Media & Mass Communications: Coverage of popular uprisings in Arab world under spotlight as never before

By MUSTAPHA AJBAILI


Al Arabiya

Media coverage of the popular uprisings sweeping the Arab world has revived debate about what role should the Fourth Estate—in its print, broadcast and electronic iterations—play in Arab society.



While print media’s role as a credible source of information and insightful analysis has dwindled over the years—due mainly to continuing government control in most countries of the 22-member Arab League—broadcast and electronic media have emerged in the “Arab Spring” not only as sources of information but, sometimes more, as conduits or vehicles of social change.



During an Arab media forum recently held in Kuwait to discuss the trends in media coverage of Arab revolutions, Abdel Wahab Badrakhan, a noted journalist and author, said that broadcast TV channels were the most prominent during the Arab uprisings. He was, of course, referring to the two most popular networks, Al Arabiya (which is privately owned) and Al Jazeera (which is funded by the Emir of Qatar).



Mr. Badrakhan said that increased role of electronic media over the last several months was not only due to increased users but more to a reliance of TV broadcasters on electronically-communicated information to deepen their coverage of the socio-political developments.



Some of major Arab TV broadcasters, such as Al Arabiya TV, were either temporarily suspended or were subject to jamming in Libya, Egypt and Syria, prompting them to rely on videos and information communicated via the Internet.



Not all views concerning the mass media have been supportive.



For example, the editor-in-chief of the al-Liwaa daily newspaper, Salah Salam, said some prominent news media “fabricated some testimonies to mislead the public opinion.”



Mr. Salam added, however, that other media outlets were more committed to obtaining and spreading credible information.

Akram Khozam, a prominent journalist at Al-Hurra TV (which is sponsored by the United States Government), said during the forum in Kuwait that some Arab broadcast TV channels were more concerned about influencing the course of events, even if they carried flawed reporting, than covering the developments from an independent and unbiased angle.



While such views will undoubtedly continue to shape the debate on the role of the mass media in the Arab world, commentators and academics will increasingly turn to examining how the “social media”—Twitter and Facebook, in particular—shape social and political change.



In a classic sense, these vehicles represent “vox populi” because they are a verbal way of mobilizing and transmitting genuine voices of everyday people.



But such mobilization can carry hazards: What if there are no filters to shape social and political debate? Can the sheer momentum of popular discussions project and propel misguided ideas about change? What are the built-in safety measures to protect those being accused in the growing courts of global public opinion? Is there recourse for those whose names get tarnished? How do falsely accused people restore their tarnished reputations?



And perhaps the central question: If mass media shapes social and political and even economic change, what happens to existing institutions of governance?



These are heavy issues, ones that will have a powerful impact on the level of societal discourse in the months and years ahead in the Arab world.

(Publish in english.alarabiya.net April 30, 2011)

Will Marrakesh attack dash hopes for reform in Morocco?

By MUSTAPHA AJBAILI


Al Arabiya

Following an attack in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Thursday that left 17 people killed and 23 wounded, Moroccans fear their hopes for freedom could be dashed by a likely increase in security around the country.



While the interior ministry and its security organs were busy searching for the traces of the perpetrators, political observers and independent media were busy trying to answer two main questions: Who might benefit from the attack? And what are the implications of the bombing on the process of political reform?



The questions were raised after the interior ministry announced that the attack was “criminal,” and were repeated when the bombing was termed “terrorist” by the authorities.



Initially the reports suggested the explosion that happened in Argana café in Marrakesh’s Jamaa el-Fna Square was an accident caused by the explosion of several gas canisters. But the authorities quickly changed the cause of the explosion. An “explosion” of gas canisters simply doesn’t sound as terrifying as “criminal act,” or “act of terrorism.” If the authorities wanted to deter more street demonstrations, then the episode—however tragic in terms of loss of lives—played into their hands.



Abdelilah Benkiran, the secretary general of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, has condemned the attack but warned it should not turn Moroccan’s eyes on the need for political reform. He said the event would likely not have an effect on the growing popular demands for political reform and the fight against corruption.



Mustapha Al-Khalfi, an expert in the affairs of Islamist groups, said the bombing happened at a sensitive time marked by intense political activity for democratic reforms. Mr. al-Khalfi added that the timing of the attack justifies the fears about its implications on the democratic reforms.



“Whatever the party that stands behind this terror act and its goals, the state should carry further deep the process of political and democratic reforms and overcome the effect of the shock,” he said.



Morocco’s pro-democracy “February 20” movement has condemned the attacks and announced on a statement posted on its Facebook page plans to hold a “national rally” on Sunday, May 8, in Marrakesh to denounce terrorism and to renew its demands for democracy.



The movement has recently organized mass demonstrations in 80 cities and towns across the kingdom—of 32 million people, a GDP of $153 billion and a GDP per capita of about $5,000. Demonstrators called for putting an end of corruption.



Just how much would-be demonstrators fear public “explosions” such as the sad one in Marrakesh remains to be seen.



(Published in english.alarabiya.net on April 29)

 

Early elections in Morocco?

By MUSTAPHA AJBAILI

Al Arabiya

The Moroccan Prime Minister, Abbas El Fassi, has called for holding the upcoming legislative elections immediately after a referendum on constitutional reforms this year in response to protests against corruption and against his government.



Mr. el-Fasi said at a meeting with members of his Istiqlal (independence) party that it was impossible to wait until 2012 to hold the legislative elections amid increasing public anger against his government, local media reported on Monday.



Mr. El Fasi said it was necessary to respond to the “dynamism” in the Moroccan streets, and that an early election “must be held to start a new era.”



On Sunday tens of thousands of Moroccans staged peaceful protests across the country to demand more democratic reforms, justice and an end to corruption despite steps taken by King Mohammed VI to reform the constitution and release political prisoners.