Walking a Tightrope
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WALKING A TIGHTROPE NEWS MEDIA & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST A REPORT BY LAYLA AL-ZUBAIDI, SUSANNE FISCHER & MAGDA ABU-FADIL Walking a Tightrope News Media and Freedom of Expression in the Middle East Authors: Layla Al-Zubaidi, Susanne Fischer and Magda Abu-Fadil Copy-editor: Emily Dische-Becker Published by: First published in 2004 by Heinrich Böll Stiftung (hbs) Updated version published by hbs Beirut in November 2012 Pictures: Pictures on pages 8, 12, 15, 19, 26, 33, 93, 100, 119, 131, and 149 © Layla Al-Zubaidi Pictures on pages 25 and 70 (also printed on cover) © Matthew Cassel Pictures on pages 34 (also printed on cover), 40, and 45 © Sana Sbouai Pictures on pages 50 and 109 © Cynthia Karam Pictures on pages 60 and 64 © Randa Shaath Pictures on pages 75 (also printed on cover), 81, 85 and 87 © Susanne Fischer Location of picture on page 132: Bustan al-Qasr, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 139: Homs, Syria Location of picture on page 141: Al-Shaar, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 143: Al-Sekkari, Aleppo, Syria Location of picture on page 145: Kafer Souseh, Damascus, Syria Source of picture on cover depicting man holding Egypt-sign: tumblr Available for download at www.lb.boell.org This work is licensed under the “Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License”: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0 This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Middle East Office. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the opinion of the Foundation. WALKING A TIGHTROPE NEWS MEDIA & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST A REPORT BY LAYLA AL-ZUBAIDI, SUSANNE FISCHER & MAGDA ABU-FADIL NEWS MEDIA & FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 5 IN THE MIDDLE EAST OREWORD TS F ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 N TE 1. THE SITUATION OF THE MEDIA: WALKING A TIGHTROPE .............................................................................................. 9 N INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................ 9 CO BETWEEN RIGHTS AND CONSTRAINTS ....................................................................................................... 13 F Constitutional Rights, Laws and National Security .................................................................................... 13 O Forms of Censorship and Self-Censorship .................................................................................................. 16 2. CHALLENGING THE STATE’S MONOPOLY ON INFORMATION ......................................................................................... 20 TABLE CROSSING BORDERS: SATELLITE NEWS ....................................................................................................................... 20 THE INTERNET ............................................................................................................................................................... 26 New Platforms for Citizens ............................................................................................................................ 26 Growth of Internet Use .................................................................................................................................. 29 3. MEDIA ETHICS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 34 CODES OF ETHICS: GUIDELINES FOR GOOD PRACTICE OR INSTRUMENTS OF CENSORSHIP? ................................. 34 SAMPLES OF CODES OF ETHICS IN THE REGION ........................................................................................................ 36 4. MEDIA LEGISLATION AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE MIDDLE EAST, INCLUDING TUNISIA ....................... 41 TUNISIA ........................................................................................................................................................................... 41 The Recent Situation ........................................................................................................................................ 41 EGYPT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 51 The Recent Situation ........................................................................................................................................ 51 Background ....................................................................................................................................................... 60 The Press .............................................................................................................................................. 62 Radio and Television ........................................................................................................................... 64 The Internet ......................................................................................................................................... 66 The Legal Framework ......................................................................................................................... 67 IRAQ ................................................................................................................................................................................. 71 The Recent Situation ........................................................................................................................................ 71 Background ....................................................................................................................................................... 77 Media in Northern Iraq before April 2003 ...................................................................................... 80 The Post-Baathist Era: Official Media Policies under the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) .................................. 81 Post-Baathist Media ............................................................................................................................ 84 The Press ................................................................................................................................. 85 Radio and Television .............................................................................................................. 88 Post-Baathist Media in Northern Iraq ................................................................................. 90 The Legal Framework ............................................................................................................ 91 The Legal Framework in Northern Iraq ............................................................................. 91 6 JORDAN ............................................................................................................................................................................ 93 The Recent Situation ........................................................................................................................................ 93 Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 100 The Press ............................................................................................................................................ 100 Radio and Television ......................................................................................................................... 101 The Internet ....................................................................................................................................... 103 The Legal Framework ....................................................................................................................... 104 LEBANON ...................................................................................................................................................................... 110 The Recent Situation ...................................................................................................................................... 110 Background ..................................................................................................................................................... 120 Post-Civil War Media ........................................................................................................................ 122 The Press ............................................................................................................................................ 124 Radio and Television ......................................................................................................................... 125 The Internet ....................................................................................................................................... 126 The Legal Framework ....................................................................................................................... 127 SYRIA ............................................................................................................................................................................