2. issue

October 2016

8
Mark Twain
The Power of Media
22
KHARTOON
30

THE POWER
OF MEDIA
10 The Power of Social
12
Media in Education
Media The Powerhouse
24
34
18
KASHMIR
Social Media

4
“Whoever controls the media,controls the mind.”
American singer, songwriter, and poet
Jim Morrison

5
“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth.They
have the power to maket he innocent guilty and to
maket he guilty innocent,and that’s power.Because they
control the minds of the masses.”
Malcom X
African-American Muslim minister
and human rights activist

6
Bill Gates
American business magnate, entrepreneur,
philanthropist, investor, and programmer
“The PC has improved the world in just about every
area you can think of. Amazing developments in
communications, collaboration and efficiencies. New kinds
of entertainment and social media. Access to information
and the ability to give a voice people who would never
have been heard.”

7
Napoléon Bonaparte
French military and political leader
“I fear three newspapers more
than a hundred thousand bayonets”

8
A

“There are only two forces that
can carry light to all the corners of
the globe... the sun in the heavens
and the Associated Press down
here.”
Mark Twain
merican writer, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer

10
THE POWER OF MEDIA
Living in the 21st century;I consider the media as the biggest power of
all.Does media own the power,or does power own the media? I think they're both
correct. The one who owns the media becomes powerful,which leads to the
conclusion that power owns the media.It is a vicious circle.
“If it is not your story to tell,you don’t tell it.” said Iyanla Vanzant.Although I
fully support and agree with this thought and it is the right thing to do morally and
ethically;in the world that we live in today,things don’t work like that.Others will tell
your story if you don’t,even if it isn’t their story to tell.They will tell it in a way that
you will not like it.
I mentioned that media is the biggest power of the world.
What kind of power?
Media can turn tables.Media can manage the masses.Media can change
ideologies.Media can make the evil look like the oppressed,and make the
oppressed look like the evil.
How?
Media can show and use facts,truths,situations,wars etc. the way it wants to.That
way will help it succeed its goals and its plans for the future.Media can highlight
or ignore the news/facts depending on the message that it wants to give.
I believe that this is the biggest and most important problem/danger that the
Muslim world is facing and suffering from today.For example,on 15 July Turkey
has faced a brutal coup attempt.Thousands of patriotic defenced their democracy
and will of the nation.Western media did its best to show these patriotic
democracy defenders as “Erdogans sheeps”.Given this example,how can you
consider the Western media as impartial? You can’t
There is no possible way to confirm this behaviour of the Western media.And
unfortunately,this behaviour of the Western media is not something new.The Der
Spiegel covers,the attacks on our president,the effort of trying to make look that
Turkey is fighting against Kurds not PKK are only a few examples from a very
long shameful list.
We,as a country and as our Muslim ummah,should concentrate on our
biggest problem: media.We should all take this issue seriously.We should be able
to tell the story which is ours to tell.We should make sure that the world hears
about the truth.We should all raise our voices and start giving the world our
message.
Ankara, Turkey
Dilruba Zeynep Kalın
Undergrad, Bilkent University IR

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The Power of Social
Media in Education
Ever since its inception, the Internet has
become an intricate part of life where persons
depend on its access for daily activities such as
shopping, social networking, education, banking,
home security and other related activities. Among
these, social networking, which seems to be the
major attraction of the Internet, can be seen as a
blessing and curse. Notably in education, social
networking is seen as a positive indicator of
advancement in education and its practices.
However, we cannot deny the negative influences
that can accompany it, which seems be a
distracter for many students today.
Students frequently familiarize themselves
with computers as they navigate these social
networks. They gain valuable skills on an
instrument that has become indispensable in the
world they reside as students and the one, which
they will enter upon completion of their studies.
Also, it encourages networking with a variety of
people, which can be viewed as a necessary skill
in the business environment. This is also the case
for teachers and administrators. With the existence
of social blogs, Twitter and Facebook, teachers are
able to share and record through various mediums,
methods of instruction as well as teaching theories
and practices in real-time. Furthermore, many are
able to expand on techniques for learning and also
interact with students on a consistent basis outside
of the classroom.
On the contrary, the rise in social media and
advancements in other interactive communicative
technologies have produced negative impacts in
and outside of the classroom. While social media
can be seen as a positive tool for education, this
tool has the potential to hinder student
performance, social growth, and communication
skills. Similarly, it can affect a teacher's overall
efficiency in several ways. To what do we owe a
decline in academic performance as a result of its
impact? What are the social ramifications of social
media? What factors are directly responsible for
the inability to educate students effectively? How
are teachers affected by social media both in and
out of the classroom?
For most, access to the Internet for
educational purposes would be seen as a
great resource for information; however, for
students, the Internet poses many
problematic factors in academic
performance. In general, children who spend
more time online find it harder to concentrate
resulting in shorter attention spans. Students
who rely solely on social media for
information rather than researching other
resources are likely to experience difficulty
focusing on learning and information
retention. It significantly affects study habits
as students are attempting to multitask and
end up becoming easily distracted because
they are too busy tweeting and/or posting
messages to Facebook in lieu of completing
assignments.
Advancements in and excessive access
to technology are direct factors on how social
media has affected the student in and out of
the classroom. Today, students spend most
of their time on these networks via mobile
devices. Some schools prohibit the use of
these devices however; many of them sneak
them into school. They use these devices to
record videos; take photos of themselves and
others, search the Internet, tweet and log on
to Facebook, thus making it difficult to
concentrate during instruction time. These
activities also seek to inhibit effective
instruction. In addition to this many of these
activities have led to many problems in the
school and community for example, fights,
harassment, law suits etc. Excessive,
unproductive time spent on social networks
can therefore be very unhealthy, thus having
a negative effect on teens and children. We
can then argue that teaching/learning, is in
direct competition with Social Media, when
they should be partners in educating
students.
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The use of social networks has also
significantly decreased the use of proper
grammar and syntax in writing. Students
have found it difficult to differentiate
between the proper use of language as a
result of abbreviated writing and
shortened forms of word formulation.
Many slang terms have become common
in written class assignments. These
terms IDK (I don't know), SMH (shaking
my head), BTW (by the way), YW (you're
welcome), TNX (thanks), IMO/IMHO (in
my opinion/in my humble opinion) just to
name a few, have crept up in students
writing so much so that they are unable to
understand the differences between the
right and wrong way of spelling correctly.
Teachers see the decline in proper writing
in capitalization, punctuation, and subject
-verb agreements, to name a few.
Students are so immersed in poor
grammar usage while online that they rely
heavily on computer devices to
autocorrect their mistakes resulting in the
decline of their command over the use of
English language. Subsequently creating
a conflict in grammar usage.
Another key point not to be
overlooked is the effect of social media
on face-to-face communication. Clearly, if
students spend more time on social
networks then we can agree that they
spend less time socializing in person.
Lack of face-to-face interpersonal
interactions can be directly linked to lack
of social skills and etiquette. We learn
important behaviors and emotional cues
from close personal contact that cannot
be learned online. As a result some
students never learn to read body signals
and other nonverbal cues, like tone and
inflection. Social networking sites should
not be seen as a replacement for
personal contact but a valuable addition
that can create a well rounded socially
adjusted individual.
Today many students have become less
social with one another preferring to interact
online and live a virtual world based on false
personas made easily accessible by social
networking sites. This of course can have a
lasting effect on the family unit, where effective
face-to-face communication is essential in
maintaining healthy relationships. Can we then
cast some of the blame of today's social ills and
break down in family structure on social media?
Often times, we go to restaurants, or other
public spaces and everyone is busy on a device,
thus very little face- to- face communication
is going on. The question is how can we create
a balance? How do we compete with this
valuable tool we call the Internet whilst still
maintaining healthy relationships?
Social media/networking affects both
students and teachers alike. For instance,
cyber-bullying can be seen as the leading
negative proponent of social media. Many
times violence in schools has started via a
social networking site. Teachers are also
affected by cyber-bullying. The perpetrators are
sometimes students and/or parents. This abuse
can be very damaging for a teacher as it
decreases overall efficiency and confidence in
the classroom. Teachers experience climbing
levels of emotion stemming from being sad to
becoming angry over online harassment. The
experience can be humiliating and
embarrassing. Defamation of character is quite
common in the cyber world and continues to
affect both teachers and students alike.
Social Media obviously affects all of us in
some way or the other whether positively or
negatively. Technology will continue to evolve,
therefore; it is imperative that parents, teacher's
administrators and students all join hands
together in encouraging positive, productive,
effective, safe and responsible use of this
valuable tool. The long-term effects of misuse
can be very dangerous to progress in education
and social development.
Bahamas, North America
Tarinda T Thompson-Rolle
Ministry of Education, C.R. Walker Senior High School

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18
Social
Media: Your Friend and Your Enemy
In society the media is very important to
everyone. Whether it is because you get your
daily news or because you can talk to people
24/7, the media has been seen as a necessity of
life for people. However, the media is not always
a safe place for people. The media can either be
a way for a person to express themselves and
can be educational or it can be a person’s
nightmare,he media can either be your best
friend or your worst enemy.
During World War One, the media was very
helpful for recruiting male soldiers to go to war
and fight for their country. Governments used
propaganda tactics to make males want to join he
army and to fight for their country. Now, one
hundred two years later, social media is used to
reconnect with old friends, help small businesses
grow, meeting new people all around the world,
learning new languages and about new cultures,
and for politicians to spread awareness about
their standpoints.
Now, one hundred two years later, social media
is used to reconnect with old friends, help small
businesses grow, meeting new people all
around the world, learning new languages and
about new cultures, and for politicians to spread
awareness about their standpoints. One thing
that has not changed is the fact wherever you
go, there is some sort of media around you,
whether it is a magazine or a television or just
your phone, you are constantly surrounded by
the news. This can be a good or bad thing
depending how people use it. People who use
social media websites such as twitter can see
tweets about natural disasters, watch thirty
second videos about refugees, read tweets
talking about feminism, or raise awareness
about all different types of movements. For
example, the Black Lives Matter movement has
become well spreaded throughout twitter. The
Black Lives Matter movement was created in
2012 after the murder of Trayvon Martin and
the murder George Zimmerman was acquitted

Media
19
and Martin’s was posthumously placed on trial
for his own murder. Black Lives Matter
has become a well known thing throughout
twitter with people sharing news articles about
vicious murders by law enforcement to black
people and personal stories of being
dehumanized. Social media can be used to
share information about movements such as
Black Lives Matter but sometimes it can be used
for negative things such as cyberbullying and
sharing personal information. 42% of children
have been cyberbullied in their lives and around
35% of children have been threatened online.
Cyberbullying all around the world has become
a more common issue due to the fact social
media has become more of an addiction
amoungst teeangers. In England, in 2011-12
there was 2,410 cases of cyberbullying but in
2012-13 here was 4,507cases of cyberbullying
with an 87% rise of contacts about
cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has ncreased the
rates of children self harming by 41% and the
rate of teens who are suicidal by 33%. There are
a lot more cases of cyberbullying not being
reported due to the fact some people feel afraid
to speak out about this matter. Cyberbullying has
become more common than face to face bullying
due to the fact people can bully whoever
whenever they want. The good thing though is
that there are now legal consequences all around
the world to cyberbullying.
The media has been around for over one
hundred years and has evolved into an addiction
for most people but the media can be used
negatively or positively. If used negatively, the
media can be awful. Where people will just delete
their accounts but those words told to them
through a screen can haunt their minds forever.
However, if used positively the media can truly be
your best friend and can be a place where you
can be yourself.
Kiaera Pavao
High School Student
Canada

22
The Power of Media
We make decisions every day and all day
long, we choose what to wear, what to eat, what
to read and what to believe. We make this
decisions based on what we know or what we
have heard about them and sometimes based
on what we believe they might do for us. But
what would happen if someone tells you that a
lot of thing that you have been maken some
decisions based on wrong information, the drink
that you drink every day is not for all your family
and neither would give you a special moment,
your new tennis would not make you run faster,
that campaing that you supported to save
animals is not saving anyone... that politician
that you supported is not creating more jobs for
your country and that the country that your army
is bombing are not terrorist, they were civilians.
How did you get all that information to make you
make those wrong decisions? that's the power
of media.
At the beginning of the 20th century, J. B.
Watson taught a psychology course called
Psychology of Advertising, he started a new
kind of Advertising with experimental techniques
based on conditioned emotional responses; at
the end of his academic life Watson was hired
by an Advertising Company. So if you want to
sell diapers you have to show a happy baby, if
you want someone to read something you have
to show someone reading that text and if you
want someone fight a war for you, create an
enemy. As an example we can talk about
Joseph Goebbels, after the Nazi takeover in
1933, Goebbels's Ministry of Propaganda
quickly appropriated and controlled the
supervision of the media, arts and information in
the country. Exploring new media such as radio
and cinema for propaganda purposes.
But, are we naive? do we believe every
thing we watch, read or hear? No but as we talk
before, we make decisions based on the
information we have and there is a lot of
sources to get this information, thats where the
problem starts and that de importance for a
compañy or for a goverment to control media.
There is a lot of examples of this, a media and
television company supported an presidential
candidate in 2012 in México (they also married
him with a TV star) we also can talk about Silvio
Berlusconi, former Prime Minister Of Italy and
owner of Mediaset.
And what happens we you have a new
media? Do you remember the begining of internet?
it was a real Intenet, every time that you
searched for something on you PC, you looked
for that all in every server over the world servers.
That was the first time that you would be able
con know at the same time they were
happening. With the appearance of internet, you
started receiving information that you would not
receive by your daily news and also, you were
able to show to the world what was happening.
Internet is evolving and media needs to reborn,
the new media needs to communicate with their
audience in real, new media needs social media
and streaming with their own celebrities.
The triumph of the digital era has changed
media as we knew, people are changing
newspapers and magazines for news sites on
internet and this information flow has changed
society into a information society. Old media
showed his message where the consumer
where or into the magazine he bought. Internet
created a new consumer that searches for the
information he needs. (it also opens a lot of
possibilities for marketing and advertising.) As
information flows we start thinking in a different
way and we can help people to get informations
and spread the news, this is one of the most
important reasons for governments to controlling
internet.
Another thing that changed with internet
and social media, is that companies as Google,
Yahoo, Facebook and others know who are you.
They know if you are male o female, your age,
where you eat, your friends, your mails and now,
all this "BIG DATA" will help them to show to you
the advertising that you probably would like to
see and avoid the advertisement you don't like...
or the one that they don´t want you to see. Let´s
going a little deeper with this because controlling
internet and media is not only to showing
something, it is also... not to showing it. As you
may know, Google and Twitter erased the name
of palestina from their maps and substituted by
Israel. So, media would makes you believe that
there is not such thing as Palestina there. And
that’s… That’s the power of media.
Mexico
Alonso González Núñez

23

Media The Powerhouse
Media: A communication channel (medium) through which news, information, data,
promotional messages and data are disseminated in a wide geographical region.
The evolution of media goes back to
thousands of years when human left their
imprints through cave art. Slowly it developed
through the evolution of communication skills.
Recordings were kept in written format of
even carved on wood and stone which were
only popular among the literate class for
official purposes like administration, taxation,
accounting, military strategy and
communication. For the commoners, it was
the word of mouth.
The Persian Empire started the modern
day postal system for better administrative
purposes. The word communication is derived
from the Latin root communicare. This was
due to the Roman Empire trying to centralize
control of the empire from Rome. It allowed
for personal letters and for Rome to gather
knowledge about events in its many
widespread provinces. More advanced postal
systems were later developed in the Islamic
Caliphate and the Mongol Empire during the
Middle Ages.
With socio-economic development, the
need for communication became ever
increasing. People started moving out to
different places, new trading routes were
developed and people started connecting like
never before. The invention of printing press
in 1450 proved to be a turning point in the
history of mankind. With the printing press
came a rapidly increasing rate of literacy, as it
made books and other reading materials far
more easier to obtain and much less
expensive. Books were now far easier to
create and distribute, as the cost decreased
greatly. The literacy rate went from 5% to 50%
within a century. A huge turning point in media
history, as it gave more people the ability to
read. By 16th Century, there were printing
presses on both sides of the Atlantic and in
some parts of Asia. 17th Century saw the rise
of newspapers, newsletters, magazines.
News and information reached far and wide.
News of development and happenings were
confined to a particular place which led to
the exchange of ideas and a sense of wellbeing.
People were more aware than
before and spread of knowledge came
along with it.
The 18th Century saw the rise of the
American and French Revolutions. It made
way to the existing structure of modern day
society. The invention telegram and
telephone service in the late 19th century
paved a new frontier in electronic
communication. Real time communication
was possible for the first time in human
history. Sending messages across miles
were now possible in a fraction of a
second. This gave birth to ‘mass media’,
which is a diversified collection of media
technologies to reach a wide audience
through mass communication. There was a
huge socio-economic change in the daily
lives of people who were more conscious
about their social, political and civil rights. It
led to huge economic growth and an
improvement in the standard of living.
Europe became a cluster of powerful
nations which were swept by the ideas of
liberty, nationalism and fraternity. The propaganda
of new papers crated a mass
hysteria among the general public. The
press took this advantage and saw this
opportunity to boost their sales by
sensationalizing news which fueled the
existing hostility among nations, this lead to
First World War which engulfed all of
Europe, USA and affected rest of the world.
The fourth estate has shown its power!
Post First World War saw there was a
rise in radio broadcasting. Initially it was
confined to military communication and
signaling, but later by 1940s modern FM
radio stations were set up and radio
became more domestic. For the first time,
the general people could listen to the
voices of their leaders and get real time
updates on news and global affairs. 25

News was now spreading faster and wider than
ever before. Entertainment too came in a new
form. The world became a smaller place. This
decade also saw the greatest war in human
history. The Second World War. It became a
historic event in the history of mankind, shaping
the geo-political scenario of the 21st century.
There was a massive global change. The colonial
powers ended which gave birth of new free nations
like India, China, Pakistan, Egypt etc. The victors
of the war gave shape to the modern world.
The world was now divided into two power
blocks. The democratic USA and its allies across
the Atlantic, and the communist USSR and its
neighboring nations in Europe and parts of Asia.
Both the super powers left no stone unturned in
the expansion of their ideologies across the globe.
Media played a key role in the era. With the advent
of television and satellite communication, the global
affairs became a dinner table topic. The fierce
rivalry, its pros and cons were debated day in and
out across the globe. There was a mass hysteria
among the general public especially in Europe and
US of an upcoming war among the two power
blocks which would engulf the world once again.
Multimillionaire and financier Bernard Baruch coins
the term “Cold War” to describe relations between
the United States and the Soviet Union. The
phrase stuck, and for over 40 years it was a
mainstay in the language of western diplomacy. In
these decades there were no actual major wars
between these two blocks, but the constant propaganda
between the rival camps through all media
streams created an environment of hostility and
tension. It finally ended with the collapse of the
Eastern Block (Soviet Union) and the fall of Berlin
wall in 1991 which was aired live globally, ending
the psychological warfare that was brewing in the
international media.
The 90s saw the rise of the newest kid of the
block, the internet. With the dot com bubble, rise of
social media and the mushrooming of tech
companies, the way we communicate changed
forever. Information was just a mouse click away
and we all became a part of the news and endless
contributors of the growing media. We became a
part of this ever growing web before we know it.
The world of information is now just a touch away.
Media is bigger than ever. It has reached gigantic
proportions and we are merely like those four blind
men trying to describe an elephant.
Media is now so powerful now that a few
posts on a single issue on social media can get
support from millions across the globe within
26
Like we have seen in the Middle East countries a
few years back. The Arab Spring, a series of
revolutionary movements in Tunisia, Syria, Libya,
civil uprising in Egypt, Bahrain and other wide
spread protests across the Arab world. It gathered
momentum through social media platforms.
Thousands of protesters poured in and millions
supported these movements globally which finally
made Tunisia a democratic nation. Media did what
bullets or ballot papers couldn’t in years. But
unfortunately the same social media platform is
used by terrorist organizations to strengthen itself
by gathering support. Social media has come
under direct or indirect surveillance by
government agents in different countries which
often breached individual privacy.
With the corporatization of media, we have
often seen that media houses are increasingly
becoming monopolized which erodes the real
essence of media. They are often driven by profit
motive and works in collaboration with the
financial and administrative world. Some
progressive thinkers and social activists believe
that we live in a make believe world because
media is so large and dominant now, it makes us
really difficult to differentiate the authentic news
from the fabricated one.
Media and communication channel is now
the nervous system of the present world. No
matter how hard we try we cannot escape from its
influence because we live in an interconnected
environment. That day is not far when we would
examine chaos theory in our sensitive
interconnected global framework. Till then as global
citizens it’s our responsibility to keep the
system as neutral as possible and to spread the
reach of such modern technologies in places
where human development is the need of the
hour. Many multinational tech giants are fighting
for net neutrality and are adopting new
technologies to reach out to places which are yet
to be benefited from the boons of media outlets
and technology. Media is the powerhouse now;
it’s so influential and omnipresent that we hardly
understand its true capabilities. But with great
power comes greater responsibility and the
India
Suryodoy Mandal

27

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Media is the ultimate tool to sway poblie opinion.
Social media or traditional TV channels and newspapers
are perfect for this. People who have made speed an
essential pant of life only read the title or take news with
dubious origins as true. Taking advantage of this, global
powers can easily manipulate public via international
news agencies. Leaders of rivaling nations can easily be
declared dictators and excuses for millitary operations
can easily be crated and used. Using tactics like this
foreign leaders and governments are toppled.
News about electric cars can easily foil a companies
plans to raise oil prices. This system works perfectly, as
clockwork. The media continues it ’ s stream of lies, not
bothered by their moral obligations to the public.
Ankara, Turkey
Ibrahim Enes Duruay

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30
KHARTOON Khalid Albaih

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KHARTOON
Khalid Albaih

You can follow Khalid Albaih
facebook.com/KhalidAlbaih
twitter.com/khalidalbaih
instagram.com/khalidalbaih/
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KASH

MIR

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The Art in Kashmir's Freedom
As I am putting words to the paper, the ongoing uprising in
Kashmir has taken the death toll above 95 after a consecutive curfew
of 96 days due to the killing of “Burhan Wani” who fought for the
freedom of Kashmir from the brutal Indian occupation.
The use of the deadly pellet guns which have already blinded 200+
by the India armed forces on Kashmiri civilians or protestors inspite of
being condemned since a long time by many International peace
communities like Amnesty has still not been stopped with the recent
killing of a young boy, Junaid. Junaid was an innocent, young boy who
was shot by pellets on 9 October when he was seeing off his relatives
at the door of his house being the worst example of state terrorism.
In the year 2016, we saw art becoming gun powder of effective
protests through face-paints, mock wounds with cotton and aryclics,
photoshopped “Monalisa” and “Kashmir ki Kali” with ruptured eyes on
Internet, all displaying pellet and bullet horrors of Kashmir. In the
Summer 2016 art in the form of “Azaadi key taraane” (Songs of
Freedom) were also sung as war songs in mosques as though they
were bugles reinforcing the spirits of some marching army that gained
almost a parallel importance with “Duroods” or even the stone pelting
on roads. Mosques expanded their utility from mere religious centers
to community centers directing the revolt, openly encouraging poets,
writers and artists to join the ongoing Freedom movement, which they
infact did in their individual capacities.
In one of the most recent Kashmir’s Freedom movement, we have
yet again publicly seen and witnessed an ancharchic expression in the
form of graffiti as an extremely powerful medium to register this denial
of unwanted authority and subjugation and somehow not only to vent
out the psychological protest but also as a necessary measure of the
survival instinct , irrespective of the underlying reasons.
Slogans like “Alive Burhan” , “ Go India Go Back” , “Azadi” , “I am
Burhan Kill me” are sprayed by common people.
Kashmir
Fatima Ashfaq
High School Student

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in Kashmir

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