The Growth of Middle East Media
The past 15 years have seen a radical transformation of the modern news media – and in few regions of the world has this revolution been more powerfully felt than in the Middle East.
What used to be national markets for news and debate now stretch across borders in every corner of the globe, thanks to the development of the internet and satellite television. But this trend has had a particularly strong impact in a region where there is not only a wide – though not universal – commonality of language, but also a shared agenda of concern about the great issues of peace and war, faith and national rights.
Viewers from Rabat to Muscat, from Aden to Aleppo, feel engaged by news from the West Bank or Iraq, or arguments about the role of religion in modern life.
Of course, like consumers everywhere, their day-to-day thoughts are also focused on family, work, money – and football or gossip about television celebrities. But, even here, there are interests in common. For example, people across the region tune into soap operas made in Cairo, which are broadcast on their local television channels.
This has provided a context that has been especially receptive to the emergence of satellite TV stations, and the growth of internet media and web versions of established newspapers and news agency services.
Viewers across the Arab world watch the same news broadcasts, and political and religious debates, in their own language, on channels such as al-Jazeera and al-Arabiya. This has reinforced an existing sense of shared interests and encouraged the exchange of ideas and criticisms.
News first
Meanwhile, for those with a detailed interest in national and regional politics and business, a wide choice of news websites and specialist debate and gossip sources is now available online.
This trend has coincided with an almost universal trend towards greater openness in domestic public affairs and political debate. Social issues and policy arguments about questions such as education or the role of women are now the subject of widespread media discussion almost everywhere. And major business stories are covered extensively by national newspapers and news agencies to a degree that was certainly not the case a decade ago.
Some countries, such as Lebanon and Kuwait, have a particularly strong tradition of print media diversity and self-confidence. But even countries with historically more cautious attitudes are seeing the press, internet and TV bring an ever wider range of subjects to public attention. And this is also a climate propitious to the establishment of new publications both in Arabic or, in the Maghreb, French, and – in countries with a large expatriate population – English.
In Kuwait, already notable for a wide range of press outlets, al-Jarida has emerged as a vigorous new voice at the liberal end of the spectrum.
Abu Dhabi is home to The National, clearly a significant new rival to the likes of Gulf News and Khaleej Times in the crowded UAE market.
Going on online
The development of websites has allowed newspapers to enhance their service to readers at limited cost; they can update stories and provide archive access to old reports in a way that was impossible during the print-only era. Of course, this is true for the press the world over. But its impact is particularly significant in a region where such a large proportion of the population speaks the same language.
Iran, of course, is not part of this common linguistic community. But it has the size of population and strength of media tradition to sustain a large and diverse media scene of its own.
Also, increasingly important as a forum for the exchange of ideas and gossip, are internet chat-rooms, blogs and other less formal streams of news. Like the satellite TV stations, but in narrower niches catering for particular audiences, these push out the boundaries of what is discussed in the mainstream national media. In countries where local media outlets are tightly controlled, the internet provides a medium for greater freedom of expression and communication – although many governments operate some form of internet censorship.
Bad news
The current global economic crisis is another factor that has contributed to the broadening of media coverage. Issues such as the oil price, or the slowdown in the real estate market, are of direct concern to policymakers, businesses and consumers. The media have found that they must cover them in detail if they are to be taken seriously by readers. For example, in December 2008, the main national newspaper of one Gulf country published a detailed report of allegations that a major property developer had been forced to review plans for a new prestige project. In the mid-1990s, such an issue would probably have been treated much more cautiously, or not mentioned at all by the paper; today it is presented as a lead story.
Technical policy news items that might get little airing or analysis in the traditional media are sometimes widely circulated through internet sources. But mainstream outlets are increasingly forthcoming in their style of economic reporting. The growth of regional stock markets has further reinforced the trend towards more in-depth business coverage: investors need access to regular, reliable news about companies if they are to make informed decisions about whether or not to buy their shares.
Paul Melly
Global Arab Network