A.  Overview of the media’s role in building the information society in the ESCWA region

         Conventional print, audio and visual media play an important role in building and developing information society, through the transmission of data and information to the public. Media can be a tool that teaches members of society new skills necessary for their transformation to an information society. Conversely, information and communication technology supports the development of the media.

        As a result of this development, the media’s role is no longer restricted to the transmission of news. It can now be used as an educational medium, conveying the components of knowledge.

        In order for the media to contribute to the development of society and the transformation to an information society, it must conform to the principles of press freedom, unrestricted flow of information, independence, pluralism and diversity. The freedom to acquire, exchange and use information contributes to the creation, accumulation and distribution of knowledge. 

1.  Media diversity, independence, and pluralism

(a)     Media independence

          In the Arab world, where the independent media is either censored, lacks institutional support, or subject to weak business management, Qatar ranks first in media independence, according to the International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX).  The IREX’s Media Sustainability Index (MSI), which covers the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for the first time, gives Qatar a score of 2.48 out of 4. This places Qatar at the halfway point, as it earned the classification of “near sustainability”. The Media Sustainability Index’s scoring system ranks a score of 0–0.99 as “unsustainable, anti-free press”, while a score of 1.00 – 1.99 ranks a country as “unsustainable mixed system”. Meanwhile, countries with a score of 3.00–3.99 are ranked as “sustainable”.

          Kuwait ranked second in the MENA region on the Media Sustainability Index, with Lebanon and Jordan tying for third place. Meanwhile, Libya ranked last among 17 Arab countries in addition to Iran.

          The IREX’s Media Sustainability Index provides in-depth analyses of the conditions for independent media in 38 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. It has evolved into an important benchmark study to assess how media systems change over time and across borders.

The Media Sustainability Index assesses five “objectives” in shaping a successful media system. These objectives are considered the most important aspects of a sustainable and professional independent media, and are weighted equally in the overall score.  The five objectives are free speech, professional journalism, plurality of news sources, business management and supporting institutions.  A score was attained for each objective by rating seven to nine indicators, which determine how well a country meets that objective.

          The first Media Sustainability Index for the MENA region reveals several weaknesses in particular, free press protections in the law that are not upheld in practice, and pervasive self-censorship that are common not only among Arab countries but also in other parts of the world. The assessment reveals another characteristic of MENA region media systems, however, that is largely absent elsewhere: Money available for media business investment has allowed outlets to better professionalize and access new technologies, providing more sophisticated media products and a relatively higher degree of plurality of news sources, despite the other constraints.

          A number of ESCWA member countries that have adopted constitutional guarantees for press freedom have passed laws that directly contravene these guarantees. The IREX report provides examples of laws that are contradictory to constitutional provisions in a number of countries. In Jordan, for example, the penal code allows authorities to prosecute journalists for a variety of infractions despite Article 15 of the country’s constitution guaranteeing citizens’ freedom of expression. Meanwhile, Egypt suffers limitations due to an emergency law in force since 1981. In Bahrain, the country’s new constitution supported in a 2002 referendum mentions freedom of speech, but is contravened by the press law No. 47. Meanwhile in the Syrian Arab Republic, the article noting free-speech rights in the constitution is superseded by an emergency law in place since1963 that permits the imprisonment – without trial – of anyone deemed an enemy of the state. The combination of relatively progressive laws but poor implementation and enforcement by the government and judiciary is typical across the MENA region.

          Meanwhile, self-censorship is highly prevalent amongst all media professionals, even in Qatar, home to the Al-Jazeera satellite television station. The nation is regarded as one of the most-forward looking Arab countries in terms of freedom of expression and quality media, yet the Media Sustainability Index assessment found that a considerable number of editors and journalists, particularly expatriates, are reluctant to report critically for fear of losing the relatively highly paid jobs that brought them to Qatar.

          Media in the Arab world endures what is called as “red lines” and “grey areas”. This self-censorship is typical in Arab countries that are deemed undemocratic or have a dominant ruling party, as well as in countries that enjoy relative freedom. In Lebanon, where historically its socio-political system is considered the nearest to a full democracy in the Arab world, a Lebanese participant in the MSI survey expressed that journalists “live in total paranoia, and fear for losing their jobs and their lives.”

          The media in ESCWA member countries, as well as in many developed countries, is subject to a number of restrictions when it comes to criticism of political leaders, religion and other sensitive subjects. Pressure from political sources and business interests, as well as the desire for self-protection, have led many media professionals to work within strict boundaries, and in some cases identify with the political leadership, greatly undermining the press integrity and ethics.

          The MSI report indicates that the situation in the GCC countries is relatively different, due to the relative success of the media industry and its adoption of new technologies. Despite limits on media freedom and professionalism, local media in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are, in general, doing well economically. A range of factors contribute to this success, including the growing number of satellite news channels such as Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya and the support for the establishment of media “free zones”. Another important factor is rapidly increasing advertising revenues as a result of the rise in oil prices, which have led to increased government spending on new projects and a boom in all business sectors, including advertising. The latter sector has matured in recent years to become one of the most vital economic sectors to use modern technologies.  This success of the media in some of the ESCWA member countries and the emergence and rapid adoption of new technologies against the backdrop of only gradually loosening restrictions on information and state-linked media was not mirrored anywhere else in the world. The wealth of the Gulf countries and their use of the Arabic language have contributed to this phenomenon.

           The average overall ESCWA region’s score on the five objectives of the index was less than the average score of 2, which earned it the “unsustainable mixed system”. Qatar scored the highest overall on the index, with a score of 2.48, or “near sustainability”, while Kuwait ranked in second place with an overall score of 2.30.

 Table 41.  Ranking of ESCWA members according to the Media sustainability index, 2005 (ranked by overall score) 

 Several international reports were published in 2006 and 2007 on the status of the media in the Arab world, including the Reporters Without Borders and the Freedom House reports. Despite the criticism voiced at the Federation of Arab Journalists’ Media Freedom in the Arab World 2006 report, the latter is a step in the right direction in monitoring press freedom in the Arab world, as well as a means for highlighting the obstacles and difficulties faced by journalists in carrying out their work. It contributes to the endeavors undertaken to limit these obstacles and consolidates efforts to rid the media of limitations to achieve an independent, varied media, reliant on a plurality of sources.

          The authors of the report point to the favorable response the report received from numerous agencies and organizations working in the field of press monitoring and journalists’ international rights, deeming it a qualitative leap in research methodologies and analysis, as well as media studies in the Arab world. The report concurs with other international reports that 2006 was the worst in the history of Arab journalism, especially with regards to the kidnap and murder of journalists. Some 71 journalists were killed in three of the ESCWA member countries, where 69 were killed in Iraq, and one journalist was killed in each of Lebanon and Yemen.

          The report also confirms that a large number of restrictions have been placed on Arab journalism, such as the suppression of information and censorship (particularly of editors-in-chief), including self-censorship. Journalism in the Arab world is also subject to some of the harshest restrictions, namely questioning by security forces and the imprisonment and fining of journalists.

          The Federation of Arab Journalists’ Media Freedom in the Arab World 2006 report includes a general overview of the journalism in the Arab world, as well as a table encompassing media ownership and the relationship of government to media establishments. It sheds light on media plurality, between private, public and foreign media, as follows:

1. Eleven ESCWA member countries allow private ownership of newspapers, while nine have state-owned newspapers. Only three countries have both private and state-owned newspapers, while only the United Arab Emirates and Iraq have foreign owned newspapers.

2. Private ownership of audio visual media exists in eight member countries, while state-owned media establishments are found in 13 member countries. Three member countries have both private and state-owned media establishments, while foreign owned establishments exist in three member countries – Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

3. Private news agencies are permitted in only four member countries, namely Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon and Palestine. Meanwhile, electronic media is available in eight member countries.

 Table 42.  Media Ownership in ESCWA members and their relationship to media institutions

The report’s final findings on the status of journalism in the Arab world differ than those of international reports, especially Reporters without Borders and the Freedom House reports. In this context, the Federation of Arab Journalists’ Media Freedom in the Arab World 2006 report indicates that its findings was based on information and data supplied by the press authorities in charge, in different Arab countries.
A comparison of the findings indicates the following:

          Saudi Arabia and the Syrian Arab Republic ranked first in the incompatibility of the Federation of Arab Journalists’ report findings with those of international reports, followed by Bahrain and Jordan in second place. The differences between the reports were minor in the assessments of the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, and marginal in the assessments of Egypt, Kuwait and Lebanon. The findings of the Federation of Arab Journalists’ report and international reports were identical in the cases of Qatar, Palestine and Iraq.

(b)     Reporters Without Borders, worldwide press freedom index

          The 2007 worldwide Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RWB) monitors press freedom in 169 countries. Kuwait ranked first on the index among Arab countries, and 63rd worldwide – a rank it has maintained since 2006. Palestine, on the other hand, ranked in 17th place among Arab countries, down from 10th place in 2006 – representing the largest fall in a score in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia witnessed the greatest improvement in score, rising to 13th place in 2007 among Arab countries from 17th in 2006. Score improvement was also witnessed in Lebanon, Bahrain, Yemen and the Syrian Arab Republic, while Jordan fell one place in 2006 and Iraq maintained its position.  

Table 43.  Ranking of ESCWA members according to the freedom press index, 2006-2007

Source: Reporters Without Borders

* Oman was not included in the Reporters Without Borders report for 2006 and 2007; the last time it was included was in 2003, ranking 152nd globally.

2.  Role of the media in bridging the knowledge divide

          Traditional print and audio visual media play a vital role in addressing the knowledge gap, due to their wide-ranging appeal in society. As a result, the media can contribute to the transformation of society to advanced stages of knowledge.

          On the other hand, advanced information and communication technology supports the media, and contributes to its delivery to a wider audience. An example of this is Short Message Service (SMS) via mobile phones, which are used by news agencies and television channels to deliver breaking news to subscribers.

          Another recent development has been the delivery of live television broadcast over 3G and EDGE enabled mobile phones. A unique example of this is Kuwait’s Smile Services, which delivers digital multimedia content for mobile phone operators and at the same time, broadcasts the same digital multimedia content over a satellite channel, allowing users to receive SMS and chat.

          As for the percentage of media programmes dedicated to science nad technology  programmes as well as programmes designed to raising awareness to the information society by television and radio stations in the ESCWA region is still very limited. In most case, marketing of ICT products dominate programmes broadcasted by the media.

           Nevertheless, some media establishments take on the responsibility of raising society’s awareness by broadcasting the latest technology news and anything that contributes to introducing society to the benefits of using information and communication technology, to encourage its use by all walks of life.

          The Kuwaiti Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT), in association with private and state-owned media, has launched a television and radio awareness campaign to establish an electronic culture amongst citizens and decision makers that fosters the optimal use of ICTs and contributes to the success of the country’s e-government program. The Central Agency for Information Technology has dedicated a weekly broadcast during one of the country’s popular family programmes, to raising viewers’ awareness of information technology. The agency, in association with the private television channel, Al-Rai, is also planning to broadcast a program dedicated to novice and intermediate level information technology users.   

          Meanwhile, in the Syrian Arab Republic, a weekly radio program discusses ICT topics, with listeners calling in to voice their opinions or contribute to the discussion. Furthermore, the Syrian Computer Society has, for several years, broadcasted a weekly television program designed to raise information technology awareness amongst the general public.

          The situation is relatively better in the print media, where the majority of daily newspapers have an online presence and many have dedicated ICT sections or issue weekly supplements on the topic. These publish technical articles introducing ICT and its benefits and uses. Meanwhile, dedicated ICT magazines and periodicals are published in a number of ESCWA member countries.

          Electronic journalism, not the electronic versions of Arabic newspapers, is still not common in the ESCWA region, due perhaps to low internet penetration which stands at 11.05 per cent. This explains the existence of electronic journalism in only eight ESCWA member countries, while the majority of traditional Arabic newspapers publish their content, fully or partly, on the Internet. 

          Television drama which is popular among a wide segment of the region’s society can play an important role in addressing the digital divide and building an information society, by producing television series and movies which integrates ICTs related subjects into the script in a subtle approach. This would allow a wide segment of society to overcome the barrier and discomfort some experience when using technology. However, this type of television programming has yet to embrace subjects related to the information society or modern technology.

          In the context of the association between ICT and the media, a conference was held in Cairo in May 2006 to address “The Convergence of the Information and Communication Technology and the Media Industry”. During the conference, a number of initiatives and projects were identified that enable the media to carry out its role in building the Egyptian information society. The conference was attended by a large number of experts discussing how to best harness the telecommunication industry to disseminate media content on a wider scale, allowing users to obtain relevant media content anytime anywhere.

          In order for the media to carry out its desired role in addressing the digital divide, the media in the region must have free and open access to information. This is contingent on the availability of a diverse media and plurality of sources, as well as professional journalism.

          The media in a number of ESCWA member countries suffers from lack of ICT capacity building and technical resources, which render its role in addressing the knowledge divide quite weak. A study published by the Yemeni Ministry of Information found out that only 243 computers were available in state-owned media establishments, while the Internet servers available to the media numbered only 26. Meanwhile, the study found that the number of qualified personnel accounted for only 3.2 per cent of all employees in media institutions in the country.

3. Gender portrayal by the media

          The media, generally, continues to produce content that feeds into gender stereotypes and their traditional roles in society. Given that the content produced is tied to media agendas formulated by high-ranking persons who are generally men, women are not likely to get fair and even coverage, as evident in television programmes, news reports and drama, neither in terms of airtime nor in the attention given to women’s actual role in society and their achievements in a large number of sectors. Women generally get minor and marginal coverage in the media, and when they do receive wider coverage, it is usually to confirm their image as feminine creatures and to use this image for commercial purposes.

The number of women working in the media has increased in recent years, especially in some ESCWA member countries such as Egypt and Lebanon, but they are still far-removed from decision making positions. This explains, perhaps, the inadequacy of coverage of women’s issues, such as domestic violence and unfair social practices, both in terms of quantity and depth. These issues require courageous reporting and the participation of experts to discuss and explore appropriate solutions.

Tens of magazines are published in the ESCWA region, which can be classified as women’s magazines, while television channels are rife with programmes that target women. However, an in-depth look into the content of these magazines and programmes reveals that these, almost exclusively, enforce gender stereotyping of women and define her role in society through programmes addressing cooking, makeup and fashion, while ignoring the positive roles modern women play in society today. 

           A rare exception to this rule is a program on Al-Jazeera called “Pioneers” which breaks the stereotypical image of women by introducing pioneering Arab women in the realms of literature, science and the arts.

B.  Classification and ranking of ESCWA members according to maturity level

          In order to define the maturity level of the media environment in the ESCWA region, a number of international and regional reports published in the past two years were used for reference, namely those published by Reporters Without Borders and the International Research and Exchange Board. The analysis and research undertaken by these reports covered all aspects of the current status of the media in the countries examined, including ESCWA member countries.

          In this context, the four maturity levels were defined as follows:

(1)     Maturity Level 1: Bahrain, Iraq, Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen

          This level is characterized by the existence of laws that hinder an independent press and shackle press freedom, in addition to subpar professional journalism and ineffective business management.

(2)     Maturity Level 2: Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

          This level is characterized by the existence of some laws and legislation that oppose press freedoms, despite relative improvements in media freedoms and professional journalism.

          The Media Sustainability Index assesses five “objectives” in shaping a successful media system. These objectives are considered the most important aspects of a sustainable and professional independent media, and are weighted equally in the overall score.  The five objectives are free speech, professional journalism, plurality of news sources, business management and supporting institutions.  A score was attained for each objective by rating seven to nine indicators, which determine how well a country meets that objective.

(3)     Maturity Level 3: Kuwait, Lebanon and Qatar

          This level is characterized by clear improvements made towards an independent media, with laws in place to protect this independence. There are also legal and professional standards in place that define the general framework for working in the media.

(4)     Maturity Level 4: None

          This level is characterized by professional journalism and a high degree of press freedom. Laws in place protect an independent press. None of the ESCWA member countries ranked at this maturity level.

          The failure of any ESCWA member countries to achieve Maturity Level 4, and the attainment of only three out of 13 countries of Maturity Level 3, as well as six countries falling in level 2 and four countries in level 1, indicates the abysmal status of the media environment in the Arab world. It is also evident that the road is long and difficult, for all ESCWA member countries, in their quest to improve this state, a state that is incongruous to the progress a number of these countries have made in other sectors and to the present-day environment that we live in of open access, which governments can no longer control. It is no longer possible to revert back to old methods, popular before the information technology revolution.

Table 44.  Ranking of ESCWA members according to maturity level in media

Figure 10.  Maturity levels of ESCWA members in media, 2007

 C.  Suggestions and recommendations

1. Support media independence and freedom of the press

2. Support the production of television programmes that introduce and educate people on ICT and the concept of information society;

3. Increase advertising campaigns, in all media and especially television, regarding e-government services available on the Internet and encourage their use by citizens;

4. Require television program producers to add segments that introduce the use of information and communication technology to women’s programmes, and how technology can be used to stop violence against women, for example. This serves to eliminate popular stereotypes from women’s programmes;

5. Support the production of media content that presents the roles of men and women in society according to modern-day norms;

6. Develop women’s programmes in television and radio to address the family as a whole, given that women’s issues are society’s issues;

7. Establish a legislative and economic environment that allows the development and enhancement of professional Arab electronic media;

8. Present the contribution of Arabs to humanity and civilization and confirm the importance of adapting to the present age, with all its advancement and knowledge, in order to join the information society;

9. Digitalize the television, radio and press archives by using ICT in order to convert audio, video and textual content to a digital format.  Once preserved, these materials can become a part of the Arab and world heritage and its content will be able to serve researchers and academics.