By
Atallah al-Salim
BEIRUT:
Lebanon’s media received poor marks on a newly released report on media in the
Arab world, receiving an overall grade of just over 2 out of 4 in the Media
Sustainability Index for 2010-11.
Surprisingly,
its grade for freedom of speech (1.99) was one of its lowest in six different
areas related to the media, although the country is often hailed as an oasis of
media freedom compared to other countries in the region.
The
rankings were announced during a panel discussion organized Thursday by Maharat
Foundation, a local media watchdog, on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.
The
index is composed of six “objectives,” or areas in which a country receives a
numerical grade on a scale of 4: freedom of speech, professional journalism,
plurality of news, business management, supporting institutions and serving
public needs.
Representatives
of media outlets, NGOs, professional associations and academic institutions
served as the primary sources of information in drafting the report.
While
most of the scores saw slight increases and decreases since 2005, when the
process was launched, Lebanon’s score when it comes to “supporting
institutions” for the media significantly dipped from 2.34 in 2005, to only
1.64 in 2011.
Even
though the report cited several initiatives undertaken by different
universities, newspapers and NGOs to launch training programs for journalists,
these efforts have largely failed in terms of sustainability, resulting in the
low “supporting institutions score.”
The
report highlighted the inactive role of the Journalists Union, which it said
has “closed its doors to working media professionals, failed to hold elections
for years, and had done little to defend the rights of journalists.”
Other
reasons provided by the report were difficulties in the country’s electricity,
Internet and infrastructure which negatively affect the performance of media.
The
media’s lowest grade (1.28) in “serving public needs,” a newly introduced
objective in the index.
According
to panelists who contributed to the report, media outlets are not undertaking
reform or supporting discussions leading to reform; they only wait to see what
politicians say in order to identify their reporting angle.
The
media heavily focuses on political topics while disregarding social and
economic topics, it added.
“The
majority of the programs in prime time are political or entertainment
programs,” said Nahla Munir, contributor to the report.
The
MSI project is funded by the United States Agency for International
Development, and Maharat Foundation was one of the project’s implementing
partners.
The
project was carried out in 16 Arab countries, the Kurdistan region of Iraq and
Iran, but regional data has yet to be become available.
Members
of the media who took part in the discussion came in for criticism from the
audience, as one journalism student took issue with the long introduction at
the beginning of evening news programs.
Karma
Khayyat, who serves as the director of news and political programsat Al-Jadeed,
said her station expressed its views on different political affairs but “these
views – unlike most TV stations – do not originate from sectarian or partisan
affiliations.”
When
asked why Al-Jadeed changed its political stance toward the Syrian uprising
after the killing of cameraman Ali Shaaban on Lebanon’s border last month,
Khayyat said: “We only said the truth, which was the responsibility of the
Syrian army in targeting Shaaban.”
Khayyat
argued that the media was fulfilling its responsibilities, and cited a lack of
mass protests by the public after media outlets highlight their legitimate
demands.
Pierre
Abi Saab, a deputy editor with Al-Akhbar daily, was firmer in identifying the
defects of different media institutions.
“It
is time for our media to change its classical rhetoric on the political scene;
it is unacceptable to have the top news focusing on who the ministers or
presidents received this day, and what they said,” said Abi Saab.
Abi
Saab stressed the need to re-consider some “agreed-upon assumptions,”
complaining that talk of Lebanon’s freedom of expression was exaggerated,
questioning the role of money in shaping the orientations of different media
outlets.
However,
Social Affairs Minister Wael Abu Faour weighed in by saying that his ministry’s
recent initiative to help the poorest in society was a positive example to be
built upon.
“My
experience with the media is very promising, especially lately, when the media
shed light on the situation of various vulnerable groups (in society),” said
Abu Faour.
For
his part, former Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud voiced his opposition to a
draft bill by Information Minister Walid Daouk aimed at regulating online
media. “I oppose the bill on electronic media since it resembles the old ways
of managing media affairs,” said Baroud.
The
bill submitted by Daouk incorporates electronic media into the 1994 audiovisual
media law, which predates the online media explosion.
Baroud urged the
authorities to re-consider outdated media legislation in light of the
increasing impact of social media tools, and reiterated a long-standing call to
boost the media’s performance by legalizing access to information and
whistleblower protection.
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