25 May 2015

BEIRUT: Graduating media studies student Maya Majzoub sits in the American University of Beiruts cafeteria discussing subtitles for her documentary, winner of the The Kamel Mrowa Award in Media Studies. The film will be released this week. Entitled Fallen Television, the documentary her graduation project offers a sophisticated analysis and critique of the social and cultural impact of Lebanese television.

In the film, Majzoub brings a critical eye to the role of Lebanese TV stations in entrenching sectarianism. She explained that each station works to achieve certain aims, using a particular framework to promote their ideas.

The audience isnt always fully aware of this, Majzoub said, which prompted her to create an interactive visual experience to highlight the phenomena.

I didnt want it to be just a documentary in the sense of presenting facts, Majzoub said. I wanted to present these facts, and connect them in a critical way at the same time to [provide] analysis.

Fallen Television is divided into different parts. Majzoub first gives an introduction on the cultural context of Lebanese society, providing historical background from the early days of Lebanese television and the regulations that followed, and uses archival footage to illustrate how it reached its present form.

Each of Lebanons eight major TV stations is scrutinized in the work.

I did an analysis of each [stations] speech; how the speech is connected to certain agendas and background, Majzoub said, adding that the scope of her analysis went beyond just an evaluation of political elements and news coverage.

She explored why some stations broadcast Turkish series while others do not, why certain video clips are shown on one channel but not on another, and investigated their sources of funding.

The majority of stations are affiliated with a certain groups or political parties that use media as a tool to relay their message to their viewers.

What I want to deliver in this film ... is to encourage the viewer to be more critical when watching Lebanese television, Majzoub said, adding that nothing is broadcast randomly. People should start thinking more about whats behind [the broadcast], because once people are more critical, they will have more authority and power. They [will] understand the dimensions of things and not be as affected.

Majzoub was awarded The Kamel Mrowa Award in Media Studies for her work. The prize will be presented on May 27 at 5:30 p.m. at AUBs Hostler Auditorium, and will be followed by a screening of Fallen Television.

The prize, which will be given each year, is named for late Lebanese journalist Kamel Mrowa.

Mrowa was the founder of the Arab daily Al-Hayat (1946) and later the publisher of The Daily Star (1952). He was shot on May 16, 1966 at his Al-Hayat office in Beirut.

Mrowa, who has been called the father of modern Arab journalism, had a number of journalistic experiences before opening his own outlets, working for the newspapers An-Nahar and Al-Nidaa in the mid-1930s. After Mrowas death, both Al-Hayat and The Daily Star continued, and were run by his late wife Salma and later on by his son Jamil, but they were forced to shut during the Civil War in 1976.

Jamil restarted the paper again in the 80s but the publication was forced to shut down due to the intensity of the war. In 1996, Jamil restarted the paper again.

Mrowas outlets provided a starting point for many young journalists who went on to success elsewhere.

The award will commemorate and pay homage to Mrowas legacy, said Professor Jad Melki, the director of AUBs Media Studies Program.

Mrowa, by introducing two newspapers and a mood of journalism that was not very common in the Arab World, pushed the boundaries of print journalism in this region by promoting objective, ethical, unbiased, balanced, and neutral journalism, Melki told The Daily Star.

The Media Studies program seeks to represent the same values embodied in Mrowas work, Melki explained, building and exporting capable graduates with the ability to look at things critically and perform their jobs ethically.

Our hope isnt just to pump out people who can work in the current industry. We want to graduate competent professionals and scholars, but at the same time we want to change this industry for the better, and this is what Mrowa stands for too, in what he did and how he changed journalism.

The Mrowa family specified the criteria for eligible students to win the award, Melki explained.

To be eligible for the prize students must be graduating with an MA in Media Studies from AUB, with an excellent academic record and a project or thesis focused on the past, present or future of journalism in Lebanon or the Arab World. Students do not apply for the award; rather the winner is selected by the Media Studies Program.

Majzoubs academic achievements and final project were seen by the department as reflecting Mrowas legacy and contributions.

The Mrowa family has contributed to an endowment that will allow the department to give away a monetary prize to the winning student each year.

Malek Mrowa, son of the late journalist, said that the launch of the award comes at a time when there is a need for quality in professional journalism.

One needs to support such professional academic institutions to secure the future of proper news.

Copyright The Daily Star 2015.