Mass media in Oman
The Sultanate of Oman, established on August 9, 1970, is an absolute monarchy in which all the power resides with the sultan. The government controls what information the mass media relays, and the law prohibits any criticism of the Sultan or government.[1]
In November 1974, Oman TV began broadcasting news broadcasts, government announcements, children's shows and nature programs. Though Articles 29, 30 and 31 of the
The 1984 Press and Publications Law has more rules and regulations than any country in the
Television and broadcast journalism
Television in the
Oman TV channels are controlled and regulated by the government through the
Print journalism
Print journalism in Oman has been a delicate business for many decades. Much like many other facets of Omani journalism, print journalism is monitored and necessarily controlled by the Ministry of Information.[7] The Ministry does little to hide the fact, with article 12 of Royal Decree No. 49, created in 1984, stating "Before publishing any[8] publication, the Printer shall obtain permission in advance from the Ministry of Information approving the publication.” Because of this decree, print publications, such as Alwatan and Al Shabiba,[9] have an extremely hard time gaining any credibility.
This fear has come to fruition too, with plenty of journalists being arrested in the 21st century alone. In August 2016, the high-ranking editors of the newspaper
Radio
Nearly all media is controlled and funded by the Omani government. Radio broadcasts are overseen by the director general of radio, who reports directly to Oman's Minister of Information. Following the Sultan's 2004 royal decree establishing the legality of private radio and television stations, citizens could now apply for a 10-year license granting them the ability to operate independent stations. This led to the establishment of Hala FM, Oman's first privately owned radio station in 2009.[14] The Omani government is strict in what it allows to be broadcast, though it has loosened its grip in recent years. After a period of civil unrest, several call-in programs started broadcasting out of the capital.[15] These programs allow citizens to share their thoughts on what Oman needs.[15]
Prominent News Outlets in Oman
Press
- Al-Watan – Arabic daily[5]
- Oman Daily – Arabic daily[5]
- Azamn – Arabic daily[5]
- Shabiba – Arabic daily[5]
- Al-roya – business[5]
- The Week – English-language[5]
- Oman Observer – English-language[5]
- Times of Oman – English-language[5]
- Muscat Daily – English-language[5]
- Oman Tribune – English language daily, publishes articles from The New York Times, Harvard Business Review and other sources[5]
- Muwatin - English language magazine
Television
Radio
- Radio Oman – state-run, Arabic and English-language networks[5]
- Hala FM – private, Arabic music[5]
- Al-Wisal – private, Arabic music[5]
- Hi FM – private, English-language[5]
- Muscat FM - private, Arabic
- T FM - private, English
- Merge 104.8 - private, English [16]
- Virgin Radio Oman 100.9 - private, English [16]
News Agency
- Oman News Agency – official, English-language pages[5]
- WAF News Agency- Independent, Arabic and English https://wafoman.com
References
- ^ "BTI 2016: Oman Country Reports". Bti-Project. Transformation Index. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d Freedom House writers (2015). "Oman". Freedom House. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9781441144881.
- ^ ISBN 9781137581419.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Oman Profile – Media". BBC. January 13, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9781137581419.
- ^ "Printing and Publishing Law". Oman info. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Third Journalist from Azamn Newspaper Arrested in Oman". Committee to Protect Journalists. August 10, 2016. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ^ "Oman Newspapers". Online Newspapers. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- hdl:2433/155745.
- ^ "World Radio Day: The History of Radio in the Sultanate". Atheer. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
- ISBN 978-9948-16-526-2. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 27, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
- ^ Al-Kindi, Abdullah; Zahra, Iman. "Journalists in Oman" (PDF). epub.ub.uni-muenchen. Worlds of Journalism. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
- ISBN 9781137581419.
- ^ ISBN 9781137581419.
- ^ a b Muscat English FM Radio, urbanmuscat blog