Zawaya

An independent press is a measure of a society's freedom

By: Abdelaziz Karraky

The existence of an independent press in a given country indicates an important margin of freedom in it, and underlines the non-existence of political hegemony over the whole social pattern, thus indicating a genuine pluralism that encourages intellectual diversity. So how can we have an independent press in the Maghreb region?

The main requirements for an independent press are:

First of all, having convenient conditions where freedom is an essential parameter. As a matter of fact, independent press reflects the urgent need of the communities to practice all forms of freedom of expression, given the historical development and experiences of each country.

However, the common aspect between the various Maghreb experiences is that the press was at the heart of the liberation battles during the colonial period. Then, upon the independence, the press turned into a mechanism used by the State to express its opinion, while expanding and sweeping the views of everyone else, to finally become the only heard voice.

With the rapid social, economic and political developments, the State’s media outlets started to lose their credibility day after day, and people started looking for news in foreign channels. Hitting this stage indicated the beginning of profound changes in Maghreb societies.

An independent press is not an intellectual luxury; it rather indicates the extent of the development of a community, thus expressing the society’s need for freedom, without which a lot of things lose their meaning.

The second requirement for an independent press is society’s belief in pluralism that encourages all ideas without restrictions, except as required by the law, which is considered in this case a regulator rather than a mechanism for restriction and exclusion.

The transformations witnessed by the Maghreb countries led to the emergence of some independent press outlets. However, their need to achieve more sales to ensure survival forced them to adopt the same approach as the opposition party press, for which criticism is a defining aspect of their speech, to the extent of sometimes tickling the emotions of the peoples. This exposed independent press to criticism, especially by the elite that now sees it as a populist platform rather than a mechanism to enlighten the public opinion.

The third requirement is having an independent and impartial judiciary that can see the line separating the right to news from the right to privacy. In all societies, including western ones, the role of the judiciary in cases filed against the press often stirs controversy, which didn’t spare even the European Court of Human Rights. That is why some Maghreb countries are considering setting a Charter of Ethics to control the journalistic practice – with the contribution of the press professionals themselves -, and assist the judiciary in solving cases filed against the press.