The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday
Hizbollah keeps track of Neil MacFarquar’s birthday.
MacFarquhar is an American New York Times correspondent who reports on the lower-profile areas of the Middle East. Serious injuries he sustained in a bike accident in downtown New York City keep him from the war zones he used to cover. MacFarquhar now mostly writes about political and cultural complexities of the Middle East outside of the typical conflicts covered by U.S. media. His reporting and his book, “The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday,” are about Middle Eastern customs, everything from pop stars to humorous fatwas (religious rulings) to Arabs’ and Iranians’ concerns about the region’s future.
Hizbollah took notice of MacFarquhar’s reporting style. Since 2003, MacFarquhar has received birthday messages from Hizbollah’s media relations department that include greetings such as, “I wish all the joy your heart can hold, all the smiles a day can bring, all the blessings life unfold.”
This story reminds me that the road of media relations isn’t one way. Hizbollah sends MacFarquar birthday cards presumably because it wants to encourage him to continue reporting the way he does. MacFarquar uses these kinds of interactions to present readers a perspective on Middle Eastern culture beyond its instances of militancy. PR people communicate to the media to ensure messages about their organization are presented accurately and fairly. Journalists, in turn, have the responsibility to write the complete story and trust the information the PR professionals provide. MacFarquhar’s perspective on the Middle East seems to complete some of the region’s untold story.
Listen to NPR’s interview with MacFarquhar.
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