INTRODUCTION:
Well, no big surprise that this section exists. The Media and the Middle East have been conducting a torrid love-hate relationship for quite some years now. This section of A Personal Diary is dedicated to articles about media coverage, a record of what I have said during my appearances in the media, and links to various sites that look at the role of the media in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Recording media appearances isn't intended as a form of narcissism but rather as a publicly-viewable whip to remind myself to improve these occasional opportunities. Older articles are generally not available as I don't have access to the video tapes/reports.

Finally, don't get the idea that I don't like the media. Without journalists - among whose ranks I am numbered - we would have no clue about what was going on in the world. I'm just saying that if you're going to spend millions of dollars collecting the news and broadcasting it instantly around the world via satellite, you should take the time to make sure that you do it right.

COMMENTARIES ON/APPEARANCES IN THE MEDIA:


• 21 December 1999 - "The daily drudge of occupation", Ha'aretz newspaper
  Ha'aretz journalist Daphna Lewy-Yanowitz conducted an interview with me in December 1999 which ended up in this piece.
  
  
• 11 March 1999 - "CNN Interactive finally changes its 'Middle East Related Sites' page"
  Still hiding away in Minnesota, I took some time once again to write a letter to CNN Interactive about part of their website, a letter I'd written perhaps 12 times over the last few years, and one I arranged a limited letter-writing campaign to a couple of years ago. The difference this time was that I got a positive response...
  
  
• 29 November 1998 - Commentator on international donors conference for Palestine, Blue Danube Radio, Austria (coming one day, with Real Audio sample).
  
  
• 16 October 1998 - "Middle East in Focus" programme, KPFK Pacifica, California
  Don Bustany has been hosting this very honest programme on the Middle East since the 1970s, and invited me on to talk about my experiences before I left Palestine, and the peace process at a time when the Wye negotiations were in full swing. The highlight for me in this interview was the opportunity to talk about the reality of clashes, one that exists on an entirely separate dimension than TV coverage of the conflict. The full transcript and a RealAudio clip are available.
  
  
• 31 August 1998 - "7 Questions", Newsies.com
  Tom Mangan created the Newsies.com website to pursue his belief that journalists have a higher number of interesting websites per capita on the Web. I answer questions about U.S. culture in Palestine, what the most unforgettable sight I saw during the Intifada was, what people do for fun in Ramallah, offer a recommendation for tension reduction in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more, in his 7 Questions section. Afterwards, why not visit the excellent Newsies.com website?
  
  
• 16 June 1998 - "The new webmasters of the West Bank", Ha'aretz newspaper
  Just before the incident with my home that made me decide to take a break from Palestine, Israeli journalist Tzuri Dar got in contact with me to do a feature on the Palestinian Internet for Ha'aretz, a quality newspaper in Israel. It was published in the wake of my departure and, despite a few unintentional factual innaccuracies and an unfortunate section heading half-way through the article, served as a timely epitaph for my time spent helping to build the Palestinian Internet.
  
  
• Previously, while working for Birzeit University in the Public Relations Office, I gave many interviews as part of my work, to newspapers, magazines, TV reports, etc, including the New York Times Video News International, The Daily Telegraph, the Jerusalem Times, etc., blah blah, etc., etc.,.

RELATED SITES:


• ali abunimah's bitter pill, uncovering media myths about the middle east - the activist's media monitoring site of choice. Ali regularly writes letters to CNN, NPR and other media organisations and archives them on his website at http://www.abunimah.org/. A model of content and tone for protest letters.
  
  
• Go look at some of the news sources: CNN's Middle East News | more coming.