ dissatisfied with the failure of some of the SPJ's national leadership.

A resolution reinstating the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award

WHEREAS the Society of Professional Journalists has been awarding the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement award since 2000, with the inaugural award presented to Thomas in recognition of her long and distinguished journalism career, and

WHEREAS the SPJ national board voted in January to retire that award in a special telephone meeting with three-minute time limits on board-member comments and no advance consultation with chapters or national mission committees, and

WHEREAS the national board retired the award without undertaking any substantive discussions with Thomas to clarify her remarks, and

WHEREAS the board's vote to retire the award followed discussion within the national leadership occasioned by Thomas's exercise of free expression as a private individual, specifically -- as reported by SPJ's president -- because she "made comments some find objectionable in a prepared speech," and

WHEREAS SPJ, in a press release before the board vote, said the Executive Committee "condemn[s] [Thomas's] statements in December as offensive and inappropriate," and

WHEREAS the Society has for many years encouraged the vigorous exercise of freedom of expression and repeatedly warned against the dangers of content-based and viewpoint-based restrictions on free speech, regardless of whether some might deem the speech offensive, objectionable or inappropriate, and

WHEREAS SPJ presents other highly coveted awards named for individuals, living and dead, that have not been similarly subjected to heightened scrutiny and reconsideration based on the personal views of the people in whose honor they were named, and

WHEREAS some SPJ national leaders have argued that future potential recipients of the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award might misinterpret the Society's intent in naming the award in honor of Thomas's career achievements in journalism,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the delegates of the Society direct national officers and staff to:

* Restore the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award, effective December 1, 2011, and

* Accompany all promotional materials for the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award with the following language:

"The Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to an individual or individuals for a career of extraordinary service to journalism and the journalism profession. The award is named after longtime White House correspondent Helen Thomas for her tenacious and illuminating reporting over a period of more than 55 years. The award is the highest the Society bestows for distinguished journalism careers and, in keeping with its guiding principles, is presented without regard for the personal views held or expressed by any past or future recipient."

end

Proud to have served as the emcee for the Gala Dinner of Life for Relief

2011-05-02T05:45:00.001-07:00

I was honored to serve on Friday as the emcee for a phenomenal Gala Dinner to celebrate the 18 years of great work by Life for Relief in Dearborn on Friday night (before the NAAJA 6^th Annual Journalism Conference at the Hyatt which began Saturday). Life for Relief (www.lifeusa.org) does so much great charitable work. And while the dinner was packed with supporters, the biased and unfair mainstream American media was down the street covering the vicious hatred of Terry Jones who did his best to provoke with his hatred violence from the people of Dearborn. Terry Jones was a major story for the media but none of the mainstream media covered the Life for Relief dinner and their achievements, one of the major problems making the American news media more and more irrelevant. The mainstream media ignores the achievements of all Muslim and Arab organizations but always focuses on the negative and the conflict.

NAAJA (www.NAAJA-US.com) will help change that pattern of unprofessionalism from the media.

Please take a moment to view this YouTube video by Life for Relief’s Ayman Aburahma which detailed some of the great charitable work they do across the globe helping families, mothers, children, the elderly and everyone in need.

Life for Relief video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSGaAS74AOU

Thanks so much

Ray Hanania

www.Hanania.com

NAAJA Dearborn Journalism Conference recap

2011-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you the wonderful support letter that NAAJA received from the prestigious Washington Arab American Journalists Association. The letter is below. NAAJA officially recognizes Mohamad Dalbah and the WAAJ as our official Washington DC sister organization and will be working and networking with them in the future to organize a journalism conference there soon.

Our 6^th annual convention was an amazing success. Presented several 2011 NAAJA Excellence in Journalism Awards and scholarships totaling $2,000 to three students:

2011 EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARDS

George Hishmeh, Washington DC based syndicated columnist and journalist ... He worked at the Chicago sun times steer arriving in the us in 1968 and a few years later was hired by the Washington post ... Born in Nazareth, Palestine, George Hishmeh is an example of how American Arabs can walk through the door and in to journalism careers ... So for his years of service, NAAJA is proud to present George Hishmeh with the 2011 NAAJA excellence in journalism award

Laila Diab ... Laila Diab has been working in journalism and communications for nearly 30 years, writing stories about American Arabs in Chicago and across the nation ... She is an educator and a volunteer to help young people better understand in Chicago how they can be more successful in life. NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism to Laila Diab

Delinda Hanley, editor, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs is one of the most important American Arab magazines in the country. It is the one magazine that offers news and facts that are often Intentionally excluded from the coverage of the American Arab and Muslim community. Delinda Hanley has dedicated much of her life working for the Washington report which is celebrating 29 years in publication, working as the news editor. NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism to Delinda Hanley for her dedicated to accuracy and professional journalism.

Christine Tatum, for SPJ President: The society of professional journalists is the leading professional journalism organizations in the world. It has more than 10,000 members working in print, broadcast and online media. For years, the SPJ has supported inclusion of American Arabs and one of the people who helped facilitate American Arab involvement ... Bringing true diversity to a fully un-diverse profession is Christine Tatum who as national SPJ president helped launched the Arab section of the organization in 2007-2008. Last year, her successor unilaterally shut that section down without ever contacting our group ... A pattern in the SPJ that is unfortunate and wrong ... For her leadership and dedication to diversity and for supporting the rights of American Arabs NAAJA is proud to present the 2011 excellence in journalism award to Christine Tatum.

SCHOLARSHIPS ... Presented by Rehab Amer, and NAAJA Coordinator Reima Abuarabi

1 -- Batoul Baidoun, Presented by Rehab Amer; Star International Academy, High school senior. Batoul's academic counselor is Hutham Tankersley. Batoul received a scholarship for $1,000. Batoul wrote about the role of the new media and the tragedy of Rehab Amber and the adoption of HB 4118 Sponsored by Dr. Nazer Abdel-Fattah

2 -- Fadel Nabilsi, of Central Academy, Ann Arbor, MI received a scholarship for $500. Fadel wrote about the tragedy of the family of Rehab Amber and HB 4118 the Amer act. Sponsored by Nina Sky Productions (Nina Bazzy). Fadel's instructor is Tahani Dari, who is the assessment coordinator and career adviser ...

3 -- Ali Ghandour ... His career counselor is Hutham Tankersley; He is a high school senior at Star International Academy. He received a scholarship for $500 and wrote an essay about the tragedy of Rehab Amer and the Amer Act HB 4118. Sponsored by NAAJA. The Star International Academy is headed by Nawal Hamady. There are several schools in their group

Note: Central academy Ann arbor is a part of global educational excellence ... And we thank Mohammed Issa for all the work he does at global educational excellence and for supporting this conference and our students. We also had entries from many other students and institutions including universal academy ... And also from the University of Michigan scholarships to high school seniors:

We had more than 130 students attend the conference in addition to about 100 full registration attendees and more than 50 speakers on 12 panels. The students were sponsored by Mohamed Issa (65 students) and Ziyad Brothers Importing (65 students).

Dignitaries included:

- Dearborn Mayor the Honorable Jack O'Reilly who spoke forcefully about the racism of Terry Jones and the ridiculous hate claims by bigots that Dearborn is the center of Sharia Law.

- Wayne County Executive the Honorable Robert A. Ficano congratulated NAAJA and the scholarship winners.

- U.S. Rep. the Honorable John Dingell (15th) congratulated NAAJA and the scholarship winners.

Our Keynote speakers were:

- Lawrence Pintak, author "The New Arab Journalist”

- Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East & North Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists

At the end of the program, I performed standup comedy, (raking Ikhras and KabobFest across the coals) to thunderous laughter.

And phenomenal Middle Eastern music was provided by the Usama Blabaki orchestra

Our emcee was Warren David. The Detroit Chapter of NAAJA including Laila alhusinni, our chapter coordinator, and NAAJA staff Sameh Alhady, Reima Abouarabi, Zena Zahr, Saira Mussani and Areej Kattan, organized the event at the Hyatt Regency Dearborn. More than 35 organizations sponsored the dinner.

RAY HANANIA

www.NAAJA-US.com

WAAJ Letter

April 29, 2011

Dear members of NAAJA

Dear Ray

It is with profound honor and pride that we at Washington Association of Arab Journalists (WAAJ) congratulate you and the NAAJA members as well as the Arab community in Dearborn for making this conference a success.

We at WAAJ consider NAAJA a sister organization that represents journalists of Arab heritage across the nation. WAAJ on the other hand is a representative of Arab and Arab –American journalists in the Washington D.C area. Our institution represents newspapers and Satellite channels that transmit from the Arab World into and outside the Arab world.

With this in mind, we at WAAJ hope and aspire that we can join forces with NAAJA to build a much bigger and stronger organization that will represent us all.

A new organization that will have NAAJA’s grass root national presence and WAAJ’s Washington and the Arab world strong presence will be the best hope to defend our members’ rights and above all present the story and the perspective of the Arab world in this country.

Ray, as a “historic figure” in the Chicago Arab press and media, you know how important for our community and its institutions to speak in one voice and to be represented by strong institutions. Therefore, my friend, let’s put our hands together and start working together.

In closing, we, again, congratulate you and Liala Hussini for your hard work and efforts to make this conference a success and our hope and goal that by next year, conference there will one big organization that represent us all, and we all will be in one conference.

Thank you so much and God Bless all of you

Yours truly

Mohammad Dalbah

President

Congratulatory letter to NAAJA from the esteemed Washington Arab Journalists Association

2011-04-30T20:35:00.001-07:00

April 29, 2011

Dear members of NAAJA

Dear Ray

With this in mind, we at WAAJ hope and aspire that we can join forces with NAAJA to build a much bigger and stronger organization that will represent us all.

Thank you so much and God Bless all of you

Yours truly

Mohammad Dalbah

President

First night of NAAJA 2011 Conference -- Life for Relief Gala Dinner, Shatilla's Bakery and more

2011-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

Drove from Chicago to Dearborn (4 1/2 hours) and then worked with Laila and Reema to help organize the Welcome Reception Tables ... lots of people expected. Set up the boards, reception tables, Panel Room Posters. Too much work goes in to a conference.

One typo in the program book -- I hate typos. Laura Fawaz is a graduate from Oakland University not Wayne State University. We had it right on the Speaker's Bios Page but not on the Program Panel Page. Sorry Laura.

Octavia Nasr is now following my Tweets. Her story and the story of Helen Thomas are among the topics to be discussed on a panel featuring journalists Lloyd Weston and Christine Tatum, the former president of the SPJ. We reached out to Octavia and Helen to try to get them to speak at the conference.

I was invited to serve as the emcee for the Life for Relief Gala Dinner project tonight so I had to run there and manage their wonderful program. Life for Relief is one of the pre-eminent charitable organizations in the country. one of the best actually. They are devout Muslims and their respect and tolerance for others is a model for everyone to follow. Their work on behalf of orphans and those in need around the world is phenomenal.

Afterwards, we went to Shatilla's Bakery on Warren Avenue to have Knaffa. Joining us included Delinda Hanley from the Washington Repor ton Middle East Affairs, columnist George Hishmeh, publisher Mansour Tadros, writers Amani Ghouleh and Laila Diab, and two great friends from Bridges TV, its president Hunaid M. Baliwala and their marketing director Mohamed Numan Ali joined us. Lots of fun.

-- Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com

Dearborn Arab Journalism Conference features local leaders and journalists from across country

2011-04-28T12:47:00.000-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania

APRIL 28, 2011 rayhanania@comcast.net

Laila alhusinni

lealhusinni@yahoo.com

Dearborn Arab Journalism Conference features

local leaders and journalists from across country

Chicago/Detroit – Journalists from across the country will join more than 300 attendees and 120 students at a weekend-long conference to address challenges facing the nation’s American Arab and Muslim community in the decade since the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Welcoming the attendees at the 6^th Annual Conference of the National American Arab Journalists Association at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan beginning Friday April 29 are Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano, and Congressmen John Conyers Jr., and John Dingell.

Keynote speakers at the Saturday Gala dinner include Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the Committee to Protect Journalists and author Lawrence Pintak (“The New Arab Journalist”). The luncheon speaker Saturday is veteran journalist and columnist George Hishmeh. Warren David president of the highly popular online media site, ArabDetroit.com, is the evening’s emcee. Middle East entertainment will be provided by the Usama Balbaki Orchestra and award winning journalist Ray Hanania, columnist for Creators Syndicate, will provide laughter offering his special brand of Palestinian American Comedy.

The evening will feature the presentation of the first annual NAAJA Journalism Scholarships to three high school students pursuing careers in journalism or communications. More than 120 students are being sponsored courtesy of several sponsors including Ziyad Brothers Importing.

Twelve panels beginning Saturday morning at 9 am in two rooms will address a wide range of issues including the pro-Democracy protests sweeping the Arab World, the struggle for freedom by Palestinians, the challenges facing American Arab newspaper publishers, techniques for using social and online media, immigration reform, healthcare issues, civil rights in the 10 years since Sept. 11, and how to tell the American Arab and Muslim story to mainstream Americans.

A panel will also discuss the growing challenges facing American Arabs in journalism reviewing the assaults on Octavia Nasr and Helen Thomas, while another will explore U.S. Policy in the Middle Eat with the State Department’s Near Affairs Director of Public Diplomacy Phil Frayne and journalists George Hishmeh and Ali Younes.

The complete program is available online at www.NAAJA-US.com.

“We are very excited to have everyone that counts in American Arab and Muslim journalism attending this conference,” said Conference Coordinator and NAAJA Detroit organizer Laila alhusinni. “Everyone and anyone who fashions themselves as a journalist and who cares about the future of American Arabs and Muslims will be at this three-day conference.”

Ms. Alhusinni, co-host of the weekly morning radio show Radio Baladi simulcast live on radio in Chicago on WJJG AM 1530 and in Detroit on WNZK AM 690, said the conference will also present four NAAJA Excellence in Journalism Awards.

“We are honored to have so many high quality professional journalists speaking at this event,” said Hanania, who is a political columnist with the Southwest News-Herald and Lawndale News in Chicago, and with the Jerusalem Post Newspaper and PalestineNote.com. Hanania is the national coordinator for NAAJA.

Panel speakers at the conference on Saturday include:

- Suzanne Manneh, New America Media

- Hunaid M. Baliwala, President, Bridges TV

- Stephen Franklin, former Chicago Tribune Middle East correspondent, reporter Detroit Free Press now director of Ethnic Media for the Chicago Community Media Workshop

- Ginnnah Muhammad, radio talkshow host

- Stephen Coats, Sabeel Media

- Weam Namu, journalist

- Brian Bowe, visiting assistant professor of journalism in Grand Valley State University's School of Communications

- Geri Alumit Zeldes, assistant professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University

- Ali Beydoun, Arab American Student Union, Wayne State University

- Laura Fawaz, photographer, journalism graduate, Oakland University

- Delia Habhab, Wayne State University Communications graduate

- Faiz Ahmed, Editor-in-Chief of the East West Link newspaper, and studies at Oakland University

- Peter J. Hammer, Prof. of Civil Rights, Wayne State Uni.

- Ron Scott, radio talk show host

- Imad Hamad, ADC Michigan

- Dawud Walid, Executive Director of CAIR Michigan

- Hasan Nawash, Palestine Center Dearborn

- Janice Milhem, president of Milhem Images, Inc.

- Barbara Harvey, Jewish Voice for Peace, Detroit Chapter board member

- Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire

- Gregg Krupa, editor and reporter at newspapers and magazines in New York City, Boston, Detroit and Providence, Rhode Island

- Niraj Warikoo, reporter, Detroit Free Press

- Joe Grimm is a professor of media at Michigan State University, former editor, recruiter at the Detroit Free Press

- Roop Raj, reporter Fox 2 News Mornings in Detroit

- Oralandar Brand-Williams, Detroit News reporter

- Steven N. Garmo, Esq. Attorney & Counselor at Law, Law Offices of Garmo & Associates, P.C.

- Marshal E. Hyman, Esq. Attorney specializing in Immigration and Nationality Law

- Lena Masri, Esq. immigration attorney

- Charlie Langdon, news analyst for Fox News

- Renée Ahee, APR, Facilitator and presenter, Executive Director, National Arab American Medical Association

- Ahmad Adam, President/CEO and Founder of Crescent Foods

- Dr. Raymond Hilu, internal medicine specialist at St. John Health System and a teaching physician, has confirmed his participation.

- Cindy Goodaker, executive editor of Crain’s Detroit Business, has confirmed her participation.

- Kim Koslowski, Journalist, the Detroit News

- Christine Tatum, former President of the Society of Professional Journalists

- Lloyd Weston, journalist and Wayne State University alumni

- Peter Wirth, President GW Associates, Washington DC

- Mansour Tadros, al-Mustaqbal Chicago

- Warren David, ArabDetroit.com

- Khalil Ramal, Veteran journalist and reporter covering Detroit and the Middle East

- Delinda C. Hanley, news editor, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

- Phil Frayne, Director, Office of Press and Public Diplomacy, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, US State Department

- Ali Younes, Washington DC based columnist

- George Hishmeh, award winning journalist

More than 35 organizations, businesses and journalism associations are co-sponsoring the conference.

NAAJA also hosts the new Arab American News Wire (www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com) which will pay freelance writers to write news and feature stories about American Arab and Muslim communities that will be distributed free-of-charge to American Arab and Muslim publications and media.

A limited number of registrations will be accepted at the conference.

# # #

Al Jazeera celebrates one million Facebook fans

2011-04-28T09:57:00.001-07:00

Al Jazeera celebrates one million Facebook fans

Doha, Qatar, 28 April, 2011 - Al Jazeera is proud to announce that it has reached more than one million fans on its Arabic Facebook page making it the first and only Arabic news channel to do so.

Al Jazeera has been particularly praised for its social media efforts in recent months. The network's new media team has been seen as crucial in both newsgathering and news broadcasting during the Arab uprisings. Fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter have increased dramatically during this period.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Social Media, Riyaad Minty, stated: “This is a huge moment for us. The really wonderful thing has been that these numbers have been achieved organically till now – we have not invested huge amounts of money in building this fanbase.

“I can remember first launching the page in 2009, and watching it grow has been phenomenal. At that time it was seen as a somewhat strange move, but as we can see from this milestone, the page is central to our output.

“We want to continue to grow. Across all of our Facebook pages, including the English one, we have over two million fans in total. Our presences on YouTube are amongst the most popular channels there.”

[ENDS]

Notes

A picture of Al Jazeera's social media team celebrating with a specially branded cake is available on request from saeedo[AT] al jazeera.net

Links:

Al Jazeera Arabic on Facebook www.facebook.com/aljazeerachannel

Al Jazeera English on Facebook www.facebook.com/aljazeera

Diversity still lags in Newsrooms, and American Arabs still targeted for exclusion

2011-04-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

Diversity is a major ingredient of good journalism. While a journalist's skills and training are important to writing and producing a good news or feature story, it turns out that diversity is a key ingredient to insure that the news reporting covers all of the angles. It turns out that a reporter's personal experiences often open doors that might not otherwise be open to other reporters when covering any story. When the door is not opened, no one except those from the community involved would know that the door remains closed. In other words, journalism benefits from diversity and the goal of presenting the most accurate and complete story also suffer when diversity is limited.

The ket to remember is that as a journalist, your personal experience is important. They say a reporter should never interject their own personal opinion in to a story. But the reality is that reporters do interject their opinions in the story by the way they come to decide what to include in it. In reality, what happens is that a reporter is really injecting what they "know" in to the story, more than their personal opinions in to the story. And what they "know" sometimes is important to a story's accuracy and completeness.

Mainstream American journalists continue to fall short in their coverage of American Arabs and Muslims. They have turned what they do coverage in to a religious story, merging the words "Arab" and "Muslim" into synonymous meanings, which they should not do. There are 4.5 million Arabs in the United States and only 45 percent are actually Muslim (Sunni or less, Shiíte). There are about 7 million Muslims in the United States and only 22 percent are actually Arab. The largest group is African American Muslim followed by South Asian Muslims.

In other words, most Muslims are NOT Arab and Most Arabs are not Muslims. So why treat them the same? Expediency? Convenience? But more importantly, because of the lack of diversity. Most non-Arabs or non-Muslims would not realize the distinction. So their coverage reflects an inaccurate premise. That in turn creates a false knowledge about Arabs and Muslims, and feeds into the stereotypes about each group. In the end, the American public is less informed than they could be and as a result might embrace decisions that wrongly deal with issues involving Arabs, Muslims or the Middle East or the Muslim World. American foreign policy could be skewered because we have made the wrong decisions based on the lack of accurate information or factual knowledge.

And you know something, that is a tragedy, because the Middle East is one of the most important topics in our country. It has the most impact on our lives. It consumes much of our time. So why wouldn't we want to be accurate about understanding the Middle East?

That's where diversity in the news room comes in, and why many editors and publishers who are more political than the politicians they cover, want to keep Arabs and Muslims out of the mainstream media.

Their idea of diversity is to only embrace the accepted groups such as Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans. They don't want Arabs and Muslims helping the journalism professional to make the accurate decisions about the world events around us because they want to manipulate those events and can do a better job when not all of the accurate facts are known.

Knowledge is power, but so is the ability to control knowledge which is also a power, too. If you can control and manipulate knowledge and facts, you can control and manipulate the mainstream public.

Groups exist to champion these issues. UNITY: Journalists of Color is one group. But Minorities and special interest ethnic groups often find themselves competing for bread crumbs in the larger society, so they find themselves in rivalries for what little power they can get and share. UNITY includes Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans, but they have done everything they could to exclude Arabs and Muslims from participating as equal numbers and equal partners at the table.

There is only so much "food" to share and only so many chairs at the table. To let in other groups would dilute the influence and presence of those already at the table, like Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans. So there is a hostility not only from the mainstream Americans in journalism but also from those minorities that have already "made it."

Worse is that fact that the situation of diversity in mainstream journalism is pathetic. The idea is that a good goal would be to achieve a balance where minorities and ethnic groups have a presence in professional journalism equal to their presence in society. What percentage are Blacks, for example, of the larger mainstream society? They should have that presence (or close to it) in order to insure that professional journalism reflects the concerns, interests and priorities of Blacks in their coverage.

When an ethnic group is not represented, professional journalism is that much less professional. Let's use Blacks as a theoretical example for the sake of argument.

We know that the experiences of African Americans in this country is important. It can be a negative story where Blacks are blamed for crimes, and undesirable events. These negative stories would dominate the media coverage of the Black community and the impression conveyed would be that Blacks are a problem as a community.

Without Blacks working in the mainstream news media, professional journalism, that is how the media would see Blacks, as a negative story covered only when bad things happens and when Blacks are viewed as the cause of the problems.

But, when we include Blacks in professional media, we start to see another aspect, one that Blacks themselves are helping to define. A positive side to the Black community, one that offers insight in to the issues being covered that drives down the idea that they are a "negative" story and that includes other stories about their successes, achievements, contributions to society and positive news that helps the rest of the country see a true picture of African Americans.

They are not all bad.

It's amazing that even has to be stated.

They are not all bad.

Every community has bad, and good. But when you do not have a seat at the journalism table, the ability to see the "good" is skewered and fogged and not immediately clear. You see the bad and you rarely see the good. The "bad" is thrust ons societies. The "good" has to be mined, found through a specific effort and work.

Replace Blacks with Arabs and you see the problem. The mainstream media does a poor job of covering American Arabs because Arabs are excluded from the journalism profession.

A PEW Research survey from 2010 showed that only 13.26 percent of the more than 41,500 working journalists are "minorities." The term "minority" is even narrowly defined to include only those identified by UNITY, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans.

Worse, is the fact that the professional organizations which are sentinels to these issues also lack diversity. The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) for example has no American Arabs on their national board or on any elected or appointed authority position. Of their many local chapters of the SPJ (Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, etc) there are no American Arabs in elected positions and maybe a few on local committees.

So how does the SPJ represent the issues of journalists when they don't have participation from everyone, especially the one community which is a part of the major news stories that have fixated the attention of this country?

I'm compelled to run for the national board of the SPJ as an at-large director. The purpose is to impose myself on an incomplete system to force the SPJ and thereby force professional journalism to be professional by helping them to achieve a true state of diversity, or at least to get closer to being truly diverse.

If the organizations and watchdogs of journalism don't think it is important -- like PEW or Poynter for example -- that makes it an even worse problem. They don't see the problem. Or, maybe PEW and Poynter are ignoring the problem because none of their writers, educators, professional journalists are Arab or Muslim. When you are not at a table, you are pushed aside. You are not recognized as being a part of the team that addresses the issues. You are excluded form the national voice and the discussions and the talk and the meetings and therefore you are excluded from the process of making the situation better.

That needs to change. Not just because it is the right thing to do for American Arabs and Muslims, but because it is the right thing to do for America and for professional journalism.

Maybe I can either change it, or prompt other American Arabs and Muslims to do the same. Maybe I can prompt other American Arabs and Muslims to also join the SPJ and make change from inside the organization. Entering a hostile organization is in fact the best way to change that hostility. The best way to get something to change is to be involved in that something. That has always been my role as one of the few American Arabs in professional journalism, since 1976. The web site of the Society of Professional Journalists is www.SPJ.org. I hope you will join SPJ and join the fight to make the voice of professional journalism more representative, and to counter the anti-Arab and anti-Muslim voices that have had free reign to do what they want to keep us out.

-- Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com

State Department official to present at Arab Journalism Conference Phil Frayne will review events sweeping the Middle East

2011-04-13T05:39:00.001-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania

APRIL 13, 2011 rayhanania @ comcast.net

Laila alhusinni

lealhusinni@yahoo.com

State Department official to present at Arab Journalism Conference
Phil Frayne will review events sweeping the Middle East

Chicago/Detroit – U.S. State Department official Phil Frayne will join a panel discussion at the 6^th Annual National American Arab Journalism Association convention addressing changes in the Middle East and American foreign policy.

Frayne, the Director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy for the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, will join professional American Arab journalists George Hishmeh and Ali Younes during the panel which is one of 12 panels that will be presented on Saturday April 30, 2011 during the conference program.

Titled “American Arab Journalism 10 Years since Sept. 11^th Strengthening our role in educating the American Public & the Arab World,” the 2011 NAAJA Journalism Conference will closely examine the challenges facing American Arabs in the decade since the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“We’re very excited to have Mr. Frayne join our distinguished panels of speakers that will be presented in two separate conference rooms all day on Saturday during the conference,” said NAAJA National coordinator Ray Hanania.

“Mr. Frayne joins a panel of American Arab journalists who will discuss with attendees issues such as Arab world coverage of the pro-Democracy movements, the factors pushing for the change, and the challenges facing American Arab journalists seeking to educate the American public on Middle East issues.”

Mr. Hishmeh, an award winning veteran journalist and former president of the Washington Arab Journalism Association, will also offer special insights at a luncheon earlier in the day. The keynote speakers at the Gala Dinner that evening include Mohamed Abdel Dayem, Middle East & North Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Lawrence Pintak, the author of the new book “The New Arab Journalist.”

The conference emcee this year is Warren David, president of ArabDetroit.com. The dinner will also feature a presentation on the civil rights challenges since Sept. 11.

Other panels will explore issues ranging from the attacks against American Arab journalists Helen Thomas and Octavia Nasr to the controversy surrounding the release of the movie Miral. A complete listing of panels are online on the official conference web site at:

www.NAAJA-US.com

Click the Conference Drop Down Menu and select 2011 Dearborn Conference at the top of the website.

“American Arab journalists are under siege,” observed alhusinni. “From Helen Thomas to Octavia Nasr, we are being targeted because of what we represent. And, what we represent is a determination to insure that the mainstream news media is fair, accurate and includes the voices of American Arabs and Muslims in their daily reporting. That doesn’t always happen.”

The conference goals are to strengthen the growing network of American Arab Journalists, NAAJA and help launch more chapter networks in other cities. Currently, NAAJA has more than 300 members – there is no fee to join – and has five chapters including in Chicago, Dearborn, Washington D.C., Oregon and Austin.

NAAJA will also recognize three students with scholarships ranging from $1,000 to two $500 awards. NAAJA is dedicated to supporting young American Arabs to help them pursue careers in journalism.

More than 20 organizations and businesses and journalism associations are co-sponsoring the conference.

Registration is only $75 per person ($55 for students) and includes lunch and dinner plus full access to all panels on Saturday and the Saturday night Gala Banquet. The Hyatt is offering a special room rate of only $89 per night for conference attendees.

To register online or to get more information, please visit the official web page of NAAJA at www.NAAJA-US.com. A link to the Dearborn conference, and past conferences, will direct you to registration.

# # #

Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Embrace censorship and subtle bigotry

2011-04-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

Over the past two years, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) went from an organization that champions free speech to one that has become a bitter, narrowly focused and promoters of bigotry against people of Arab and Muslim heritage.

Although the SPJ continues to claim that it supports American Arabs and American Muslims -- because they cannot say otherwise publicly -- the actions of the past president Kevin Smith (and maybe the current president Hagit Limor) and Kevin's supporters on the SPJ board who I believe are driven by bigotry suggest otherwise. The SPJ has targeted American Arabs and dissension from SPJ members who are Arab.

Out of an act of pure dislike, Smith closed the Arab Journalism Section of the SPJ, recognizing that the anti-Arab sentiment in the United States in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001 would give him cover. His biggest complaint -- was that the SPJ Arab blog (one part of the larger Arab SPJ website section) had included views that were personal opinions. Smith demonstrated that he lacked leadership when he failed to express any views about the Arab Blog and only expressed his alleged "concerns" after he ordered the blog shut down.

Smith also recognized that allowing Arab members of the SPJ to organize as a Section would give American Arab journalists a foundation of power to pursue other changes at the SPJ, which has crumbled from an organization concerned with ethics and professional journalism conduct to one manipulated by a handful of small minded leaders like Smith.

Limor, who succeeded Smith, has played it coy since most of the actions against American Arabs came while Smith was president; although in the SPJ world, the president-elect works with the president and the past president to help insure a solid lock on controls. (But while Smith singled out the Arab heritage of the people he attacked at the Arab Section, no one ever raised the issue of the inherent bias that might exist if someone noted that Limor is Israeli. Maybe you haven't noticed by Arabs and Israelis have been locked in a conflict for more than six decades over Middle East policies, and that Middle East policies and the failure of the mainstream media to cover these issues was the focus of the Arab Section blog.)

Instead of addressing these issues, Limor has attempted repeatedly to cast herself as the victim of anti-Israeli politics while Smith reinforced that accusing anyone who was Arab who expressed any views as being "propagandists." No one in our group has ever attacked Limor because of her Israeli heritage. It is not an issue. We hope that Hagit Limor, as SPJ president, can be fair but we have not seen that so far.

Yet, we see that Smith is the true political activists and biased propogandists. Read Limor's SPJ Blog and notice how she advocates for issues also. In otherwords, it is okay for her and Smith to express views on issues outside of the realm of journalism or that skirt journalism issues but it is not okay, according to Smith, for someone who is Arab or Muslim to do the same.

The real challenge is most Arabs and Muslims in America have no place to go to fight this kind of bias. The same problem exists at UNITY: Journalists of Color which for the past four years has refused to give Arab Journalists equal standing among the four groups of "Journalists of Color"-- Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans.

UNITY recognizes and the SPJ campaign of anti-Arab bigotry by Smith and Limor demonstrates that Arabs are targets of discrimination in America and rather than stand up for the principles to champion the rights of these victims, the SPJ would rather ignore it and cast it aside. SPJ does this because it's easier than fighting the ethical war with the growing anti-Arab hate movement in America and the West. They just don't want to bother with it. First because it is a difficult fight and secondly and more importantly, some of the SPJ leaders just simply don't like the Arab point of view and do not want to give American Arabs an equal voice in this country nor certainly in the ranks of the SPJ nationally.

-- Ray Hanania
www.TheMediaOasis.com

NAAJA Conference to address challenges facing journalists in Middle East

2011-04-07T05:11:00.001-07:00

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania

April 6, 2011 rayhanania@comcast.net

Laila alHusinni

lealhusinni@yahoo.com

NAAJA Conference to address challenges facing journalists in Middle East

Chicago/Detroit – Speakers will address the challenges facing journalists covering the pro-Democracy movement in the Middle East and Arab world at the annual conference of the National American Arab Journalists Association.

The conference is being held April 29 – May 1, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, Michigan. It is open to the public.

Keynote speakers include Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Middle East & North Africa Program Coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists, Lawrence Pintak, the author of the new book “The New Arab Journalist,” and award winning journalist George Hishmeh.

The conference is being sponsored by nearly two dozen community and journalism organizations. Registration is being kept intentionally low at $75 per person for the weekend event. But a large number of students interested in journalism and communications are attending the event through local colleges and sponsorship by major corporations.

The Saturday schedule features 10 panel discussions on major issues facing American Arabs, a luncheon and dinner gala. Warren David, president of David Communications and ArabDetroit.com, the largest network of American Arabs, is the emcee. Imad Hamad, the executive Director of the Detroit and Michigan Chapters of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee will address the 10^th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 and the increase in anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination.

Three students will be honored with college scholarships at the event for essays they have submitted on the importance of being American Arab.

“We are very excited to host the national journalism conference in Dearborn,””said NAAJA Detroit Coordinator Laila alhusinni, host of the morning radio show “Good Morning Michigan” and the syndicated radio show Radio Baladi which is broadcast in both Chicago an Detroit every Friday morning.

“This is just a start. We hope to strengthen the voices of American Arab and Muslim in Detroit and the region by working more closely with professional journalists. This conference will also help define how the community faces and understands challenges in the coming years.”

Entertainment at the Gala Dinner will be provided by the musical ensemble of Usama Balbaki.

For more information on the conference, visit www.NAAJA-US.com. Participants can register online. Hotel accommodations are being provided by the Hyatt Hotel in Dearborn. Hotel registrations can also be made online or by telephone at a special $89 per night rate.

end

Arab and Muslim candidates in Chicago area defeated in nearly every race where there was a contest

2011-04-06T06:14:00.001-07:00

Even though many of the candidates had the backing of local political leaders, organizations and the dominant political parties, most of the Arab and Muslim candidates who ran for office were defeated.

The only victors were those who were running in uncontested races. Only a few, non-Arab Muslims, were elected in areas where Muslims have held public office. In those cases, only one received among the highest votes of the winning candidates, while in almost every other uncontested race, the Arab and Muslim candidates received the lowest vote victories.

Click to view an overview of the elections that took place in Suburban Cook County on April 5, 2011: Click Here to view PDF.

Arab/Muslim candidates who won -- there were no Christian Arab candidates slated or backed for public office -- include:

Ahmed M. Aduib who ran and won uncontested in the race for a 6 year term on the Bridgeview Library District. Aduib had the support of incumbent Bridgeview Mayor and State Senator Steven Landek. Most offices in Bridgeview were uncontested reflecting a rare community harmony compared to other suburban communities where elections were contentious.

Nuha Hasan won a 4 year seat on the Justice Park District Board where she was also uncontested.

Those are the only success stories.

Other races showed the disconnect between mainstream American voters and American candidates of Arab and Muslim heritage. Ironically, all of the communities have large Arab and Muslim populations. But, although they do not get the support that they give non-Arab and non-Muslim candidates, Arab and Muslim voters were much like other voters and did not vote their true power. The conclusion is that in order for American Arab and Muslims to win office, Arab and Muslim voters must come out in force, more than 90 percent.

In the contested races:

Maha Hasan ran in last place for a 6 year seat on the Justice Library Board. She received nearly one-third fewer votes than the highest vote-getter in the election.

Bassam Abdallah ran in last place for a six year seat on the Orland Park Library District Board, a community where there is a large American Arab and Muslim population. Most Arabs and Muslims there, though, did not vote.

Lina Zayed lost in a bid for a four year seat on the Burbank District 111 school board. Again, Burbank has a very large Arab and Muslim population. She received less than half of the average vote cast in the election, but in her case, she was extremely active and she did not run in last place. She came in 5th place out of 7 candidates running. The top three winners received over 800 votes each.

Itedal Shalabi running for a four year seat on the North Palos School District 117 seat, lost by a large margin. The district includes Bridgeview and Palos.

Rola Othman also ran in last place in a contest for a four year seat on the Reavis High school district 220 board, also in Burbank where Arab and Muslim populations are large.

All of the candidates ran very professional and high profile races. They were organized and supported by a new political organization called Project Mobilize which helped all of the candidates combine their resources and develop excellent campaign literature and public presence. www.ProjectMobilize.org.

The key clearly is not the high quality of American Arab or Muslim candidates but rather the challenges they faced running in an atmosphere of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bias that has only increased in the 10 years since the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorism attacks. All of the candidates were immensely qualified for the posts they were running for and are active in their local mainstream communities.

But the biggest problem is that most Arab and Muslim voters did not participate. Suburban off-year elections are already the lowest voter turnouts, which would give minority ethnic groups and advantage if they did turn out in force to vote. But when the minority ethnic voters act like the majority voters and do not vote, the results are predictable.

-- Ray Hanania

www.TheMediaOasis.com

Al-Jazeera staff threatened in Jordan; journalists detained and released in Syria

2011-04-05T15:19:00.001-07:00

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 Phone: +1 (212) 465-1004 Fax: +1 (212) 465-9568

Contact: Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator. Phone: (212) 465-1004; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org

Al-Jazeera staff threatened in Jordan; journalists detained and released in Syria

New York, April 5, 2011- Al-Jazeera staffers in Jordan have received anonymous threatening phone calls warning that their office and correspondents would be attacked, Al-Jazeera's Amman bureau chief told CPJ. Journalists in Jordan have been facing mounting dangers while covering pro-reform demonstrations, CPJ research has found.

"Jordanian authorities need to credibly investigate the threats made against Al-Jazeera immediately," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "A failure to do so would send a disturbing signal to the entire Jordanian media."

Yasser Abu Hilala, Al-Jazeera's Amman bureau chief, told CPJ that his office received death threats via telephone as well as on Facebook and email. Several pages have been created that have stirred hatred against Abu Hilala, CPJ research shows. The bureau chief said the threats began approximately two weeks ago, after Al-Jazeera covered pro-reform demonstrations in Amman. "Our coverage is the only reason behind the threats," Abu Hilala said.

On Monday, 52 Jordanian journalists issued a statement voicing their support for Al-Jazeera's journalists. "Some have gone too far by inciting and agitating against the press, against journalists, and against correspondents to a degree that is alarming to all of us," the statement said. "This has prompted us all to raise our voice and reject such threats, which fall within the category of intellectual terrorism; indeed they are a criminal offense (death threats and assaults by unidentified individuals), punishable by the law." It also called on the government to investigate the threats and punish the perpetrators.

A local journalist, who asked not to be identified out of fear of reprisal, told CPJ that several reporters received phone and email threats of physical harm and unless they stop covering the reform movement in the kingdom. "The situation is no longer about censorship or repressive legislation-the danger has become personal," the journalist said.

On March 24, journalists covering pro-reform demonstrations were beaten and had their equipment confiscated or destroyed. At least 20 journalists were attacked on that day by plainclothes attackers and security forces, according to local news reports.

In an unrelated case, Syrian authorities today released two Jordanian journalists, according to the Jordanian news website Amoon News. Akram Abu Safi and Sobhi Naim al-Asal, both of whom work for the regional radio production company Arab Broadcasting Service, were detained on March 24 while on their way to Lebanon to deliver equipment. Doha Hassan, a photographer and journalist working for Orient TV, remains in custody, two local journalists told CPJ. Hassan was detained on March 26.

The signal of Orient TV, a private, Dubai-based satellite channel, has been jammed in Syria since March 25.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Bahrain manipulates critical daily; attacks continue in Libya, Iraq, Yemen

2011-04-04T16:26:00.001-07:00

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 Phone: +1 (212) 465-1004 Fax: +1 (212) 465-9568

Contact: Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator. Phone: (212) 465-1004; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org

Bahrain manipulates critical daily; attacks continue in Libya, Iraq, Yemen

New York, April 4, 2011-The Bahraini government continued its attempts at muzzling critical media with the Ministry of Information ordering the country's premier independent daily temporarily shut down on Sunday. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Bahraini government's strong-arm tactics, which effectively forced a change in a prominent paper's editorial management. In Libya, Iraq, and Yemen, independent and critical media continue to be targets for government intimidation and harassment, CPJ research found.

Al-Wasat did not appear on newsstands on Sunday and its online edition was disabled, according to local and international news reports. The Information Ministry accused Al-Wasat of "deliberate news fabrication and falsification during the recent unrest that gripped the Kingdom of Bahrain," the official Bahrain News Agency reported. On Monday, president of the Information Affairs Authority, Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed al-Khalifa, lifted the ban after the paper's editor-in-chief, Mansoor al-Jamri, Managing Editor Walid Nouwaihidh, and Local News Director Aqeel Mirza stepped down.

"Resigning was a difficult decision but it is what was needed to safeguard the newspaper and the livelihood of its staff," al-Jamri told CPJ. "The paper has been subjected to a relentless campaign of intimidation by the authorities."

Bahrain has intensified its crackdown on media since imposing a state of emergency last month, CPJ research shows.

"Alleging bias in Al-Wasat's coverage without providing credible evidence to support such a claim is laughable," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "Bahrain has previously hurled unsubstantiated accusations of bias in order to silence critical media, most prominently against Al-Jazeera last year when the government wanted to shut the channel's local bureau."

Lotfi al-Massaoudi, one of four Al-Jazeera journalists detained by Libyan authorities, was released and arrived in Tunisia on Sunday night, the Qatar-based news station reported. Al-Massaoudi, along with colleagues Ahmed Vall Ould Addin, Kamel Atalua, and Ammar al-Hamdan, were arrested in mid-March and freed on Thursday only to be re-arrested on the same day. The three journalists remain in custody, according to Al-Jazeera. At least seven local journalists who spoke critically of government policies remain missing amid wide speculation that they are in the custody of forces loyal to Qaddafi.

"We are relieved that Lotfi al-Massaoudi has been released, but remain concerned about the fate of the other missing and detained journalists in Libya," said CPJ's Abdel Dayem.

On Sunday, Libyan authorities ordered London's Daily Telegraph correspondent Damien McElroy to leave Tripoli, according to news reports. The Libyan government provided no justification for its action. On Wednesday, the government expelled Reuters correspondent Michael Georgy, who had been covering the conflict for several weeks. Again, no reasons were given for the expulsion.

In Iraq today, security forces arrested Murtadha al-Shahtour, media director of Al-Nasiriyya's police department and a regular contributor to the independent daily Azzaman and other news websites. On January 2, al-Shahtour published an article on the website Kitabat in which he criticized government policies related to security issues. Kitabat said that al-Shatour's detention stems from the January 2 article; the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory (JFO), a local press freedom group, concurred.

Security forces arrested Raya Hamma Karim, a correspondent for the independent weekly Hawlati and Niyaz Abdullah, a journalist and a board member of JFO, in Iraqi Kurdistan today, news reports said. Both were covering student protests at a university in Arbil.

In Yemen, Ahmad al-Aghbry, a journalist working for the official SABA News Agency and a member of the Yemeni Journalists' Syndicate, told CPJ that he received an email that it interpreted as a threat. In the email, the sender accuses al-Aghbry of possessing information about an upcoming terrorist attack, adding that he would be held accountable for it, al-Aghbry told CPJ. The syndicate condemned the threat, and called on the Interior Ministry to seriously investigate this and similar previous threats. CPJ has documented dozens of threats made against journalists during the past two months in person, on the telephone, and over email.

Reuters said that Syrian authorities freed its Damascus-based photographer Khaled al-Hariri on Sunday, six days after detaining him. Al-Hariri was the last of five Reuters journalists who had been detained incommunicado by Syrian authorities in the past two weeks. All have since been released. On Friday, two correspondents for The Associated Press were ordered to leave the country with less than an hour's notice, the news agency reported. CPJ continues to track the cases of a handful of local journalists who have been rounded up in Syria, either while reporting or from their homes.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Arab dictators censor Internet, but so does the West

2011-03-30T07:56:00.001-07:00

Arab dictators censor Internet, but so does the West

By Ray Hanania

The worst part about living in a Western country like America is the hypocrisy and double standards that exist.

It’s true, that tyrants in the Middle East are blaming their troubles and the protests on the rise of the Arab media but more on the rise of free speech on the Internet through social media like Facebook Twitter and other online sources.

So those dictators have been cracking down on the Arab media – shutting down Arab media bureaus in their countries and disconnecting their satellite transmissions. And, they have been cracking down on the Internet.

Of course, American lawmakers have been pointing to that censorship as evidence of the lack of freedoms and civil rights, and the oppression citizens in countries like Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain must experience.

But the truth is that the United States has its own system of censorship, to squash the voices of free speech when they reflect views that are unpopular among the American elite.

Just this week, Facebook, the world’s leading social media network launched in the United States, shut down a Page called 3^rd Palestinian Intifada because, it is alleged, it advocates violence. It’s true some of the people who post on the site advocate violence, but so do people on other pro-Israel sites that Facebook has not shut down or censored.

The Huffington Post, which was just purchased by AOL for $300 million, also censors its writers, too, rejecting columns that cross a line of acceptance when it involves criticism of topics they reject.

And, Google News even has its level of censorship, rejecting many online Arab news sites because the content is harsher and overly critical of Israel, more so than they are willing to accept.

What’s the difference? Well, the difference is in how the censorship takes place. In the Arab World it is blatant and directed by the government. In the United States, censorship is part of a mindset of the increasing anti-Arab and anti-Muslim hatred and bigotry.

One is blatant and one is subtle.

What’s the lesson?

It’s a lesson I am afraid the dictators and the Arab World will not learn. Their blatant acts of censorship have brought them so much conflict that several governments have been toppled. Some faster than others, of course, because the speed upon which an Arab regime is thrown out of office is directly proportional to the alliance that government might have with the United States.

Another instance of hypocrisy and double standards.

The solution is that Arab countries could allow more public expression and still manage to maintain their control of their countries. Instead of fearing Democracy, the Arab governments should embrace it. And by embracing public discourse and free speech, even when it includes criticism of their governments, they will be strengthening themselves.

They don’t see this of course because Arab tyrants are always tough but they are thin-skinned. Critics are arrested, detained, jailed and even murdered as punishment for criticizing an Arab government. Just look at the recent incident involving the brutality against Iman al-Abaidi in Tripoli, Libya who charged that she was gang-raped by several of tyrant Moammar Qadhafi. The woman was attacked by mindless religious-garbed women who pummeled her and pushed her down to shut up, and then she was escorted out by male bullies who threw her in a car and drove her away.

If she is still alive, it would be a miracle, but hopefully those images will help to strengthen the resolve to bring down the religious fanatics and Qadhafi’s dictatorship.

Governments that tolerate free speech have a success rate in this world that is unparalleled. And using the United States as an example, instead of overtly censoring Americans of Arab and Muslim heritage, these Arab tyrants could easily follow the American lead, censoring in subtle and more effective ways.

America is a nation of double standards and a system based on hypocrisies. Arabs and Muslims experience that everyday.

The answer, though, is not to waste our time trying to change that, because it won’t. But rather, the answer is to create our own resources and social networks, be more tolerant that the oppressors in America, and tolerate divergent views.

Arabs and Muslims are often intolerant of divergent views and that intolerance makes it easy for their governments to impose harsh restrictions. We’re used to intolerance as a culture. And that weakens our moral argument when we try to expose hypocrisies and double standards in the United States.

The answer to the suppression of free speech is not violence. It is not pointing fingers of blame. The answer is to react in a strategic and smart way. If 350,000 supporters of Palestinian rights can come together on a Facebook Page where censorship of Arabs and Muslims is routine, they should be able to come together on another social network where the power of their voices will be augmented, not suppressed.

In today’s world, the Internet gives us the power to free ourselves. We don’t need Facebook, the Huffington Post or even Google to give us permission to express our views.

All we need to do is give ourselves permission to think out of the box and take the principle of our protests and anger and find new forums where the hosts will be more understanding and advocates of free speech for Arabs and Muslims in America.

It’s simple. But we can’t see this simple answer when we are overwhelmed by emotion.

Pause. Count to 10. And then react in a smart way. It works.

(Ray Hanania is an award winning columnist and media strategist. He can be reached at www.hanania.com.)

Iraqi journalist killed in siege of Tikrit government building

2011-03-30T05:21:00.001-07:00

Committee to Protect Journalists

330 Seventh Avenue, 11th Fl., New York, NY 10001 Phone: +1 (212) 465-1004 Fax: +1 (212) 465-9568

Contact: Mohamed Abdel Dayem, program coordinator. Phone: (212) 465-1004; E-mail: m.abdel.dayem@cpj.org

Iraqi journalist killed in siege of Tikrit government building

New York, March 29, 2011-The Committe to Protect Journalists mourns the death of Sabah al-Bazi, a correspondent for Al-Arabiya and contributor to Reuters, CNN, and other international news outlets, who was killed today when gunmen wearing military uniforms seized control of a provincial government building in Tikrit.

Al-Bazi was covering a provincial council meeting when the assailants-using car bombs, explosive vests, and grenades-mounted an assault on the government building in Tikrit, capital of Saleheddin province, local and international news reported. Reuters put the death toll at more than 50, with dozens injured. A number of provincial council members were taken hostage, according to news reports. Security forces regained control of the building after a fierce shootout, news reports said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to Sabah al-Bazi's family and his colleagues," said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, CPJ's Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. "We urge Iraqi authorities to do their utmost to bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."

Al-Bazi, 30, was a native of Saleheddin province and is survived by his wife and three children.

Iraq ranked first on CPJ's 2010 Impunity Index, which lists countries where journalists are murdered on a recurring basis and governments are unable or unwilling to prosecute the killers.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide.

Dearborn rivalries continue in journalism networking effort

2011-03-25T05:26:00.000-07:00

Dearborn is a wonderful city with a major American Arab and Muslim population. But it also reflects the realities of the American Arab community. We're a very divided community. And, when someone comes in with an idea, people who have done nothing for years on similar ideas decide to do the same thing. Why? Because they would rather destroy an effort than build an effort. They never would have proposed, for example, creating a Journalism Association in Dearborn. How do we know? Because they have never tried before. But when someone else comes in and tries to do something, there are people who want to do the same thing, create rivalries and competition, and then destroy everything.

It's tragic, but typical of those who wish to keep American Arabs and Muslims in the limbo we have been in for the past 150 years in America.

Regardless, NAAJA (the National American Arab Journalism Association), will continue to push ahead and try to forge a professional chapter in Dearborn and Detroit, Michigan, representing real journalists and communicators who come together not for selfish reasons, but rather for the reason why the effort started, to bring ALL American Arabs and Muslims who are in journalism and communications and the students together to network and work together.

NAAJA is hosting a journalism conference April 29 through May 1, 2011 at the Dearborn Hyatt Regency Hotel that is open to all professional journalists and communicators to come together, network and work for the benefit of the community. Other individuals will do what they always do and try to organize competition to prevent anyone from moving forward. It's the plague of the Arab and Muslim World. But, we'll keep pushing forward to organize the most professional journalism association possible.

We know that the various newspapers compete in the open market, and some engage in active politics. But the end result will be an association where young people can come to get guidance, not more conflict, to help them build careers in professional journalism.

Visit our web site at www.NAAJA-US.com and get to know other professionals in American Arab and Muslim Journalism who believe that we need to do things different than we have in the past to make the American Arab and Muslim community better, stronger and to enhance our voices.

-- Ray Hanania
www.NAAJA-US.com

American Arab Journalists to explore Middle East protests and Other issues at annual conference in Dearborn Michigan April 30

2011-03-20T04:08:00.001-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ray Hanania

MARCH 19, 2011 rayhanania@comcast.net

Laila alhusinni

lealhusinni@yahoo.com

American Arab Journalists to explore Middle East protests and

Other issues at annual conference in Dearborn Michigan April 30

Chicago/Detroit – Speakers at this year’s annual convention hosted by the National American Arab Journalists Association will address the sweeping pro-Democracy changes in the Middle East, American foreign policy towards the Arab and Islamic Worlds and the impact of Sept. 11^th 2001 nearly 10 years later.

The conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn and will feature panel speakers from a wide range of Arab media both from the American Arab community and the Arab World.

“There are many issues we will be discussing from the dramatic changes unfolding in the Middle East to the challenges facing American Arab and Middle East journalists right here in this country,” said Ray Hanania, a veteran Palestinian American journalist and conference co-coordinator.

“NAAJA is a non-political organization but our members write about and discuss everything including politics. Their insight in to the events around the world are important. NAAJA’s purpose is to bring everyone together to network and create a powerful voice for American Arabs of all faiths.”

Hanania, who co-hosts the weekly morning American Arab radio show “Radio Baladi” with host and journalist Laila al-Husinni, said thatspeakers have been invited from the White House and will include officials of the U.S. State Department, Arab journalists from publications in the United States and the Middle East, and activists and communicators.

The conference goals are to strengthen NAAJA and launch more chapter networks in other cities. Currently, NAAJA has more than 300 members – there is no fee to join – and five chapters.

NAAJA is also hoping to launch a scholarship program for young American Arabs to help them pursue careers in journalism, and to fund the new Arab American News Wire (www.ArabAmericanNewsWire.com) which will be used to pay freelance writers to provide news and feature stories about American Arab and Muslim communities.

“We’re very good at expressing our opinions but sometimes we don’t fully document the many great things that are accomplished by members of our community,” Hanania said.

“NAAJA is hoping the Arab American News Wire will create a platform in which writers will be paid to write news and feature stories about Arabs in their communities and those stories will then be distributed free of charge to any media. The goal is to get our story out there to mainstream Americans and to our own community.”

The conference emcee this year is Warren David, president of ArabDetroit.com.

Registration is only $75 per person and includes lunch and dinner plus full access to all panels on Saturday and the Saturday night Gala Banquet. To register online or to get more information, please visit the official web page of NAAJA at www.NAAJA-US.com. A link to the Dearborn conference, and past conferences, will direct you to registration.

# # #

Al Jazeera DG: A historic moment in the Arab world

2011-03-03T04:22:00.000-08:00

Al Jazeera DG: A historic moment in the Arab world

Doha, Qatar, March 3, 2011: Speaking at the opening session of this year’s TED conference, Wadah Khanfar has applauded the youth that have been leading the revolutions taking place across the Middle East.

The director general of the Al Jazeera Network told the audience in California that the emergence of freedom in the Arab world represented a new opportunity for stability and positive relations between the east and the west.

Mr Khanfar’s speech received a rousing standing ovation. He said:

“I am here to tell you that the future that we were dreaming of has eventually arrived. A new generation, well educated, connected, inspired by universal values and global understanding has created a new reality for us.

“The values of democracy and freedom of choice that are sweeping the Middle East are the best opportunity for the world, for the west and the east to see stability and to see security, and to see friendship. Let us support these people, let us stand for them, let us embrace change and celebrate a great future with the people of that region.”

[ENDS]

Notes

1. Al Jazeera’s Sixth Annual forum entitled “Arab world in transition” will take place 12-14 March in the Doha Sheraton, and will feature many young activists and bloggers from the recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt

2. More information about TED, the nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, can be found at www.ted.com

3. The speech can be watched online here:

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/20113341535651130.html

About Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera started out more than fourteen years ago as the first independent Arabic news channel in the world dedicated to providing comprehensive television news and live debate for the Arab world. Al Jazeera was formally named the Al Jazeera Network in March 2006, transforming its operation into an international media corporation. The Al Jazeera Network now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Satellite (Arabic) channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), and Al Jazeera Mobile.

SPJ President attacks American Arab journalists saying criticism of her is based on her "birthright"

2011-02-18T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hagit Limor, the president of the Society of Professional Journalists, has launched a vicious assault against American Arabs claiming that our criticism of the SPJ decision to terminate the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award is based on her "birthright"being Jewish and Israeli.

It is so outrageous. Tragically, we have never had the opportunity to speak with each other, so naturally instead of coming together with understanding, we find ourselves fighting over someone else's battles.

Here is the link to the article published Jan. 31, 2011 (which means the interview had to have been made sometime in late January). CLICK HERE TO READ NEWS STORY ON HAGIT LIMOR.

AND, here is my letter to the Jewish News in Dayton responding to Hagit Limor's claims that this debate is about her birthright. It is about leadership, accountability and transparency, all of which she apparently feels are inconsequential. The real issue predates Hagit Limor and involves Kevin Smith as president of the SPJ.

LETTER TO EDITOR

I am shocked by the allegations of Hagit Limor, president of the Society of Professional Journalists, made nearly four weeks ago, that criticism of the SPJ's decision to terminate the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award is because of her "birthright" as a Jew or Israeli.

She asserts that she has been targeted, and points to the National American Arab Journalists Association, in her assertions.

President Limor has refused to address how the SPJ, under her leadership, came to the decision to terminate the award. NAAJA has sought many explanations but has received no response from Ms. Limor.

We've criticized the Helen Thomas decision because it also came right after the SPJ (under a prior president) shut down the SPJ's Arab Section without notifying any American Arab SPJ members. When we asked for a justification, all we have received have been namecalling and accusations not just from her predecessor but also from her.

If anyone is being targeted because of their birthright, it is American Arab members of the SPJ who are being told basically that we have no right to ask our elected SPJ leaders to be accountable. They have a fiduciary responsibility to answer to the members, but Hagit Limor and her predecessor have refused to be accountable. They have responded to calls for accountability by attacking, personally, individuals who have expressed any opinion they disagree with.

For the record, I am Palestinian and am proud of that fact. But my wife and son are Jewish and to interject religious or even Palestinian-Israeli differences in to this discussion is absolutely outrageous.

Clearly Ms. Limor does not want to detail how the SPJ, under her leadership and her predecessor's leadership, decided to shut down the Arab Section without notice and to terminate the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.

Her comments only further underscore her inability to properly and professionally lead the SPJ.

Ray Hanania
National Coordinator, NAAJA

Open Letter to the SPJ board to conduct a full investigation of the actions of the President and the Past President regarding Helen Thomas

2011-02-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Open Letter to the SPJ board to conduct a full investigation of the actions of the President and the Past President regarding Helen Thomas

Greetings from Chicago.

My name is Ray Hanania. I am an SPJ member who first joined the Society in 1978. I am a recipient of many SPJ and SPJ chapter journalism awards, among many other journalism awards. I covered Chicago City Hall as a political reporter from 1978 until 1992 and I currently write for Creators Syndicate and every week for the Jerusalem Post Newspaper in Israel. I write for three Chicago community newspapers and I manage a media communications company.

Though I realize the committees to which they have been appointed serve at the pleasure of the president, I respectfully ask that members of the Society of Professional Journalists' national ethics, freedom of information and diversity committees investigate recent actions of President Hagit Limor and Past President Kevin Smith and that those members also generally examine how the national board of directors has handled the controversy surrounding the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.

I respectfully ask members of these national committees to tackle this important work because I hope what we learn will guard SPJ from the arrogance, prejudice and outrageously bad conduct we have seen evidence of in the Society's current leadership.

After conducting my own review of Ms. Limor and Mr. Smith's behavior, I have concluded that they have some serious explaining to do to all SPJ members. I believe they have willfully taken steps to marginalize and muzzle the voices of American Arab members of this organization. They have acted in violation of SPJ's code of ethics, and I believe they have acted contrary to the SPJ mission they were entrusted to protect and live by as SPJ officers. I also happen to believe that Ms. Limor and Mr. Smith are guilty of arrogance and unprofessionalism that has reflected very poorly on SPJ.

I hope SPJ's national committee members and members at large will join me in asking hard questions and demanding straight answers. I present some of my chief complaints here:

June 16, 2010. I wrote a letter directed to Executive Director Joe Skeel. It asked that the national board not suspend the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award. The following day, on June 17, then-President Kevin Smith responded with a sharp e-mail stating that my criticism of SPJ was intolerable and that, as of that day, he was further directing SPJ staff to shut down the Arab-American Journalists' blog maintained on SPJ.org. I quickly started asking questions of staff and quietly learned that Kevin had actually ordered that blog's shutdown weeks before our e-mail exchange without ever speaking with anyone including myself. He was attempting to justify his decision as a reaction to my criticism of this organization. But I found out he'd actually been making these plans for awhile. When I protested the Arab blog's closure, I heard from other SPJ members that the blog had been deemed "too political." Too political for whom? In the end, I realize now that when too many of SPJ's national leaders are inconvenienced by members' speech, they simply get rid of it.

Kevin Smith also ordered the disbanding of SPJ's American Arab Journalism Section when he was president and Hagit Limor was president-elect. This section offered the bios and talents of prominent American Arabs who were members of SPJ. Our many activities included working with Peter Sussman, who was then a member of SPJ's national ethics committee, to translate SPJ's code of ethics from English to Arabic. Under Mr. Smith's direction, this section was closed without any explanation or notice to me and any of the section's other members. SPJ simply stopped accepting these members and made plans to fold this section. There was no discussion with our members before any actions were taken. No complaints (except one from the prior year regarding the issue of throwing shoes, a cultural tradition in the Arab World not understand in the same context in the United States or the West, and we had an email discussion about the topic). When SPJ members did take the time to question and write, they never were spared even the courtesy of a short message confirming that their e-mails had been received.

Hagit Limor initiated action against Helen Thomas, an American Arab journalist, during the executive committee meeting of summer 2010. Ms. Limor should stop claiming that she has been "100 percent neutral" and that she "stepped aside" during this controversy. She did not. It is insulting to everyone's intelligence that Ms. Limor wants us to believe that she made an impassioned case to punish Ms. Thomas with an award suspension and, only a few short months later, was maintaining neutrality for "the good of the Society." SPJ members deserve a detailed account of what Ms. Limor told executive committee members -- several of whom sit on the current national board -- that day. Ms. Limor also needs to explain the phone calls she made in late 2010 and early 2011 to some national board members, urging them to vote a certain way regarding the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.

SPJ's leaders need to show all of this organization's members just where the calls of complaints regarding the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award were coming from. Because of how poorly our current leaders made this decision and have explained it, they should prepare to make public to us logs demonstrating that, indeed, a vast majority of protests were coming from actual SPJ members. I strongly suspect that never was the case -- especially because several SPJ chapters are speaking up in protest because they weren't even aware that the board was going to tackle this decision in the first place. No, the calls and complaints were coming from groups outside SPJ -- and this Society's current leaders, under the direction of Ms. Limor, bowed to them.

The voices of American Arab journalists -- and really anyone reacting in support of Helen Thomas -- were cast aside and practically ignored. When American Arab journalists, including me, wrote letters to SPJ, they weren't published -- or, once again, even acknowledged. However, views expressed by the Anti-Defamation League -- which isn't even a journalism group -- received high prominence in Quill magazine. Even worse is that it wasn't until AFTER the Helen Thomas decision was made that Quill Online acknowledged American Arabs' protests. This alone reflects very, very shamefully on SPJ. It gets more interesting: Ms. Limor has made herself available to news organizations and journalists who supported punitive measures against Ms. Thomas. However, Ms. Limor can't say that she has granted nearly as many, if any, interviews with journalists who took the opposite view.

What's with not responding to members' correspondence? SPJ's current leaders and staff need to get a sense of decency and professional courtesy. They need to respond to every member who writes them. That certainly hasn't been the case throughout this controversy -- at least not if you've been a member who has expressed support for leaving the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award alone.

What's with the highly insulting e-mail -- and what do members need to do show their leaders that this kind of correspondence is inexcusable? I have been personally attacked in e-mail sent by Ms. Limor and Mr. Smith, and I'll be glad to provide my copies of that correspondence she made to a US media ethics news website.

Just this week, yet another example of this bad behavior emerged when Kevin Smith launched a vicious assault against Christine Tatum, a former SPJ national president. Mr. Smith sent his screed to the full national board and to the director of the Spring Media College Conference after learning that Ms. Tatum will interview Ms. Thomas at that event. Read the e-mail for yourself, and tell me that his tirade was professional or in any way called for. In that message, Mr. Smith accused Ms. Tatum of launching a "campaign" to defend Helen Thomas. Wow! And then he complained that he -- or someone else from the national board -- should be given the right to respond and challenge Ms. Tatum and speak directly to Ms. Thomas herself. That leads me to this ...

SPJ's national leaders should be ashamed of their communications with Helen Thomas. Go ahead and ask, and you will find that no one from SPJ ever invited Ms. Thomas to issue a statement, explain herself, meet with leaders, defend her actions, etc., before making this decision. That is disgraceful. (And NOW Mr. Smith is demanding an opportunity to speak with Ms. Thomas.) Perhaps even worse is that Helen Thomas learned from news reporters at Jewish news agencies about SPJ's actions (as I did also) before she ever heard from SPJ representatives. An SPJ representative spoke with Ms. Thomas roughly two days after the executive committee meeting -- but by then, she had already heard from reporters and was so disgusted that she hung up on our rep. Then, after the national board's decision, no one from SPJ contacted Ms. Thomas at all. It is shameful that our president, if she didn't want to ask anyone else to do the honors, did not in her touted "state of neutrality" think to handle them herself. This, too, is outrageous misconduct and poor leadership.

It is disgraceful that Ms. Limor and Mr. Smith have conducted the business of the Society of Professional Journalists in such a shabby, unprofessional and possibly discriminatory manner. Take a look over time, and you'll see an alarming lack of respect for views that differ from their own -- especially if those views come from people who happen to be American Arab.

I contend that Ms. Limor and Mr. Smith have violated specific mandates of SPJ's mission:

— To promote this flow of information. FAILED
— To maintain constant vigilance in protection of the First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and of the press. FAILED
— To stimulate high standards and ethical behavior in the practice of journalism. FAILED
— To foster excellence among journalists. FAILED
— To inspire successive generations of talented individuals to become dedicated journalists. FAILED
— To encourage diversity in journalism. FAILED AND FAILED
— To be the pre-eminent, broad-based membership organization for journalists. FAILED (Lacking diversity)
— To encourage a climate in which journalism can be practiced freely. FAILED

I will refrain from demanding Mr. Smith and Ms. Limor's resignations from the national board -- but in light of all of this, I can't say I find such calls entirely unreasonable. What I do want to see is an accurate account of what has really happened here in the last several months. Executive Director Joe Skeel's blog post is missing far too many important details and the true story MUST be told. That’s what we are mandated to do as journalists. Tell the whole story. Be fair and represent ALL sides. Be Honest. Those objectives have not been done in this case.

I welcome hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Ray Hanania

PS … I have copied the members of the Chicago Headline Club and I URGE all of you to please pass along this letter to your chapter leadership so that we have a full and open discussion on this important matter.

Al Jazeera English Nominated as News Channel of the Year

2011-02-08T04:47:00.001-08:00

Al Jazeera English Nominated as News Channel of the Year

Doha, Qatar, 8 February, 2011 - The Royal Television Society (RTS), the United Kingdom’s leading forum for television, has nominated Al Jazeera English for its News Channel of the Year award.

AJE will be up against the BBC and Sky’s news channels at the ceremony which will be held on 23 February 2011 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

It’s the second year running that the channel has been shortlisted. The nomination is for 2009/10 so comes before the recent acclaim for Al Jazeera's Tunisia and Egypt coverage.

Al Anstey, Managing Director of Al Jazeera English said:

“We are delighted to be nominated for such a prestigious award in the UK. This is a testament to the dedication of all of our staff, as well as AJE’s commitment to the highest quality journalism, story-telling, and coverage of global news.”

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About Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English is the first English language world news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. Launched in November 2006, Al Jazeera English seeks to present every side and every angle to its stories and act as a bridge between cultures. With unique access, making it the channel of reference for Middle East events, and 65 bureaus strategically placed around the world, Al Jazeera English provides independent and impartial news for a global audience, giving voice to different perspectives from under-reported regions around the world.

Al Jazeera English is available in more than 100 countries to more than 220 million households worldwide. The channel was awarded “Best 24 Hour News Programme” at the 48th and 50^th Annual Monte Carlo Television Festival and has received awards from the Royal Television Society, Amnesty International and YouTube. The channel has also received a total of six International Emmy nominations in the News, Documentary and Current Affairs categories.

Al Jazeera started out more than fourteen years ago as the first independent Arabic news channel in the world dedicated to providing comprehensive television news and live debate for the Arab world. Al Jazeera was formally named the Al Jazeera Network in March 2006, transforming its operation into an international media corporation – the Al Jazeera Network now consists of the flagship Al Jazeera Arabic channel, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Documentary, Al Jazeera Sport, Al Jazeera.net (the English and Arabic web sites), the Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Center, the Al Jazeera Center for Studies, Al Jazeera Mubasher (Live), and Al Jazeera Mobile.

Visit www.aljazeera.net/english for more details.

For any press queries please send an e-mail to press.int@aljazeera.net

Al Jazeera Demand Release of Egypt Correspondent

2011-02-06T07:40:00.001-08:00

Al Jazeera Demand Release of Egypt Correspondent

Doha, Qatar, 6 February 2011 - The Emmy nominated Al Jazeera English correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin has been detained by the Egyptian military. Al Jazeera are calling for his immediate release.

He was taken near Tahrir Square. Mohyeldin was Al Jazeera English’s correspondent in Cairo even before the uprisings.

An Al Jazeera spokesman said:

“We want him released immediately. Interference in the work of journalists should cease.”

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One Year Ago: US Congress seeks to censor Arab media critical of Israel

2011-02-06T04:44:00.000-08:00

The US. Congress in January 2010 adopted a resolution to punish any American Media outlet that broadcasts an Arab World media source that is critical of "the United States and Israel."

Click to read the story.

-- Ray Hanania

Al Jazeera investigate website hacking

2011-02-04T05:36:00.001-08:00

Al Jazeera investigate website hacking

The Al Jazeera Arabic news website was hacked into today, apparently by opponents of the pro-democracy movement in Egypt.

For two hours this morning (from 6:30am – 8:30am Doha time), a banner advertisement was taken over and replaced with a slogan of “Together for the collapse of Egypt” which linked to a page criticizing Al Jazeera.

A spokesman for Al Jazeera said that their engineers moved quickly to solve the problem:

“Our website has been under relentless attack since the onset of the uprisings in Egypt. We are currently investigating what happened today. While the deliberate attacks this morning were an attempt to discredit us we will continue our impartial and comprehensive coverage of these unprecedented events.

“As with all the other obstacles that have been put in our path, whether that be the detention of journalists, confiscation of equipment, or having our broadcast signal interfered with, we will continue doing our job of reporting on events in Egypt.”

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AlJazeera offices in Egypt stormed by pro-Mubarak thugs and killers

2011-02-04T05:31:00.000-08:00

Al Jazeera office stormed in Cairo

The Al Jazeera Network have reported that their office in Cairo has been stormed by “gangs of thugs”. The office has been burned along with the equipment inside it.

It appears to be the latest attempt by the Egyptian regime or its supporters to hinder Al Jazeera’s coverage of events in the country.

In the last week its bureau was forcibly closed, all its journalists had press credentials revoked, and nine journalists were detained at various stages. Al Jazeera has also faced unprecedented levels of interference in its broadcast signal as well as persistent and repeated attempts to bring down its websites.

A spokesman for Al Jazeera said:

“We are grateful for the support we have received from across the world for our coverage in Egypt and can assure everyone that we will continue our work undeterred.”

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Al Jazeera Network demands immediate release of journalists

2011-02-03T08:49:00.001-08:00

Al Jazeera Network demands immediate release of journalists

Three Al Jazeera journalists have been detained by security forces in Egypt. One more is reported missing.

A spokesman for the Network said:

“All three of our staff should be immediately released. We are concerned for their safety and welfare. We are taking every measure as a priority to obtain their release.”

Al Jazeera also had six journalists detained by Egyptian authorities in the past week, with equipment stolen and destroyed. It has also faced unprecedented levels interference in its broadcast signal across the Arab world.

Al Jazeera’s coverage of the Egyptian uprisings has won plaudits from around the world, with its journalists reporting from the heart of the events.

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Unprecedented Interference in Al Jazeera’s Broadcast Signal Across the Arab World

2011-02-01T12:01:00.001-08:00

Unprecedented Interference in Al Jazeera’s Broadcast

Signal Across the Arab World

Doha, Qatar, 1 February 2011 - Al Jazeera has stated that their broadcast signal across the Arab region is facing interference on a scale they have not experienced before.

Signals on the Nilesat platform were cut, and frequencies on the Arabsat and Hotbird platforms were disrupted continually forcing millions of viewers across the Arab world to change satellite frequencies throughout the day.

Al Jazeera has been widely praised for their coverage from Egypt and Tunisia despite obstacles put in their path by those governments. Not only have their images and reporting been enthusiastically received by people in the Middle East, but there has been a massive surge in interest in Al Jazeera’s coverage from across the world.

Over the past week the Network has faced multiple attempts to disrupt their coverage from Egypt, with signals being interfered with on a continual basis, and journalists being banned and detained. The latest disruption has come on the day of the historic ‘million man march’ in Cairo.

A spokesman for Al Jazeera said:

“We have been working round the clock to make sure we are broadcasting on alternative frequencies. Clearly there are powers that do not want our important images pushing for democracy and reform to be seen by the public.

“We appreciate the extraordinary support from the ten channels across the region who interrupted their own programming to live-broadcast our signal to their audiences.”

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About Al Jazeera

For any press queries please send an e-mail to imr@aljazeera.net