Children’s TV and Digital Media in the Arab World: Childhood, Screen Culture and Education (International Media and Journalism Studies)

"Who analyses children's screen content and media use in Arab countries, and with what results? Children, defined internationally as under-18s, account for some 40 per cent of Arab populations and the proportion of under-fives is correspondingly large. Yet studies of children's media and child audiences in the region are as scarce as truly popular locally produced media content aimed at children. At the very time when conflict and uncertainty in key Arab countries have made local development and diversification of children's media more remote, it has become more urgent to gain a better understanding of how the next generation's identities and worldviews are formed. This interdisciplinary book is the first in English to probe both the state of Arab screen media for children and the practices of Arabic-speaking children in producing, as well as consuming, screen content. It responds to the gap in research by bringing together a holistic investigation of institutions and leading players, children's media experiences and some iconic media texts.With children's media increasingly linked to merchandising, which favours US-based global players and globalizing forces, this volume provides a timely insight into tensions between differing concepts of childhood and desirable media messages."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Who analyses children's screen content and media use in Arab countries, and with what results? Children, defined internationally as under-18s, account for some 40 per cent of Arab populations and the proportion of under-fives is correspondingly large. Yet studies of children's media and child audiences in the region are as scarce as truly popular locally produced media content aimed at children. At the very time when conflict and uncertainty in key Arab countries have made local development and diversification of children's media more remote, it has become more urgent to gain a better understanding of how the next generation's identities and worldviews are formed. This interdisciplinary book is the first in English to probe both the state of Arab screen media for children and the practices of Arabic-speaking children in producing, as well as consuming, screen content. It responds to the gap in research by bringing together a holistic investigation of institutions and leading players, children's media experiences and some iconic media texts. With children's media increasingly linked to merchandising, which favours US-based global players and globalizing forces, this volume provides a timely insight into tensions between differing concepts of childhood and desirable media messages Notes on Contributors Chapter 1. Children's Screen Content in theArab World : An Introduction / Jeanette Steemers and Naomi Sakr Chapter 2. Arab and Western Perspectives on Childhood and Children's Media Provision / Feryal Awan and Jeanette Steemers Chapter 3. Forces for Change in Official Arab Policieson Media and Children Naomi Sakr / Naomi Sakr Chapter 4. Arab Animation between Business and Politics / Omar Adam Sayfo Chapter 5. Rebranding Al-Jazeera Children's Channel : The Qatarization Factor / Naomi Sakr and Jeanette Steemers Chapter 6. A Channel for Every Child : Exploring a Parallel Arab Children's Television Universe / Tarek Atia Chapter 7. Gender, Music Videos and Arab Youth : The Curious Case of Mini Studio / Kirsten Pike and Joe F Khalil Chapter 8. Domestication and Commodification of'the Other' on Egyptian Children's TV / Ehab Galal Chapter 9. Representation of Language in ArabMedia for Children / Atef Alshaer Chapter 10. (Mis)trust, Access and the Poetics of Self-Reflexivity : Arab Diasporic Children in London and Media Consumption / Nisrine Mansour and Tarik Sabry Bibliography Index.