doctor mcafee was assistant professor of
communications inside university in abu
dhabi united arab emirates
he recently relocated back to atlanta's
georgia state university read teaches
journalism at the school's center for
international media education
his academic focuses on journalism and
media laws in the middle of the east
and his book
media laws of the united parent edwards
will soon be published
by kluwer law international
dr dot be welcome to world view
failure i read in the central pressure
thank you
now we first met three your involvement
with polls say somewhat reform
pronouncing that correctly but that's
the arabic
u_s_ association of communication
educators
and ruble topic is something you know
quite personal reasons uh...
the visitor to your own personal website
is greeted with the headline i've been
kicked out of the united arab emirates
old i thought that might be a good place
to begin for our viewers
drops you could take a moment now to
explain how you came to be kicked out of
the emirates and what that means we work
sure sure yes and uh... you're right
that was a very popular uh... block
burst on my blog really uh... repeat
that your erie uh...
higher you know i i was very fortunate
to have been hired at side university to
teach journalism
uh... my was happy to go there and and
do it
i was uh... are sensitive corporal
restraints but at the same time i was
being told that there was quite a bit of
freedom
uh... the universities at the department
that i was and was seeking uh...
accreditation from a very personages
u_s_ uh... journalism gritted predation
body
and uh... shake ion he was the shake in
charge of higher education there
uh... told the the department's received
his u_s_ accreditation
so i kind of women thinking aren't that
it would be okay for me to redress
sensitive
uh... issues they're are dealing with
uh... media law approaching two eighty
compared to uh... international
portraits
and that's what i did i i went and i i
thought that in my classroom
but all sorts of editorials for the
newspaper
which were published in the newspaper
uh... you know that the the press their
does have some freedom to to offer
critical views uh... about uh... about
the government and what not
so i felt like everything's going fine
and i was operating within the
the boundary that annette an academic
could operating
uh... in the unity
however
uh... over the summer i found out that
both my wife and i at our contract
terminated
uh... without notice spot both of our
borders for safekeeping outside the
university
and of course was a chubby board in the
situation you know the government
you know they don't they don't issue a
press release thank you
when these things happen so everybody
asked me what what was it to you know
what exactly you know did you do that
uh... that calls this an
garda says i don't know had you know i
really don't have any idea
well i mean the you have been
involved in the
i remember this is how we first met
there was a very first uh... just uh...
conference that was that was brought
together online member you have folks
from npr in other parts of the of the
media war
aljazeera b_b_c_ bob bennett was in the
bill for
right after the arab spring in
particular the egyptian uprising in
there was still a number of uprisings
going one across the region
on could do
unstable environment have somehow
contributed to their decision i guess
that
speculated that
well and and that's why i mean waja se
generally is is is
uh... the the united arab emirates
governments
response to your of spring
has uh... has been to uh... restricted
free expression
to are to try to and tried to to so
brand of batteries
closer toward less criticism there's
been some arrests there possible other
organizations in the you really have to
have uh... been shut down
abu dhabi gallup
uh... uh... and a couple of uh... civil
society uh... foundation size n_d_r_i_
and konrad adenauer shift to which by
the way that some of the events that i
did cite university
although the latter a foundation civil
society foundation of german
so i i mean i will say in general
that clearly you know he is moving
away from free expression away from
a political criticism uh... eggnog
that's been tolerated vachi video ever
but certainly after the air spring
the government became very security
minded
armpit and not not we can do
not without undue pottery certainly
there you know they see this obviously
all of this unrest surrounding them
all things are going very well in the
way he did by is a very well-known city
in abu dhabi his
certainly becoming more well-known so
you know and and their mind about like
the idea of security
uh... trumps indicating type of free
expression
leader and i've read some of your your
articles that you've written also old on
the subject to being a particularly when
you're talking about
you know establishing uh... a free and
open press uh... could any of that also
have contributed or was it just more or
less an accumulation of uh... bold
things and in their mind
where are you know conducts the others
injured back in paris
uh... you know uh... under that what i
know that one person hopping in our
tomorrows
rishi said this probably are transfer
orders
said you know i followed magic of the
you know on twitter i've read what is
written in the press and i walked back
in the activities that he's done in new
york organized stuff you uh...
conferences and and talks and what not
if she didn't think any of of of that
alm you know should have justified
ineffective action against me so you
know maybe maybe a came down to what i
was teaching in the classroom you know
if i could go see the to the fact is
you're here also old because you are at
the university that you had your you're
a bit more
over public target
let's talk a little bit about together
we're talking about doctor mcafee from
the georgia state university awarded
matt but when we talked a little bit
about the conferences that you had
planned i know that you have one planned
for of this past november which of
course uh... then moved over to a state
university with you
bumps
what do you see a sort of the future now
of penny press freedoms in the region
with all the turmoil vertically what was
seen in egypt right now
art you know it's not good
uh... and you know i i think that i have
a pretty positive got
i have a pretty positive outlook i think
the i think this this accusation
revolution ever seen
with the social media well not that
obviously said simpson
salaam there's been a factory and some
of these changes that happen in some of
these other countries here was great
anna and and and certainly the space is
wonderful
it did because of potential there for a
four four affordable future
however
uh... you notice that the response that
i'm seeing from governments in the
region but ones that have and have a
revolution ship
you know just doesn't seem to albee
increasing
the idea that there's a new paradigm
play here
that of that people have to easy access
to technology that can allow them to
communicate with people around the world
very easily
and dont get justice polled
models of government control of the
media
heavier on the world has really had
uh... you know for decades obviously
uh... the idea that my lord unit just
really doesn't work anymore and that it
would be better just to let people be
able to trust themselves freely
uh... it's just not being embraced
anywhere
uh... certainly in the gulf countries
from
uh... the youi particularly uh... in
november of last year pastor cybercrime
already updated their there standing
cybercrime hall
and it became interesting priest
incredibly
the restrictions that they place a lot
people can say publicly
uh... and two very bad you must
definitions of
criticism of caricature
of sarcasm that's actually in the lol
you can't be sarcastic about uh...
about any of the leaders we just said
that it doesn't look here you couldn't
tell
you couldn't say anything bad about a
police force uh... or police told him
that surgery so that's just not been
removed
that uh... well i i i think there is a
much more that i was i did just like
that in my book and it had been my
broker or united arab governments media
law actually decided that that better
than just occurred
and basically work what most
international governments are coming to
aren't the ones that that that value
free expression
the coming to a place of
speech is okay as long as it's not
inciting
violence is not yes suggesting that you
go and do something bio u denotes and
that's a good place to draw the line and
that's what the the police guidelines a
prosecutor guidelines just came out in
great britain
appointing make that it's it's not ok to
make threats
it's not ok to incite violence this is
the line that can be drawn but it
certainly ok to criticize it certainly
ok to be offensive uh... and and these
are questions that we that that all
societies have trouble with an answer
an unfortunate what i'm saying is is it
you know in the middle east and i'm
talking about both countries certain to
talk about jordan which also just
increased uh... us uh... penalties for
digital communication you know instead
of understanding that that there needs
to be a of relaxing of of standards
to go to allow more free expression
they're going to have a way you know
that what they're going to have more
restrictions
when we get us in your book i know
you're a deadline and uh... you've
you've kind enough to join us today
the actual due to be published
bizarre i'm constantly scriptwriter in
february
i'm still i'm i'm still gathering
information about the anatomy counselor
and he is actually being
are somewhat helpful
and i'd actually just got a few more
documents than that i would go to
translate and and uh... analyzed
busts are to be early february
for the submission to make sure that of
course you know how to build businesses
in my dvd months uh... later that the
book is published i would hope by the
end of of this year that would be barbri
will be perfect timing for you next
conference as well
wooden track using the fifth thank you
know we've been speaking with matt duffy
professor george state university i will
be with dennis campbell matt thanks for
taking time out of your day to join us
thank you so much for everyday since it
was wonderful thank you
and we'll be right back after this
