Mr Betterman on the panel was joined by Dr. Hala Mustafa, editor in chief of the Egyptian Democracy magazine, Youssef El Kaeed, Egyptian novelist and Hussein Abdel Ghany, renowned Egyptian journalist who set up the Cairo bureau of satellite channel Al Jazeera.

"We have always focused our work on strengthening the media" said FNF’s Regional Director Dr. Ronald Meinardus in his welcoming remarks adding that more recently the Foundation has supported various programs aimed at training bloggers and citizen journalists in Egypt. Adelheid Feilcke, Director of International Relations at Deutsche Welle, which produces programs in 30 languages, said that the dialogue between cultures "has never been more intense" and that the German broadcaster aims at promoting "understanding and dialogue."

Mr. Betterman said that due to - what he called a "dramatic change in the nature of the media" - its role has varied greatly: "Today, there is nothing more globalized than the media". He added, the media is often misused politically and he mentioned as an example the Iranian elections. However, according to Mr. Bettermann the media plays a positive role also, and he mentioned the coverage of the Tsunami. When the media is used in that way, "it’s a good thing; it’s a way for us to know each other better," the German media expert concluded. Hala Mustafa stated that while the number of Arab media outlets has increased, the gap between East and West has also grown. She explained that this due to different conceptions of the principles of freedom, politics and peace.

On the other hand, Mr. El Kaeed stated that the media focuses on bringing out the religious differences between the two cultures thereby deepening the gap between them. As an example, he stated that events like burning the Quran now attract huge media coverage. Mr. Abdel Ghany went a step further: "The media does not only play a negative role but a destructive one", he said: The ability of the media to shape public opinion has been used to incite violence. As an example he mentioned the Arab media coverage of the "cartoon crisis" which led to violent riots in many parts of the Muslim world. The negative image of Muslims in the West, on the other hand, led an American to stabbing a Muslim taxi driver in the United States.

Who controls the message of the media? This was another question raised by Amira Hussein of FNF Cairo who moderated the debate. Panelists agreed that in the Arab world the rulers have full control over the media, while in the West, media institutions are by far less dependant and they devise their messages. This also has negative repercussions: "Western media outlets are looking for profit and creating a positive image of Muslims and Arabs simply doesn’t sell", he said. On the other hand, governments in the Arab world don’t care when their media attacks the West: this, according to the Mr. Abdel Ghany, creates "distractions from their own failures." Away from the two models, Mr. Betterman presented the media system of Germany which combines public and private elements and creates "a balance and strengthens pluralism."

The discussion ended with a number of recommendations: All panelists agreed that the independence of the media is – to quote Mr. Abdel Ghany – "the key for a better dialogue."