Prison Radio , is an essential media outlet for prisoner , were they share their stories, emotions , music and discuss different topics. It focuses on engaging prisoner in the community , rather than isolate them. As prisons should not be disconnected from the outer world. As s Fanon’s concept of “active community” further explains how free radio relies on an active community, the prison radio relies not only on the prisoner , but for the community and families to tune in and stay connected from both ways. Prison Radio challenges the prison ideology into separating the prisoner from the outer community, and assures prisoner are still part of the community. this is great as they will be able to engage better with the community and be accepted when they are released. Prison Radio as a free radio is needed for the free expression of prisoner without censorship by the government or any other power. For example , ” Beyond the Bars” is a prison radio station that included music and spoken words from workshops to two live broadcasts.

According to Forde (2011) Alternative media is different from the dominant types of media in terms of their content, production, or distribution. Alternative media tend to be non-commercial projects that advocate the interests of the minorities, not the government. Independent is any form of media that is free of influence of the government or corporate interests, and is not funded by sources that influence the media’s outlook.

Forde, S. (2011). Chapter 1: Understanding alternative and ‘independent’ journalism. Retrieved from: Forde_Chapter1_excerpts.pdf 

According to Fanon (1994) “Voice of Algeria” is a radio station that was created during the Algerian revolution , to broadcast news from the community and the Algerians instead of the french colonial powers. As most radio stations were controlled by the colonial power or the government, the news is mostly french and bias by the control of these powers. having a radio station by a colonial and listening to it , means that the country is confirming to the colonialism and its culture. “voice of Algeria” was created independently which resists any ideas from the french colony. it covered the revolution and empowered the revolution. having a radio and tunning in to “voice of Algeria” meant that people no longer tune in to the colonial world, opposing the enemy news , and instead obtaining news of the revolution from a non-french source. As Fanon (1994) noted , tuning in for Algerians meant same as going to war and united nation against the struggle. As explained by Dunifer (2010) Free radio is a continuous act of rebelliousness against the government controlling radios. As its a platform for a collective expression of the entire community not by the state. As noted by Dunnifer and manual, how easy it is to start a radio channel, therefore its a great platform to resist capitalism . As free radio sends the context in a direct way, its for self expression and making the community stand together against unfairness.

Fanon, F. (1994). This is the Voice of Algeria. Retrieved from:  Fanon – This is the Voice of Algeria (excerpts).pdf

Dunifer, S. (2010). Latitudes of Rebellion: Free Radio in an International Context. Retrieved from: Islands-of-Resistance-excerpts.pdf 

As of this moment , there are currently 4,499,462,781 internet users, 67,029,861 photos uploaded to Instagram and 2,447,601,589 active users on Facebook. The numbers are big and shows how much people are active online . The amount of information they share per minute online shows that people love posting on these platforms. As for the problem of surveillance and censorship by social
media platforms shaped by privatization, media consolidation, and
media concentration, it goes against the use of the platforms, as social media importance is freedom of speech, this censorship done by the government, causes a power control issue. For example, fifteen Iranian journalists have reported having their accounts suspended. The privatization of Facebook, Instagram and twitter. is controlled by the U.S government, which makes them censor and delete content against their views. in my opinion , platforms should not be vague in how they operate. They should provide a clear policy for the user to know that they are acessing their information. Moreover censorship and deleting accounts for no sharing a viewpoint or picture that is controversial should be illegal. Media platforms should not fall in the hands of capitalism and government control as their purpose was to connect the world and be able to speak out such as activists.

I was very surprised to know that my phone tracks my location specifically . the specific time , and the duration of the walk , duration of the stay. This scared me and made me turn off my location, i think this is too personal information being collected about me for no specific reason. As well as i was surprised to realize that the ” Elsewhere” is My home town , Palestine. the fact that i phone doesn’t locate it as Palestine but identifies Jerusalem. As i have no idea who has acess to this information , i feel not safe using my phone.

Most of the Tv Channels are controlled and owned by a religious sect or a specific president. Each channel portrays a viewpoint of its owners. For example the LBC was owned by the Lebanese Front and Al-Hariri. this makes every Media source in the Lebanese TV Bias in its coverage of the news. making the TV channels a platform for the voice of the specific sect or religion or area. As Khiabany (2016) explained in his fourth point that the media growth over time and certificate is guaranteed from the government, as the government seeks to control the sector for political and economical benefits. All media sources are sponsored by ruling elites . how the content is not serving public interest and owned by a private person. instead media operates specifically in the middle east under curtain terms by the ownership of the specific channel.

As we overlook the media Channels in Lebanon , each has its own history and specific content related to each channel. covering different interest and accommodating to different audiences from different ideologies. which creates this wanted capitalist, political and economical interest for the owners. As Fuche (2016) points out how media channels use commodification and ideologies, as ideologies are an important part of a persons identity , they use social construct made by humans and can be rehanged for the capitalist benefit and produce contradictions.

According to Vaidhyanathan,(2018, August )Facebook conducts the largest system of surveillance ,which cover three major forms, such as commercial surveillance, where they gather information about people from different source that generates information to identify what each person interest , more than shared online. Moreover, political influence is apparent as well to target specific people and gain access to information by having access to Facebook advertising system. As well as governments have access to our information without our knowledge, by creating anonymous accounts and spying on people they are doubting. in my opinion, Facebook has become one of the scariest online platform, as any picture, location , comment and even more is analyzed by big corporations and controlled.

According to Odeh (November 2018) the “Surveillance Tower” means the social and patriarchal concept created in the region, this someone watching over your life virtually, by watching the content Palestinian women upload. such as extended family and the sexual harassment they face , this limitation prevents them to express them selves freely and interact with different conversations. on the other hand , the Israeli occupation and the institutions in the middle east fail ass well to provide protection and even themselves practice surveillance on the citizens, and prevent them from expressing their opinions online. According to Odeh (November 2018) 850 cases of cyber crimes were reported in the west bank.

Vaidhyanathan, S. (2018, August 18). Antisocial Media How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Retrieved from:  Anti Social Media- How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy – Indian Cultural Forum.pdf

Odeh, S. (November 2018). A violent network: Gender-based violence against Palestinian women in virtual space. Retrieved from: A violent network – Gender-based violence against Palestinian women in virtual space.pdf 

• 

According to Ball and Snider (2013) Surveillance-industrial complex goes back to tactics used by the military, with the reason to provide a safer state protected by “unwanted people” that cause threat. on the other hand , it created an outer image that is different than its inner workings. the industry gained control over peoples live by surveillance on personal information and location of the person. it created a world separate from other worlds. by creating ideologies that make people think this industry is for their benefit. As Ball and Snider (2013) describes how this changes the infrastructure for cultures and societies. for example , how the access for internet is now based from a company’s that have data basis on citizens.

As big industries and powers have created this idea of the need for survilance when its used for political and economical reasons. According to Hache and Jansen (2018) it is important to understand how surveillance work and why it matters. as the information collected is done by artificial intelligence and is stored in data. it is important to note out that these companies sell the data to governments (Hache and Jansen ,2018). As our world urbanized and got advanced, everyone owns a technology source , whether our phones or laptops. we became dependent on them. it is important to know who has access to your information and how surveillance works. as it is everyone’s right to know where their information is being sent to be more cautious and aware from this industry.

Ball, K., and Snider, L. (2013). The surveillance-industrial complex: towards a political economy of surveillance?

Hache, A., and Jansen, F. (2018, July 9). Privacy, Surveillance and Data Tracking.

The Khiabany(2016) that point to point out the ties. the way the media is controlled by the private ownership and government, ruling elites. As Khiabany nted out facts and evidence about the major arabic channels and their fast expansion. For example, MTV news station which is owned by Al Mur family, as this family is known that belongs to different group.

Militainment refer to how the media portrays an image of war for citzens in a simple way and entertaining. As if to normalize it , when in fact actual war is not close to how it is portrayed in the media. though video games, tv shows and movies as well as news articles. one example is Americas army.

Khiabany, G. (2016). The Middle East. The-Middle-East-Khiabany.pdf 

Andersen, R., and Mirrlees, T. (2014). Introduction: Media, Technology, and the Culture of Militarism.