AmmanNet

Daoud Kuttab, founder of the first Internet-radio station in the Arab World, AmmanNet, spoke at the Berkman Center to describe his experiences using the internet to broadcast independent radio to the Arab world. While print media, television, and mainstream radio in Jordan are tightly regulated by the Jordanian government, Kuttab realized he could use the relative freedom of the internet to broadcast stories that the traditional media could not. "The whole thing started as an experiment," Kuttab said. He supplied eight reporters with mini-disc recorders and computer workstations. With these tools, his staff transformed coverage of the Jordanian Parliament by archiving debates, transcribing interviews, and publishing voting records. And two weeks ago, AmmanNet finally received a license to broadcast on the FM spectrum. "Technology provides an opportunity where in the past we didn't have opportunity," Kuttab said. An audio recording of Kuttab's talk is available here.