The Middle East in the Media
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From 16th April to 2 July 2009 the eurient e.V. in cooperation with the Institute for Oriental Studies 
and the Institute for Communication and Media Science at the University of Leipzig has been organizing a sequence of seven lectures. They seek to analyze the problems and challenges the German media system faces in reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Due to the recent events concerning the Gaza Strip - earlier the Lebanon War in 2006 - once more the question arose if the German media system is able to meet the standard of impartial coverage. This question is particularly important in the case of media under public law, but also for the so called German Leitmedien, a term that refers to the most read, biggest newspapers as well as the great broadcast and radio stations of the country.
The seven panels aim to discuss the problem from different perspectives in an interdisciplinary framework, taking into account the actual political situation as well as media-scientific aspects and historical patterns.
Our goal is to create a greater sensitivity for the demands and conditions of reporting in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and to encourage the audience - be they academics, journalists-to-be or interested „outsiders“ - to handle the media coverage and information on the topic with a greater awareness and in a reflexive way.
All the lectures take place on Thursdays in room No. S202 at the Oriental Institute, Schillerstraße 6, 04109 Leipzig
and the Institute for Communication and Media Science at the University of Leipzig has been organizing a sequence of seven lectures. They seek to analyze the problems and challenges the German media system faces in reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Due to the recent events concerning the Gaza Strip - earlier the Lebanon War in 2006 - once more the question arose if the German media system is able to meet the standard of impartial coverage. This question is particularly important in the case of media under public law, but also for the so called German Leitmedien, a term that refers to the most read, biggest newspapers as well as the great broadcast and radio stations of the country.
The seven panels aim to discuss the problem from different perspectives in an interdisciplinary framework, taking into account the actual political situation as well as media-scientific aspects and historical patterns.
Our goal is to create a greater sensitivity for the demands and conditions of reporting in the case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and to encourage the audience - be they academics, journalists-to-be or interested „outsiders“ - to handle the media coverage and information on the topic with a greater awareness and in a reflexive way.
All the lectures take place on Thursdays in room No. S202 at the Oriental Institute, Schillerstraße 6, 04109 Leipzig
16th April: In dubio pro Israel?Margaret Wirth, Institute for Political Science, University of Bremen
7th May: From the Front to the Screen: Reporting on GazaBettina Marx, former ARD correspondent, now working for
the Deutsche Welle in Berlin
14th May: The Arab Media and the Israeli-Palestinian ConflictCarola Richter, Department for Media and Communication Scinence at the University of Erfurt
28th May: A Disgression: Islamic Law in the Media CoverageProf. Hans-Georg Ebert, Oriental Institute at the University of Leipzig
4th June: The „Special German Responsibility“ and ist Impact on the MediaDr. Peter Ullrich, Institute for Cultural Studies at the University of Leipzig
18th June: Between Elucidation and Propaganda: MEMRI, the mouthpiece of Israel?Dr. des. Henner Kirchner, regional coordinator/manager Middle East and North Africa for InWEnt
2nd July: „Israel Bias“ - a Distortion of the Media Coverage?Prof. Dr. Michael Haller, Institute for Journalism at the University of Leipzig
