A Bloggers Conference To Which I Wasn't Invited

A conference open to the public focusing on the Internet and coverage of Middle East news is set for the Ambassador Hotel in East Jerusalem on December 3.

The event has been organized by Palestinian--American journalist and comedian Ray Hanania, and will feature panelists from Israeli, Jewish, Palestinian, Arab and Western media.

The first panel is titled, "Internet Media: Strategies and Challenges facing Internet News Web and Blog sites," and runs from 12:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Panelists are: Alan Abbey, Former Editor, Ynetnews.com, a popular English-language Internet news website based in Tel Aviv, Khaled Abou-Aker, Editor, AMIN.org, a center for Palestinian, Israeli and Middle East opinion, Elizabeth Cohen, MidEastYouth.-com one of the highest ranked Middle East news blogs on the Internet, Sherif Hedayat, standup comedian and online video producer, and Fadi Abu Sada, Director, Palestine News Network, an online news agency, or a representative. Moderator is Charley Warady, co-host, Israelisms, an online weekly audio blog of life in Israel.

The second panel is titled, "Traditional Media: Strategies and Challenges Facing Coverage of the Palestine-Israel Conflict, at 2:45 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Panelists are: Steve Linde, managing editor, The Jerusalem Post, and editor at Israel Radio, Sara Miller, reporter, Haaretz, Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy Newspapers Jerusalem Bureau chief, Joel Greenberg, Middle East correspondent for the Chicago Tribune, Zaki Abu Al-Halaweh, correspondent for al-Quds Newspaper, and Issa Sharbati, correspondent for al-Hayat al-Jadida newspaper. Hanania will moderate the second panel.

The event is sponsored by National Arab-American Journalists Association, SPJ-Arab Journalists, and Society of Professional Journalists.