Tunisian media objectivity at risk

Since January 14th, Tunisian political parties have been pushing their own agendas on the media.

By Mona Yahia for Magharebia in Tunis – 12/08/11

With Tunisian political parties expanding their involvement with news outlets, civil society groups are raising alarm bells at the possible impact polarized media could have on the upcoming election.

"In the electoral stages there are ethics that the media must follow… if we want to establish a positive and neutral media and not let political parties manipulate the media as in the past," said Hichen Snoussi, a member of the National Commission for the Reform of Media and Communication.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (August 9th), the commission criticized Ennahda co-founder Abdelfattah Mourou for his appearance on a Hannibal TV program. The statement said his actions were considered a violation of the neutrality rule dictated by the delicate situation in the country on the eve of crucial elections.

Mourou recently claimed that his program on the private Hannibal TV channel was not political promotion. Hichen Snoussi responded to the claim by saying that Mourou was a public figure, and even if his public appearances were not politically oriented.

"Mourou is ignorant of political propaganda, for when he has a distinctive political role, he is engaging in indirect propaganda," Snoussi said.

But Mourou denied that on the airwaves of the privately-owned Radio Mosaic, saying that his program was purely social.

Associations and opposition political parties alike criticized the appearance of the Ennahda leader on a daily religious program, demanding that he desist on the grounds it is a violation of electoral rules.

The National Commission for the Reform of Media and Communication called on the management of the Hannibal channel to "reconsider airing the program, on which political propaganda may be mixed with the religious call".

But Hannibal TV owner Larbi Nasra rejected that, saying, "I am free and will not stop the program, and the channel is my channel."

Nasra was among the few media figures sanctioned by the former regime and was the first person to receive a license for a private channel under Ben Ali.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties called on the media to avoid "giving platforms to some of the symbols of parties and political currents to mix political propaganda and preaching and guidance".

The National Union of Tunisian Journalists (SNJT) issued a statement criticizing what it called "serious irregularities that marred the public and private media landscape… and a political bias seen in the editorial line of a number of media organizations, sometimes to the extent of zeal".

The union criticized the independent As-Sabbah and Al-Chourouk newspapers and religious radio station Al-Zeitouna in addition to the private Hannibal TV channel.

"Journalists must be professionals and adhere to the ethics of the profession and code of honor," the union's president, Nejiba Hamrouni, told Magharebia.

"This is not difficult, but the general framework in which we now operate is difficult and complex, and in it there is political money and publicity, especially as we are in a legislative vacuum awaiting a new press law to regulate these issues," she added.

Moktar Kalfaoui, Editor in Chief of the website Al-Awan, told Magharebia, "What is asked of the media is objectivity, not neutrality."

He explained that the media's various political leanings resulted from an "absence of traditions of work according to a clear editorial line", as well as the influence of wealthy media tycoons who inject their political leanings into their respective TV channels and radio stations "without partnering with representative and diverse editorial boards and to look at things from the angle of narrow and immediate interests".

Source: Magharebia.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/08/12/feature-02.