Dr Mohamed Kirat
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
The media in Tunisia has been undergoing drastic changes since the country’s revolution in 2011. After having been strictly controlled by Ben Ali’s regime, nowadays many new media outlets have found their way to millions of Tunisian households. The newfound media freedom has also turned Tunisian television into the main stage where fierce ideological battles are “fought”. The Tunisian mainstream media is becoming a central feature of the political struggle between the new government led by moderate Islamists and the new secular opposition. The difficulty of transforming the Tunisian media from a closely controlled tool of the regime to the free voice of a democratic society lies in the fact that the transition from authoritarianism requires not just regime change at the top but changes in all the mechanisms of politics and economics. These battles for reform may receive much less attention than the battles taking place at the highest levels of government, but they are just as important to the outcome of the transition process. The post-revolution era has raised new questions about transparency, objectivity and the need for editorial independence. Once restricted to those who supported the authoritarian regime, Tunisia’s media sector has rapidly expanded since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime in January 2011. Dozens of new media outlets were launched as restrictions on media ownership were removed and the old regime’s censorship practices disappeared. In the freer post-revolution atmosphere, many with political connections and ambitions rushed to acquire their own outlets. Political talk shows now dominate primetime, while satirical puppet shows mock the country’s leading politicians. But the newfound freedom has raised new questions about transparency and objectivity, prompting the country’s recently formed broadcast regulator to compose new rules banning the exploitation of privately-owned TV and radio stations for partisan propaganda. The High Independent Board of Audiovisual Communication (HAICA), established last year after months of political disputes over its membership, says the changes are necessary to ensure editorial independence.
The HAICA is seeking to separate media from politics to establish a new culture of responsible and investigative journalism. The board is composed of members chosen by journalists, media owners and the three branches of government. It is still struggling to establish its authority; the regulations released in March deal with television and radio-station licensing, media ethics and financial transparency. A key issue for HAICA has been governmental appointments to state-owned media outlets. HAICA had previously criticised former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh for ignoring a decree on media freedom that allows the board to nominate heads of public media outlets. HAICA also accused a government appointee of editorial interference with state-owned radio stations, alleging a pro-government bias.
The state-run press and the media owned by the former ruling party and the Ben Ali family were reorganised and restructured. Before the election of the new Constituent Assembly in October 2011, the interim government made changes to the administrations of some state-run media, a process that is considered by many as incomplete, as some leading figures who were prominent under the former regime are still controlling the decision making processes in these outlets. The media landscape has changed rapidly since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime. Overall, the margin for freedom of expression in the mainstream Tunisian media has improved relative to the situation before the revolution. However, news organisations are becoming the main stage for the fierce political and ideological battle between the country’s opposing camps: conservative Islamists and secular elitists. The partisan alignment of journalists between these two camps has transformed the mainstream media into a platform for propaganda, with media professionals once again in thrall to political agendas. As a result, the opportunity for local journalists to independently become more professional could again be sacrificed in the service of ideology. This is to say that in transitional periods like the one Tunisia is witnessing the stakes are very important and the challenges are huge.
While the transitional media scene is witnessing a wider margin for freedom of expression, entrenched habits of praising rulers mean that the danger of new forms of media clientelism has not disappeared . While some editors, especially those responsible for decision making in the state-run media, have been fired, others have retained powerful positions or have even been promoted since the revolution. Meanwhile, change is virtually impossible in the upper echelons of decision making in the private media, where editors are often also the owners of media outlets. The crucial task is now to investigate the real impact of this new media liberalisation: Will it lead to a solid, independent media, rooted in professional and responsible journalism? Or will this new spring vanish and be replaced by a fall of agenda wars in the media? Some of the earlier challenges and dangers remain prominent — namely, the appetite of the new rulers for using old mechanisms of media control, as well as the inability of journalists to distance themselves from belligerent political agendas. Journalists must transcend the former definition of their role as intermediaries between the government and the populace. A new free and professional era of Tunisian media requires vigilance on the part of the media community itself, and an awareness of its role as the barometer of the country’s new democracy. In Tunisia, the media landscape has changed radically over the past three years, with substantial gains strikingly visible in the level of television news audiences, the range of reporting across all platforms, the drop in self-censorship, the rise in audio-visual and press outlets, and the passion and determination with which media laws and structures are being challenged by both new and old elites. The uneven pace of change, reflecting a dynamic transition marked by enormous functional swings in both the private and public media sectors, suggests that the process being experienced in Tunisia is engaging fundamental aspects of its social and communicative structures. As both private and public media are consumed by large masses their output competes not only against other media in the field, but affects public opinion heavily. As the paths of media and democracy evolution intersects, the success or failure of the one will affect the other. It is worth noting that an active public sphere is in the making in Tunisia, but still a lot is to be done to get rid of the remnants of fifty years of censorship, self-censorship and a controlled media system.
The writer is a professor of public relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.
By Dr Mohamed Kirat
The media in Tunisia has been undergoing drastic changes since the country’s revolution in 2011. After having been strictly controlled by Ben Ali’s regime, nowadays many new media outlets have found their way to millions of Tunisian households. The newfound media freedom has also turned Tunisian television into the main stage where fierce ideological battles are “fought”. The Tunisian mainstream media is becoming a central feature of the political struggle between the new government led by moderate Islamists and the new secular opposition. The difficulty of transforming the Tunisian media from a closely controlled tool of the regime to the free voice of a democratic society lies in the fact that the transition from authoritarianism requires not just regime change at the top but changes in all the mechanisms of politics and economics. These battles for reform may receive much less attention than the battles taking place at the highest levels of government, but they are just as important to the outcome of the transition process. The post-revolution era has raised new questions about transparency, objectivity and the need for editorial independence. Once restricted to those who supported the authoritarian regime, Tunisia’s media sector has rapidly expanded since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime in January 2011. Dozens of new media outlets were launched as restrictions on media ownership were removed and the old regime’s censorship practices disappeared. In the freer post-revolution atmosphere, many with political connections and ambitions rushed to acquire their own outlets. Political talk shows now dominate primetime, while satirical puppet shows mock the country’s leading politicians. But the newfound freedom has raised new questions about transparency and objectivity, prompting the country’s recently formed broadcast regulator to compose new rules banning the exploitation of privately-owned TV and radio stations for partisan propaganda. The High Independent Board of Audiovisual Communication (HAICA), established last year after months of political disputes over its membership, says the changes are necessary to ensure editorial independence.
The HAICA is seeking to separate media from politics to establish a new culture of responsible and investigative journalism. The board is composed of members chosen by journalists, media owners and the three branches of government. It is still struggling to establish its authority; the regulations released in March deal with television and radio-station licensing, media ethics and financial transparency. A key issue for HAICA has been governmental appointments to state-owned media outlets. HAICA had previously criticised former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh for ignoring a decree on media freedom that allows the board to nominate heads of public media outlets. HAICA also accused a government appointee of editorial interference with state-owned radio stations, alleging a pro-government bias.
The state-run press and the media owned by the former ruling party and the Ben Ali family were reorganised and restructured. Before the election of the new Constituent Assembly in October 2011, the interim government made changes to the administrations of some state-run media, a process that is considered by many as incomplete, as some leading figures who were prominent under the former regime are still controlling the decision making processes in these outlets. The media landscape has changed rapidly since the fall of Ben Ali’s regime. Overall, the margin for freedom of expression in the mainstream Tunisian media has improved relative to the situation before the revolution. However, news organisations are becoming the main stage for the fierce political and ideological battle between the country’s opposing camps: conservative Islamists and secular elitists. The partisan alignment of journalists between these two camps has transformed the mainstream media into a platform for propaganda, with media professionals once again in thrall to political agendas. As a result, the opportunity for local journalists to independently become more professional could again be sacrificed in the service of ideology. This is to say that in transitional periods like the one Tunisia is witnessing the stakes are very important and the challenges are huge.
While the transitional media scene is witnessing a wider margin for freedom of expression, entrenched habits of praising rulers mean that the danger of new forms of media clientelism has not disappeared . While some editors, especially those responsible for decision making in the state-run media, have been fired, others have retained powerful positions or have even been promoted since the revolution. Meanwhile, change is virtually impossible in the upper echelons of decision making in the private media, where editors are often also the owners of media outlets. The crucial task is now to investigate the real impact of this new media liberalisation: Will it lead to a solid, independent media, rooted in professional and responsible journalism? Or will this new spring vanish and be replaced by a fall of agenda wars in the media? Some of the earlier challenges and dangers remain prominent — namely, the appetite of the new rulers for using old mechanisms of media control, as well as the inability of journalists to distance themselves from belligerent political agendas. Journalists must transcend the former definition of their role as intermediaries between the government and the populace. A new free and professional era of Tunisian media requires vigilance on the part of the media community itself, and an awareness of its role as the barometer of the country’s new democracy. In Tunisia, the media landscape has changed radically over the past three years, with substantial gains strikingly visible in the level of television news audiences, the range of reporting across all platforms, the drop in self-censorship, the rise in audio-visual and press outlets, and the passion and determination with which media laws and structures are being challenged by both new and old elites. The uneven pace of change, reflecting a dynamic transition marked by enormous functional swings in both the private and public media sectors, suggests that the process being experienced in Tunisia is engaging fundamental aspects of its social and communicative structures. As both private and public media are consumed by large masses their output competes not only against other media in the field, but affects public opinion heavily. As the paths of media and democracy evolution intersects, the success or failure of the one will affect the other. It is worth noting that an active public sphere is in the making in Tunisia, but still a lot is to be done to get rid of the remnants of fifty years of censorship, self-censorship and a controlled media system.
The writer is a professor of public relations and Mass Communication at the College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University.
