Published by Panos Paris Institute and Mediterranean Observatory of Communication © Consortium IPP-OMEC Date of publication May 2012 ISBN 978-84-939674-0-6 Panos Paris Institute 10, rue du Mail - F-75002 Paris Phone: +33 (0)1 40 41 13 31 Fax: 33 (0)1 40 41 03 30 http://www.panosparis.org Observatori Mediterrani de la Comunicació Campus de la UAB 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès) Phone: (+34) 93 581 3160 http://omec.uab.cat/ Responsibility for the content of these publications rests fully with their authors, and their publication does not constitute an endorsement by the Generalitat, Irish Aid nor the Open Society Foundations of the opinions expressed. Catalan publication: Editing: Annia García Printing: Printcolor, s.l French, English, Arabic publications: Editing: Caractères Pre-Press Printing: XL Print Photo Credits Front Cover: istockphoto.com Team responsible for the regional report This book owes much to the teams of the Panos Paris Institute (IPP), the Mediterranean Observatory of Communication (OMEC) and to the project partners in the countries of the MENA region: the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH Algeria), the Community Media Network (CMN, Jordan), Maharat foundation (Lebanon), the Centre for Media Freedom Middle East North Africa (CMF MENA, Morocco) and the AMIN Media Network (Palestine). Coordination of the regional report Charles AUTHEMAN (IPP) Coordinator Olga DEL RIO (OMEC) Coordinator Latifa TAYAH-GUENEAU (IPP) Coordinator Editorial committee Ricardo CARNIEL BUGS (OMEC) Editor Roland HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN (associate expert IPP) Editor Authors of the national reports Algeria Belkacem MOSTAFAOUI Professor, National Superior School of journalism and information sciences, Algiers Abdelmoumène KHELIL General Secretary, LADDH Egypt Rasha A. ABDULLA Associate professor, American University in Cairo (AUC) Jordan Ayman BARDAWIL Former associate general director, CMN Sawsan ZAIDEH Project and development manager, CMN Lebanon Tony MIKHAEL Director of Media Monitoring Department, Maharat Morocco Saïd ESSOULAMI Executive director, CMF MENA Palestine Khaled ABU AKER Executive director, AMIN Majed TALAB WAD SALEH Consultant Syria Amjad BAIAZY Researcher Tunisia Larbi CHOUIKHA University professor, Institute of Press and Information Sciences (IPSI), Manouba University 2 Development of the methodology for the analysis of content Supervision of the national studies and methodological support Author of the regional study based on input from the national reports Dima DABBOUS-SENSENIG (associate expert IPP) Director, Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW), Lebanese American University Contributors to the regional report Ahmed GHAZALI President, High Authority of Audiovisual Communication Marc BOU Expert of the planning department, Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation Khaled HROUB Director of the Media program, University of Cambridge Nacer MEHAL Algerian Minister of Communication Juan MONTABES P. Former President, Mediterranean Network of Regulatory Authorities Ex-President, Audiovisual Council of Andalusia Naomi SAKR Director of the Arab Media Centre, University of Westminster Teresa VELAZQUEZ Director of the Prospection and Research Laboratory in Communication, Culture and Cooperation (LAPREC), Autonomous University of Barcelona Translation : Rada SOUBRA BARRAGE, Morgane CHATEL, Isabelle DUVAL, Anastasia FISCHER, Annia GARCIA, Nadia HAMDAN GATTAN, Christelle Jay RALITERA, Vanessa LEFEVRE, Chloé MONFORT, Jean O’HANLON, Sylvaine PETIT, Nejla SAMMAKIA, Koinos and Lexiapark, s.l. 3 Acknowledgments We thank the donors for their support of this project, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation (ACCD), Irish Aid and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and especially: Yoya ALCOCEBA, Carla CANAL ROSICH and Daniel PELUFFO (ACCD) as well as Marius DRAGOMIR (OSF). We would like to thank, for their contribution to the national studies: Miguel Angel LOMBARDO and Dalia YOUSEF (Egypt); Daoud KUTTAB, Areej HAMMAD, Muhannad SARAWI, Hadeel ALBIS, and Mohammed SHAMA (Jordan); Layal BAHNAM-TANNOURI, Jamal HANNA, Juliana JABBOUR and George SADAKA (Lebanon); Ensam BARHAM, Fares SABAA’NA, Sandi ABU RAHMA, Niveen ABOUL EZZ, Shireen AL-KHATIB, and Hanan AL-RIFA’I (Palestine); Victorina GARCIA VELEZ (Tunisia). We also want to thank Françoise HAVELANGE (former director general of IPP) for her commitment to the project, as well as the following persons for their help in the development and completion of the project and the report: Amin AZZIMAN, John BARKER, Reda BEN JELLOUN, Salim CHEIKH, Martine COQUET, Mohammed EL-OIFI, Riadh FERJANI, Marie-Soleil FRERE, Dorothée FOURNIER, Tourya GAYBESS, Zeinab GHOSN, Salam KAWAKIBI, Rula MIKHAEL, Jamal Eddine NAJI, Nawfel RAGHAY, Katharina NOTZOLD, Lara SHALLAH HABBASS, Albin SOUARES COUTO. The IPP team Charles AUTHEMAN Program manager Pascal BERQUE Executive director Morgane CHATEL Intern Roland HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN Associate expert Clara LEAL-ESTEVE Project manager Sylvaine PETIT Project manager Latifa TAYAH-GUENEAU Program manager The OMEC team Teresa VELAZQUEZ President Olga DEL RIO Vice-president Ricardo CARNIEL BUGS Secretary Annia GARCIA Project manager 4 5 Preface By Pascal BERQUE Executive Director, Panos Paris Institute Television is the primary vector for information and entertainment of the 200 million people in the eight countries involved in this project. The stranglehold of governments on broadcasting is a major barrier to the democratic exercise. The requirements of openness, LQ^MZ[QÅKI\QWV IVL XT]ZITQ[U ZMUIQVML KWVÅVML \W \PM ZMKMX\QWV WN \ZIV[VI\QWVIT <> channels and many State receptors require a larger control of content. Meanwhile, the emergence and success of satellite television channels and digital media have rarely being used as leverage to real structural reforms of media landscapes. However, the Arab revolutions showed how the reforms of the information sector are a central national issue. At the heart of this challenge, the expression and the voice of the poorest populations, where media space is a key gateway to reveal their situations. In this context, Panos Paris Institute (IPP) initiated in North Africa, since 2007, a work to develop public awareness on the necessary liberalization of the media sector and the importance of regulatory mechanisms. This approach aimed to ensure the public’s right to XT]ZITQ[\QK^MZQÅMLIVLWJRMK\Q^MQVNWZUI\QWVI[_MTTI[NZMMLWUWN M`XZM[[QWVNWZUMLQI professionals. When we began to engage ourselves in advocacy for the liberalization of the audiovisual sector in the Maghreb and the Middle East, we faced many obstacles. The conclusion was clear: ourselves would be incantatory and futile to claim an opening of the audiovisual sector and to give at the same time, recommendations and demand which are inappropriate IVLQVI]LQJTM1\¼[LQNÅK]T\\WLQ[XMTLMKILM[WN I]\WKZI\QKKWV\ZWTWN I]LQW^Q[]ITUMLQI It seemed essential to adopt a more realistic and pragmatic approach, developed with our network of partners, AMIN, Ammannet, the CMF Mena, the LADDH, Maharat Foundation, OMEC, and associate experts Rasha Abdulla, Larbi Chouikha and Belkacem Mostefaoui, who have long been engaged in the media sector in the region. So, the investment and commitment of IPP and its partners followed this basis: facing the growing number of information channels, media liberalization has begun, and this factual situation will inevitably cause reforms to accompany this change. The public service broadcasting (PSB) is the central focus. It must be improved to become an exemplary model. It proves the good health of democracy in a country. All countries involved in the project have taken some kinds of commitments towards the PSB through [\I\MUMV\[[QOVI\]ZM[WN IOZMMUMV\[IVLZI\QÅMLKWV^MV\QWV[1V[XQ\MWN \PI\\PM8;* remains a fuzzy and unknown concept at authorities’ level as well as viewers. PSB critics will denounce it as a concept imported from “the West” while its supporters will insist on its universality. Often an educational effort gathers the different parties around the following consensus: authorities are responsible and accountable of a minimum quality programming and a three-fold mission: to inform, educate and entertain. 6 This book aims both to capitalize all the work undertaken since 2009 to assess the PSB in the Arab region and to suggest some recommendations. Its goal is to share the key results of an overview of the PSB situation in eight countries in the Maghreb / Mashreq region and learn from them, in order to continue our commitment towards public service media serving publics. Published in four languages - Arabic, Catalan, English and French - it is for all media XZWNM[[QWVIT[KWVKMZVML_Q\P\PMXZWL]K\QWVWN Y]ITQ\aIVLLQ^MZ[QÅMLKWV\MV\[QVTQVM with the expectations of their audiences and consequently, concerned with the adoption of regulatory mechanisms to ensure independence and quality. This work would have been impossible without the collective dynamic and the temerity of all partners and experts involved in the projectand the funding from Irish Aid, the Catalan Agency for Development Cooperation and the Open Society Foundations. Invested for over 25 years in favor of pluralism and independence of media, the Panos Paris Institute analyzes \PMÅMTLWN UMLQII[I_PWTM<PM188KWV[QLMZ[\PI\Q\_W]TLJMN]\QTM\WQUXZW^MRW]ZVITQ[\[¼IJQTQ\QM[QN the legal framework remains restrictive and does not promote the production and the wide broadcasting of reports they will realize. A regulated media framework is essential to professional and responsible practice