Fresh Global Media Players: Disrupting the Digital Ecosystem?

About

A decade after the inaugural Fresh Global Media Players symposium, Northwestern University in Qatar brings together international scholars and media industry leaders to revisit the changing dynamics of global communication power.

The symposium examines whether emerging platforms, media industries, and business models are disrupting established hierarchies or reproducing existing inequalities. Through interdisciplinary research and dialogue, participants explore the geopolitics of digital media, shifting business models, and the growing influence of regional media industries.

The program features three research sessions and a fireside chat with Elie Habib, CEO of Anghami and OSN+.

Symposium Organizers

Joe F. Khalil
Professor in Residence, Communication Program
Northwestern University in Qatar

William Youmans
Associate Professor in Residence, Journalism and Strategic Communication Program
Northwestern University in Qatar

Program
October 29, 2026

Panel 1: Geopolitics of Digital Media
09:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Panel 2: Monetization and Business Models
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Fireside Chat: The Changing Streaming Landscape
01:15 p.m. - 02:15 p.m.

Panel 3: A Regional Outlook
02:45 p.m. - 04:00 p.m.

Panel 1: Geopolitics of Digital Media

Room Number: 2-255
09:15 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

From global and African news channels on YouTube to TikTok migration and independent investigative media in East Africa, this panel examines how digital platforms redistribute power and access to information. The papers explore how platform logics reshape media flows, identities, and claims to epistemic sovereignty across borders.

Speakers

Dani Madrid-Morales
University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Myrtle Ziwei Zeng
University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Joan Letting
Simon Fraser University, Canada

Moderator

Miriam Berg
Northwestern University in Qatar

Panel 2: Monetization and Business Models

Room Number 2-255
10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

From “shadow” media networks to Chinese investment in global video games and India’s digital-first independent music sector, this panel examines new routes through which media capital, content, and influence travel. The papers highlight how investment, interdependence, and emerging business models are reconfiguring established centers of media power.

Speakers

Swapnil Rai
University of Michigan, United States

Po-Hsi Wu
University of Westminster, United Kingdom

Gowreesh V.S.
Jawaharlal Nehru University, India

Moderator

Yasemin Celikkol
Northwestern University in Qatar

Panel 3: A Regional Outlook

Room Number 2-255
02:45 p.m. - 04:00 p.m.

Focusing on Netflix’s relationship with Kuwaiti television and the cultural challenges facing esports organizations in MENA, this panel examines how globalizing media forms encounter established regional practices and expectations. The papers reveal how localization, cultural identity, and institutional norms shape the development of digital media industries in the region.

Speakers

Kay Dickinson
University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Najat Alsheridah
Independent scholar, Kuwait

Mohammed Mohammed and Lobna Hassan
LUT University, Finland

Moderator

Mohamed Zayani
Georgetown University in Qatar

Fireside Chat: The Changing Streaming Landscape

Northwestern University in Qatar Auditorium
01:15 p.m. - 02:15 p.m.

A conversation exploring the evolution of the Middle East and North Africa’s streaming industries, emerging business models, and the opportunities and challenges facing regional platforms competing in global media markets.

Featured Guest

Elie Habib
CEO of Anghami and OSN+

Elie Habib is the co-founder and CEO of Anghami and OSN+, two major streaming platforms serving the Middle East and North Africa. He co-founded Anghami in 2012, helping establish one of the region’s pioneering digital music services and guiding its landmark Nasdaq listing in 2022. Following the combination of Anghami and OSN+ in 2024, Habib assumed leadership of the integrated music and video streaming business. His work spans digital innovation, platform development, and the growth of regional streaming services.

Moderators

Joe F. Khalil
Professor in Residence, Communication Program
Northwestern University in Qatar

William Youmans
Associate Professor in Residence, Journalism and Strategic Communication Program
Northwestern University in Qatar

Symposium Legacy and Publications

The inaugural Fresh Global Media Players: Redistributing Communication Power symposium was held at Northwestern University in Qatar in February 2015. It brought together international scholars to examine emerging global media players and the changing distribution of communication power.

The symposium led to a special section of the International Journal of Communication, published in 2016 under the title Shift or Stasis? Questioning Global Communication Power, co-edited by Joe F. Khalil and John D. H. Downing.

The publication featured contributions from established and emerging scholars, including Annabelle Sreberny, Tristan Mattelart, John Sinclair, Andrea Esser, Mohamed Zayani. Their research addressed global news and media events, transnational audiovisual flows, advertising, television production, and the changing position of Arab and other non-Western media within global communication.

The 2026 symposium builds on this scholarly legacy, revisiting questions of global media power in an ecosystem increasingly shaped by streaming platforms, digital creators, and new investment models. The organizers intend to propose a second special section featuring research developed through the symposium.

Read the 2016 special section introduction:
Shift or Stasis| Questioning Global Communication Power — Introduction

Contact Us
Email: NU-Q Global Media Symposium