Soapbox: Verbal rocket launchers By Mahmoud Khalil Al-Manar Television, Hizbullah's mouthpiece, was one of the first of Israel's targets in Lebanon. Interestingly, Hizbullah had anticipated the attack and managed to keep Al-Manar broadcasting from other locations. This tells us something about the power of the media. It has become a weapon that, if used effectively, is more powerful than missiles, planes and warships. Hizbullah has benefited from the charismatic persona of Hassan Nasrallah, an eloquent and popular orator. When Nasrallah speaks he repeats the same words he has always used. He speaks of dignity and pride, elaborates on his group's ability to humiliate Israel and dismisses weak and indecisive Arab governments. His words appeal to an Arab audience eager to see someone stand up to Israel's arrogance. Hizbullah offers a desperate public the reassurance and defiance so long absent from the Arab scene. Hizbullah's media presents the masses with a message it is anxious to hear. The public wanted strong and emotional rhetoric, and Nasrallah supplied it. No wonder the masses have lifted the picture of Hizbullah's leader along with that of another great orator, the late Gamal Abdel-Nasser. Some media have tried to present a more balanced view of the recent conflict but in a situation so emotive everyone has made recourse to sensationalism in the way they report the ongoing conflict. Images, as well as words, become powerful tools in the battle for the hearts and minds of the public. Look at the footage aired on satellite channels of the Qana massacre, in which 37 children died, and you'll see how the media operates. The current war in Lebanon proves one thing; the Arab media is no longer weaker than Israel's media machine. The Arab media is in full control when it comes to informing, and reflecting, Arab public opinion, and it is beginning to have an international impact that rivals that of the pro-Israeli media. This week's Soapbox speaker is a professor of mass communication at Cairo University.
