November 2020 – by Biljana Tatomir, Enrico de Angelis and Maryia Sadouskaya-Komlach Briefing Paper Syrian Independent Exile Media Syria IMS Briefing Paper – Syrian Independent Exile Media Published in Denmark by IMS in 2019 Editor Rune Friberg Lyme Design NR2154 Publisher IMS ISBN 978-87-9220-965-8 © 2020 IMS The content of this publication is copyright protected. International Media Support is happy to share the text in the publication with you under the Creative Commons Attribution- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a summary of this license, please visit https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Join the global work for press freedom and stay up to date on media issues worldwide forfreemedia InternationalMediaSupport IMS is a non-profit organisation working to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. www.mediasupport.org IMS Briefing Paper / 1 Contents 2 Introduction 6 Executive Summary Part 1 Part 2 14 Part I Independent exile media globally — practices, policies and lessons learned 30 Part II Syrian exile media organisations and institutions 56 Annex Annex I: Methodology Annex II b): List of interviews Annex II c) 2 / Syrian Independent Exile Media Introduction IMS Briefing Paper / 3 This study focuses on the Syrian inde- Within a relatively short time-frame in trying to silence independent voices pendent exile media (SEM) organisa- of eight years, the sector went through is just one source of extreme insecu- tions and institutions that have devel- several distinct phases. The first phase rity and threat to the safety of those oped since the 2011 uprising. These (2011) was sudden and chaotic, as media trying to practise independent jour- media emerged and developed amid a outlets mushroomed, with many open- nalism in Syria. Syrian journalists are war of unprecedented scope and com- ing and closing shortly afterwards. Dur- persecuted by both state and non-state plexity; a war that has taken a heavy ing this period, media emanated directly actors. According to Reporters With- toll on Syria’s civilians and displaced from the uprising, in particular from out Borders’ 2017 report, 211 journalists a huge portion of its population. The actors belonging to peaceful move- and citizen journalists have been killed dynamics of the war and its impact on ments. Between 2011 and 2012, inde- in Syria’s civil war and “Syria has for the ground forced most if not all of the pendent media began to flourish in a dis- years been the world’s deadliest coun- independent media organisations and ordered but lively manner. This phase try for journalists and citizen journal- institutions that emerged after 2011 to was characterised by the first efforts to ists, who are caught between the Assad leave Syria. shift from media activism to more pro- regime and its allies, Islamic State and fessional media production. Activists many other radical Jihadi groups, and The development of the Syrian inde- and new journalists still widely believed the Kurdish forces.” 1 pendent media organisations and insti- that the regime would rapidly fall, pav- tutions was itself a kind of revolution ing the way to a transition to democracy. The case of the Syrian independent that challenged and provided an alter- The period between 2013 and 2015 saw media sector proves that professional native to the highly controlled, vertical the establishment of more media organ- development and achievement is pos- structure that characterised the pre-war isations and their move towards profes- sible even in the most extreme situa- Syrian media landscape. The result of sionalisation. As the security situation on tions. Efforts to consolidate the media this development after eight years is a the ground worsened, they were forced organisations professionally and institu- distinctly independent media sector that to move their operations abroad either tionally continues, even if, with far less is plural and diverse in nature. It exists partially or completely. Since 2016, even support available, many media organ- outside the framework of either state or more media and journalists have been isations are closing or have been con- corporate ownership; it is founded and forced to leave the country. sidering doing so. A number of media led by individuals with no links to any organisations are trying to adjust their political or other interest-based group, It should not be forgotten that the Syr- strategies to survive amid the crisis while and who are committed to professional ian alternative and independent media maintaining their professional develop- values. For these reasons, in terms of sector developed not only against the ment. In other words, the Syrian alterna- both ownership and content, the sector backdrop of war but against the back- tive and independent media sector is at can be considered independent. drop of systemic persecution of inde- a crossroads. Ironically, while the sec- pendent actors. The regime’s brutality tor is much more advanced and mature 4 / Syrian Independent Exile Media The alternative and independent media sector …embodies invaluable democratic and professional capital. If lost because of a lack of support today, it will be hard to re-build it later. than at any point in its recent history, it MENA region, which is, according to are well positioned, as their journalists faces an uncertain future, as the mini- a Freedom House report in 2017, the for the most part belong to the same gen- mum donor support required to ensure second-worst region for press freedom eration as their target audience (and thus its survival seems to be unavailable at (where 16 of the region’s 20 countries share their sensibility). They are also the moment. are classified as not free).2 There is no technology-savvy, and have the poten- evidence that this negative trend can be tial to tap into their audience’s chang- The relevance of the Syrian alternative reversed in the short- to medium-term, ing preferences and habits. and independent media sector and its as the major drivers originate from the role in the formation of an alternative re-consolidation of authoritarianism that It is highly relevant what type of media discourse in the Syrian public sphere varies in its intensity from one country will continue to influence the public cannot be denied. It is quite an unprec- to another. Finally, the global trends sphere now as well as during the post-war edented phenomenon for an independent are negative, too. These are the ele- period. There are hardly any grounds for media sector to evolve and exist as the ments of a broader context to be taken thinking that post-war Syria will embark only alternative to state- and factions- into account when it comes to strate- on political transformation (one that is influenced media, and it has the poten- gic considerations about Syrian alter- democratically oriented) and media tial (if it survives) to play a significant native and independent media organ- landscape reform. The moment to act is role in the post-conflict period. isations and institutions. now, rather than in the future post-war period. The alternative and independent The end of the Syrian civil war is not yet On the plus side, the Syrian independent media sector now operating in exile has clearly on the horizon. Nevertheless, the media sector faces opportunities deriv- the potential to contribute to peace and kind of media environment that will be ing from other regional trends. One trend reconciliation, accountability and trans- created by peace and post-war arrange- with long-term transformational poten- parency. The sector embodies invalua- ments matters even more for the future tial, particularly in its effect on younger ble democratic and professional capi- of the independent media organisations populations across the MENA region, tal. If lost because of a lack of support and institutions. Guarantees of freedom is “digital disruption”. The media land- today, it will be hard to re-build it later. of expression and to independent media scape is undergoing a paradigm shift, The sector’s development and progress to operate freely in Syria have not been one where the region’s developing infra- could be short-lived if its very survival part of any talks so far. Some of the structure alongside changing consumer becomes uncertain. countries involved in the war, as well as behaviour and growing demand for Ara- some of those attempting to take more bic-language content and specific for- The role of local media is undisputed, prominent role as “brokers of peace”, are mats are all relevant for Syrian alterna- as other comparative conflict and post- known for their own dismal records vis- tive and independent media, regardless conflict frameworks prove. Though oper- à-vis freedom of expression and media of whether they are digital-only or use ating in exile out of necessity, the Syr- freedom. The same applies to the entire multiple platforms. In that regard, they ian alternative and independent media IMS Briefing Paper / 5 organisations and institutions retain all that these outlets play a role today that of the prerogatives of local media: they cannot be limited to the vision of a have been set up and are run by Syri- future transition, but rather is relevant ans, they are focused on locally relevant today. They already constitute an actor topics and target a local audience, they that competes with and confronts other rely on reporters’ networks in Syria, and media actors on the scene: governmental they are de-facto local media with tem- and private, regional and international. porary headquarters abroad. Moving away from a transition para- We hope that this study provides the digm, in other words, would enable us foundation for compelling arguments to better assess the value of the media in favour of immediate and sustained considered in this report, as well as their support for the independent media sec- future prospects.