Fourth Forum of the Arab Women’s Summit — “Arab Women & The Media”, February 1-3, 2002 - Abu Dhabi
Globalization of the Media: A Bicultural Woman’s View
— by Magda Abu-Fadil
Your Excellencies, honored guests, it gives me great pleasure to be here to address this distinguished gathering about a subject close to my heart.
Does globalization mean we’re being conditioned into thinking only of CNN or Al Jazeera when disaster strikes and we need detailed news of an event? Yes, very likely, because many media in the Arab world fall short of the task of providing good, accurate, news that’s to the point.
Can we face globalization? Should we be part of it? What tools can we manipulate to our advantage? What role can women play in globalization of the media? Do they face obstacles?
Doesn’t it hurt us when foreign journalists report wrong information about us? Shouldn’t we help them by making it easy to get the right information and not fall into the same trap of doing to them what they do to us?