Past, Past and Future: The State of Independent Media in The Middle East

Independent media is essential in having informed educated and non-bias citizens. However, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, the presence of independent media is severely lacking in Arabian countries. Additionally, independent media can only be fostered in an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their duties without fear of violence. Without this environment, media tends to be one sided without a comprehensive look at the political environment. The independent and opposition media has been largely oppressed throughout the Middle Eastern world in the past few centuries by government forces. With the limited amount of independent media in Egypt, Tunisia and Syria, social media, state run media and opposition media represent a large portion of reporting on events during the Arab Spring.

Since the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East and Northern Africa have had limited freedom of press. Once the empire had ceased to exist, the press became an instrument in the fight for national independence from colonial powers.  However, after power was ceased back by revolutionaries in the 1950’s, independent and opposition press were forbidden in most countries. Out of the three countries in focus, the only country to continue to allow independent and opposition media was Tunisia (Essoulami). This does not mean freedom of press though, as it was only tolerated and was subject to censorship and criticism in order to protect “public order”. Much of this changed in the 1990’s when “satellite television in the Arabic language took the region by storm … boosting access to information, breaking taboos, and bringing the Arab world closer together …”(Noueihed, 46). Not only did this bring the Arab world together culturally, it allowed them to share their human condition and stories with others that are under similar oppression. However, freedom of press is still nowhere near guaranteed, “[J]ournalists there know they must censor themselves on pain of serious consequences.”(Swafield).

Until 1996, with the creation of the Al-Jazeera news network, citizens that wanted to watch professional news instead of entertainment or state run propaganda bulletins had to turn to English or French satellite broadcasts (Noueihed, 47). Through controversial political talk shows and news reporting, Al-Jazeera played a significant role in eroding the propaganda system that dictators had worked so hard to create. With the US led invasion of Iraq, Al-Jazeera was the only foreign news network with a correspondent in the country. By showing raw footage of airstrikes and messages from Osama bin Laden, the network earned the name “Jihad TV” in the U.S. (Noueihad, 49). However this correspondence only gave the channel more credibility in the Middle East and Northern Africa. “A 2010 opinion poll found that 85 percent of Arabs relied on the television for their news, and that 75 percent listed Al-Jazeera as either their first or second choice for international news.” (Nouihad, 50).

Even though satellite news networks such as Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya have played a huge role in shrinking the Arab world and offering alternative perspectives on current events, this does not mean they are independent and do not have an ulterior motive. For example, “In Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, [Al-Jazeera’s] wall-to-wall coverage was instrumental in boosting protests and was widely seen as reflecting its Qatari owner’s backing for the rebels.” (Noueihed, 52). But when these protests come closer to home, in the Arab gulf, the coverage becomes much less supportive and inclusive. In addition to this, Al-Jazeera was accused of promoting the Muslim Brotherhood and related Islamic groups. This has gone so far that the channel is now seen as no less than an arm of the Qatari foreign policy (Noueihed, 52). This false sense of independent, unbiased news is worsening the state of independent media in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Although freedom of press is guaranteed in the Constitution of Tunisia, journalists were not comfortable before and during the Arab Spring. This is due to the regime’s intimidation and oppression of journalists; According to Bruce Swaffield, since 2008 organizations “have cited more than 30 separate incidents involving the media. From censorship to arrests to imprisonment …” (Swffield). This was allowed to happen by the international community because much of the intimidation was done under the guise of a reporter committing a separate crime such as

theft. Due to this, much of the information that was disseminated during the uprising was through twitter and blogging services. Although bloggers were still a target for the government, it was more difficult to identify the source. The state of independent media has improved within Tunisia since the uprisings as bloggers can express their political view without fear of attack by the secret police.

When Bashar Al-Assad inherited Syria, Hopes were high for freedom of press as he had encouraged free speech. However, in 2001 the introduction of the Publications Law prohibited the broadcasting and printing of stories that “cause public unrest, disturbs international relations, violates the dignity of the state or national unity, affect the morale of the armed forces, or inflicts harm on the national economy and the safety of the monetary system” (Swaffield). Essentially, journalists are unable to critic anything about the government. This was put into practice when Ail Abdallah was given a six-month prison sentence for publishing an article on the weakness of Syria’s economy, in March 2006; his son was given a similar sentence for reporting his father’s arrest to Al-Jazeera. Opposition groups have formed since then, for instance, the Shaam News Network which is entirely dedicated to collecting evidence of protests and alleged state brutality and disseminating it to the world in English and Arabic (Noueihed, 45). The direction of news and media within Syria depends on the result of the uprising currently taking place, as long as the government maintains control, it will be difficult to obtain accurate, unbiased information and reporting.

Egypt has been better off than most Middle Eastern and Northern African countries in terms of freedom of press and amount of independent media. Since the U.S. led invasion of Iraq, Mubarak was pressured to put in place democratic reforms, this included the implementation of opposition and independent newspapers. However, Mubarak’s state run Al-Ahram still produced plenty of propaganda; and independent and opposition journalists were still intimidated by security forces and his regime put in significant effort to shut down the internet, mobile phone networks and Al-Jazeera’s Egypt bureau, to control access to information within the country during uprisings. Due to this, “most of the reliable news about the 18-day revolt, in fact, came from social media networks, international news sources, and independent and opposition Egyptian press outlets…” (Elmasry). Although there is no casualty proven by government ownership, opposition party ownership and independent ownership of new sources, the statistics presented support the expectation that ownership structures and political loyalties constitute a major structural influence on news production (Elmasry).

From this overview it is clear that the state of independent media in the Middle East and Northern Africa must change. There is barely any freedom of press within most of these nations and the little that is presented is controlled tightly by security forces and regimes by intimidation and the need to ‘self-censor’. The only major independent news source comes from the use of satellite television and internet blogging sites. Furthermore, “Research has shown that, on the whole, Arab media tend to operate within censorial cultures, with authoritarianism and social responsibility overriding liberalism as media norms (Hafez 2002; Mellor 2005)” (Elmasry). Independent media is becoming non-existent as “The media are being divided into two parts, one loyal to the government, the other to the opposition” (Kilman). In order to counter this trend, people must advocate for laws that ensure Freedom of Press within the nations and support the development of independent satellite news channels that broadcast in Arabic within the area.

Works Cited

Elmasry, Mohamad Hamas. "Journalism With Restraint: A Comparative Content Analysis Of Independent, Government, And Opposition Newspapers In Pre-Revolution Egypt." Journal Of Middle East Media 8.1 (2012): 1-34. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Essoulami, Said. "The Arab Press: Historical Background." Al-bab. N.p., 7 Jan. 2006. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Griffen, Scott. "Restrictions on Independent Media in Syria Must End, Says IPI." International Press Institute. N.p., 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Halverson, Jeffry R., Scott W. Ruston, and Angela Trethewey. "Mediated Martyrs of the Arab Spring: New Media, Civil Religion, and Narrative in Tunisia and Egypt." Journal of Communication 63.2 (2013): 312-32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Jouan, Virginie. "Long Road Ahead for Tunisia's Media." International Media Support. N.p., 11 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Kilman, Larry. "Arab World Needs Access to Independent Media." World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers. N.p., 25 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Krajeski, Jenna. "The Death of Egypt Independent." The New Yorker. Condé Nast, 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"Media Sustainability Index - Middle East & North Africa." IREX. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Morabito, Andrea. "The Trouble With Syria." Broadcasting & Cable142.9 (2012): 10. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014

Noueihed, Lin, and Alex Warren. The Battle for the Arab Spring: Revolution, Counter-revolution and the Making of a New Era. New Haven: Yale UP, 2012. Print.

Reventlow, Andreas. "Making Sense of Egypt's News." International Media Support. N.p., 29 June 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Swaffield, Bruce C. "The Story Tourists Never See in Tunisia." Quill 96.9 (2008): 37. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

Swaffield, Bruce. "Whims Often Lead To Syrian Journalists' Woes." Quill 95.4 (2007): 38.Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.

"World Press Freedom Index 2014." Reporters Without Borders. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014.