'Homeland' Depiction of Beirut Angers Both Lebanon and Israel

Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in 'Homeland'

The hit Showtime series Homeland has angered both Lebanon and Israel, two countries that are distinctly at odds on most other subjects.  

Lebanese Tourism Minister Fadi Abboud told The Associated Press this week that his government is unhappy with the show's portrayal of the city of Beirut. He said the government is considering filing a lawsuit for what he said is the show's misleading image of the city as a hotbed of terrorism. "The information minister is studying media laws to see what can be done," he said. 

The show, which follows a C.I.A. operative tracking a Marine war hero whom she believes to be consorting with Arab terrorists, has depicted one thriving commercial street in Beirut as a magnet for violence and treachery. "It was not filmed in Beirut and does reflect the real image of Beirut," said Abboud.

In fact, the scene was filmed in Tel Aviv, where some residents are unhappy that their cosmopolitan city has been used as a stand-in for an enemy's capital. "This sort of diminishes Tel Aviv and [the mixed Arab and Jewish neighborhood of ] Jaffa, which are more modern than Beirut,"said Israeli Internet developer Nir Rubinstein.

Homeland is based on the Israeli series Prisoners of War. According to the AP, Twentieth Century Fox, producers of the show, had no comment.  

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Fans React as Billboard Changes Charts Formula

In an attempt to present more accurate data, Billboard recently shook up its rock, country, hip-hop and Latin charts, resulting in broad pop stars such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Psy suddenly having more juice than their competitors. Fans of artists such as Carrie Underwood and Beyoncé did not take the news well: "Shame on you, Billboard!" wrote one commenter on the influential music-business magazine's website. "These are not the pop charts and this completely skews the formula to favor pop crossover hits."

Billboard executives defend the new charts – which, as of last week, use Internet criteria such as download sales and streaming plays from Spotify, Rhapsody and others as well as traditional radio spins – as a broader picture of what makes a hit. "Are those of you upset about this rule change suggesting that what fans are streaming on Spotify or buying at iTunes doesn't count?" asked Bill Werde, the magazine's editorial director, via Tumblr. "Fans have the power today – more than they have ever had in the history of the recorded music business – and these chart changes honor that reality, above all else."

Music-business veterans observed that the changes weren't the first time Billboard has adjusted its charts to reflect music fans' consumption behaviors. "Fifty years ago, we were tracking jukebox selections and 45 sales. Now we have YouTube videos and Pandora and satellite radio – there's a lot of things," says Mike Brophey, program director of the Boston country station WKLB. "It tends to be more accurate."

Nonetheless, fans' complaints about the genre charts giving an advantage to broad pop stars are accurate. Rihanna, whom most fans perceive as a Top 40 artist rather than an R&B star, jumped abruptly from Number 66 to Number One with "Diamonds." Even more absurdly, Psy, who doesn't even rap on his K-pop smash "Gangnam Style," surged from Number 20 to Number One. The changes could ultimately lead to pressure from record labels on more niche-oriented artists to broaden their sound, Swift-style.

"Somebody at the label says, 'Alan Jackson, if you want to be on the country chart, you may want to put a little pop in that record,'" says Kyle Bylin, a former Billboard chart manager who works for Live Nation Labs and curates the music-and-tech think tank sidewinder.fm. "It's well-known that the record industry has a long tradition of that."

Still, Bylin says, charts should contain the most accurate and comprehensive possible data. "Popularity is popularity. If that song is the most popular song, then the chart should reflect that," he says. In his Tumblr post, Billboard's Werde was more sarcastic. Responding to the argument from Underwood fans that Swift disproportionately benefits from the chart changes, he wrote: "I suggest a deep breath and some therapy."

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