Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan, 2Nd Edition
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Center for Global Communication Studies Jordan Media Strengthening Program (CGCS) 5-2011 Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan, 2nd edition Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/jordan_program Part of the Communication Commons, and the International and Area Studies Commons Recommended Citation Center for Global Communication Studies at the Annenberg School for Communication, "Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan, 2nd edition" (2011). Jordan Media Strengthening Program. 1. https://repository.upenn.edu/jordan_program/1 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/jordan_program/1 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan, 2nd edition Abstract The goal of this volume is to examine and assess the legal environment the institutions, laws, and practices in which news media operate in Jordan. It is designed for those in Jordan for whom information and communication is important: citizens, government officials, ganizationsor of civil society, indeed, almost everyone. We seek to describe the system of laws and policies, including basic rights, that affect the way in which information and ideas about public affairs are selected, packaged, distributed, and received. We try to place rules and regulations in context, at least a public context. It is impossible, here, to describe the complex history, the religious institutions, the geopolitical events and other very considerable matters that affect how speech flows. eW concentrate, therefore, on press and media laws and their implementation. By “news media law,” we mean the set of institutions and rules that affect the activities resulting in the dissemination of information and ideas about public affairs to the general public. This includes not only those institutions and rules designed to advance the free exercise of such activity, but also those that are intended to protect other interests with which this exercise might conflict. Indeed, the essence of news media law lies in the inherent, continual need to strike the appropriate balance between press freedoms and competing public and private values and interests. At the same time, our scope is closely defined. eW do not seek to make this presentation comprehensive: an encyclopedic survey of all legal provisions affecting news media activity would be beyond the scope and space limitations of this volume. Therefore, most issues regarding the structural aspects of Jordan’s media regulation (for example, ownership of mass media) are not included here. Instead, we focus on the legal environment in which the news media operate, organizing our material according to a way of thinking about media in a society that is seeking to increase the participation of its citizens in the functioning of government. We emphasize the importance of the rule of law itself, and then the laws and policies governing journalists’ access to information and content regulation, as well as content-neutral rules that affect how the media perform. Laws and policies are frequently looked at in isolation. Laws are also often analyzed and discussed with attention paid merely to their wording. However, each society has a cluster of activities, interactions of laws, and settings in which they exist that make those laws more or less effective. Different states, at different stages of development, require different strategies for thinking about the role of media and, as a result, for thinking about the design and structure of the environment in which they operate. We seek to explore the particular laws of Jordan, and the institutions which give them meaning. Disciplines Communication | International and Area Studies This report is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/jordan_program/1 Introduction to News Media Law and Policy in Jordan A primer compiled as part of the Jordan Media Strengthening Program ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A first edition of this primer was released in May 2009, as part of the Jordan Media Strengthening Program (JMSP), thanks to the generous contributions of several Jordanian and international experts. Several focus groups, with representatives from universities, associations, NGOs and state institutions, were con- vened to review successive drafts of the first edition. Only two years later, the JMSP team felt that an update was in order. Although actual and substantial changes to legislation and regulation governing news media have been limited, the debate over media re- form has picked up pace and widened in scope. This second edition of the Jordan media law primer seeks to capture at least the main trends in this on-going debate, fuelled by the winds of change that started blowing across the region as of January 2011. The Center for Global Communication Studies was the main architect behind the very idea of this small publication, five years ago. CGCS consultant and JMSP Senior Legal Advisor Douglas Griffin produced most of the initial research, in close consultation with several Jordanian experts. Journalist and media freedom advocate Yahia Shukkeir was a constant source of information and inspiration all throughout. He edited both the first and second Arabic versions. In addition to the entire CGCS team, headed by Professor Monroe Price, and to CGCS Associate Director Libby Morgan, our warmest thanks also go to Professor Peter Krug of Oklahoma University. As with the first edition, this updated version relied on the patient and meticulous work of young lawyers, journalists and scholars. We would like to thank Aamir Wyne and Molly Anders for their dedication and contributions. On behalf of the JMSP Team, many thanks again to all! Francesca Ciriaci-Sawalha Chief of Party IREX/Jordan Media Strengthening Program Amman, May 2011 INTRODUCTION The goal of this volume is to examine and assess the legal environment the institutions, laws, and prac- tices in which news media operate in Jordan. It is designed for those in Jordan for whom information and communication is important: citizens, government officials, organizations of civil society, indeed, almost everyone. We seek to describe the system of laws and policies, including basic rights, that affect the way in which information and ideas about public affairs are selected, packaged, distributed, and received. We try to place rules and regulations in context, at least a public context. It is impossible, here, to describe the complex history, the religious institutions, the geopolitical events and other very considerable matters that affect how speech flows. We concentrate, therefore, on press and media laws and their implementation. By “news media law,” we mean the set of institutions and rules that affect the activities resulting in the dissemination of information and ideas about public affairs to the general public. This includes not only those institutions and rules designed to advance the free exercise of such activity, but also those that are intended to protect other interests with which this exercise might conflict. Indeed, the essence of news media law lies in the inherent, continual need to strike the appropriate balance between press freedoms and competing public and private values and interests. At the same time, our scope is closely defined. We do not seek to make this presentation comprehensive: an encyclopedic survey of all legal provisions affecting news media activity would be beyond the scope and space limitations of this volume. Therefore, most issues regarding the structural aspects of Jordan’s media regulation (for example, ownership of mass media) are not included here. Instead, we focus on the legal environment in which the news media operate, organizing our material according to a way of thinking about media in a society that is seeking to increase the participation of its citizens in the functioning of government. We emphasize the importance of the rule of law itself, and then the laws and policies governing journalists’ access to information and content regulation, as well as content-neutral rules that affect how the media per- form. Laws and policies are frequently looked at in isolation. Laws are also often analyzed and discussed with at- tention paid merely to their wording. However, each society has a cluster of activities, interactions of laws, and settings in which they exist that make those laws more or less effective. Different states, at different stages of development, require different strategies for thinking about the role of media and, as a result, for thinking about the design and structure of the environment in which they operate. We seek to explore the particular laws of Jordan, and the institutions which give them meaning. Professor Monroe E. Price Director Center for Global Communication Studies Annenberg School for Communication University of Pennsylvania ENTS TABLE OF CONT INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: A LEGAL ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR NEWS MEDIA ACTIVITY 9 1. Preconditions for a legal enabling environment 11 2. Fundamentals of free media and journalism 12 CHAPTER 2: THE LEGAL ENVIRONMENT GOVERNING MEDIA IN JORDAN 15 1. The Constitution (1952) 17 2. The National Charter 18 3. International agreements and treaties 19 CHAPTER 3: LAWS DIRECTLY GOVERNING MEDIA WORK 23 1. The Press and Publications Law 25 (i) Historical overview (ii) Who is a journalist? (iii) Licensing of