"Unlike more recent books dealing with the press in the Middle East which focus upon the treatment of the Arab Israeli conflict, this one analyzes the news media as institutions, "to see what forms they have taken in the independent Arab states, how the self-governing Arab societies have chosen to control them, and how they relate to the political processes in the Arab world." The author, counselor for public affaire at the U.S. Embassy, Cairo and an expert on the region, looks in particular at the relationship between the mass media and the government with an eye to the extent of freedom that exists. Countries dealt with are the 18 nation states where Arabic is the official language of the people and the media. Much of the material is based on interviews and Arabic-languages sources. Notes and index." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 374)