From Radio Farahalnas’ experience as a community radio, young men and women from underserved communities generally feel they are more marginalized than their peers in other areas. They say they are “stigmatized” by poverty, lack of education, and drug abuse and need a chance to prove otherwise and be able to provide or at least discuss solutions to issues that disadvantage their local communities and Jordan at large. With the support of UNESCO, this project seeks to create a core group of 15 motivated young men and women from 3 underserved communities (one in the eastern part of Amman, and...
Regions: Arab States
Intense politicization is the primary obstacle to improving professionalism standards in the Lebanese media industry. It mainly affects objectivity, the very conception of it by Lebanese journalists and their actual commitment to it. One such indicator is the fact that very few news outlets distinguish the difference between news and editorial desks. Fact-checking is another point of contention which causes imbalances in the ethics guiding this line of practice. Though very few subjects are off limits; “physical access to news events can be restricted according to the political leaning of...
The media environment in Egypt was characterised by severe repression under the former ruling president, Hosni Mubarak. In terms of press freedom for example, Egypt was ranked 130th out of 196 countries globally by Freedom House in their Freedom of the Press 2010 Report. Despite the fall of the regime following the January 25th uprising, a lack of freedom of expression remains in force today. Traditional media as well as citizen journalism have played an important role in setting the stage for change in the country. In the upcoming period, and in the context of the transition towards...
South Sudan experienced a prolonged period of war, beginning in the North in 1955 and ending after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. The war led to the suppression of the mass media industry in South Sudan by the North. After the CPA, the media began to develop in South Sudan without undue Government harassment, and currently the country’s mass media industry is in its formative stage. Freedom of expression exists in law and practice, however there have been cases where journalists have been arrested and harassed by security forces whilst carrying out their...
The purpose of this project is to provide training for journalists in Egypt and Yemen on investigative journalism and computer assisted reporting. This training opportunity for countries in transition towards democracy is vital for capacity building of journalists and editors who suffer to varying degrees from censorship, concentration of media ownership, and a lack of tradition for in-depth reporting. The winds of change blowing across the Arab World at present have exposed structural and professional obstacles blocking the development of professional media. But a window of opportunity...
This project aims to upgrade the skills of 90 local journalists from regional media houses in the provinces of southern Iraq (Basra, Maysan and Thee Qar), in the field of investigative journalism. This will raise the proficiency and professionalism of local reporters in accordance with international modern standards of investigative reporting. The project also aims to create a network of investigative reporters based initially on the participation of the 90 journalists who will receive training.
Transparency International reports Iraq to be the fourth most corrupt state in...
Article 14 of Algeria's Information Act (no. 90-07 of April 3, 1990) provides for the freedom of all periodical publications. The abolition of the State's monopoly on print media brought in its wake a proliferation of publications. Several publications, however, are subject to the influence of political and business interests, which subverts their editorial independence. Furthermore, the State monopoly in the audio-visual sector continues to remain in force, after timid signs of opening up in 1990 and later in 1997. Although the absence of pluralism at the national level is compensated for...
For a long time, the Mauritanian audio-visual sector was dominated by the two state-run media outlets - Radio Mauritanie and Télévision de Mauritanie, but with the July 2010 adoption by the National Assembly of a draft bill on the liberalisation of the audio-visual sector, the media landscape has begun to change. However, despite a rather favourable environment, the Mauritanian media is unable to take full advantage of the available opportunities due to a lack of specialist and quality training for media professionals. Mauritania's first journalism school is still in the design phase, and...
The crucial role played by the media in strengthening the democratic process and pluralism in Tunisia since January 14, 2011, is increasingly recognised by Tunisian society in general, and by the country's political and civil-society authorities in particular. The current situation calls for journalists who are highly competent and versatile. The need has become all the more pressing with the emergence of more than 112 new publications, and temporarily, 12 new radios (including 8 regional radios) on the media landscape. Not to mention the television channels and electronic journals which...
Local Palestinian journalists have struggled to respond to threats to their personal safety and journalistic integrity. The Palestinian media sphere, which has long since been dominated by partisan control and self-censorship, has become further politically polarized and driven by factions, rather than citizens’ concerns. According to Ma'an’s 2011 survey, 39% of Palestinians felt that local media negatively impacts the Palestinian internal division. At the same time, Palestinian journalists committed to independent, non-partisan coverage feel under siege from all sides, as investigative...
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