Mass media in Syria

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The mass media in Syria consists primarily of television, radio, Internet, film and print. The national language of Syria is Arabic but some publications and broadcasts are also available in English and French.

state".[3]

Following

Syria is one of the most dangerous places in the world for

kidnappings from the islamist militias. Syria has numerous laws such as "1965 law of protection against the revolution", "2011 media law", "2012 terrorism law", "2021 cybercrime law" which enables the government to formally indict journalists and give a legal cover to media censorship.[11]

Media

Public media journalists practice self-censorship.[8] Public media consists of television, print, film, radio and internet and social media.

Print

According to

Majd Suleiman, son of a former senior intelligence officer (Bahjat Suleiman), owns and operates the private daily Baladna.[13]

As of 2020, other pro-government and semi-official private prints are permitted to be published in Syria such as

Television

There is one main broadcaster for both television and radio called the General Organization of Radio and Television of Syria (ORTAS). It was founded in 1960 and is based in Damascus. The channel has programs in Arabic, English and French.[1] TV is the most popular media in Syria.[8]

Satellite channels

Terrestrial channels

Newspapers

Film

The Syrian film industry is state-run by the Ministry of Culture, which controls production through the National Organization for Cinema. The industry is largely propaganda based, focusing on Syria's successes in agriculture, health, transportation and infrastructure.[15]

Radio

First radio service began in 1941 in Syria.[16] There are over 4 million radios in Syria. They tend to broadcast music, ads and stories relating to culture.[1]

  • Syrian Arab Republic Radio
  • Alaan FM : Al Aan FM Launched in Syria in October 2012 broadcasting live from the UAE. Al Aan FM is available in the following cities and frequencies:
  • FARAH FM 97.3
  • Al-Bukamal 96.6 MHz
  • Aleppo 96.6 MHz
  • Al Qunaitra 98.2 MHz
  • Atimah Camps 99.7 MHz
  • Azaz & Afrin 96.6 MHz
  • Al Bab & Manbij 104.4 MHz
  • Damascus 96.9 MHz
  • Daraa 96.9 and 99.4 MHz
  • Hama, Homs 97.6 MHz
  • Idlib 96.6 MHz
  • Kobani 96.7 MHz
  • Latakia 96.6 MHz
  • Qamishli & Amuda 97.6 MHz
  • Suwayda 96.9 and 99.4 MHz
  • Shaddadi (Ash Shaddadi) 97.6 MHz
  • FARAH FM: www.farah.fm
  • FARAH FM 97.3 Radio FARAH FM Syria
  • Al-Madina FM: Syria's first private radio station

Online

Providing hosting services is a violation of United States sanctions.

online news services based in or targeted at Syria, several of which launched during the Syrian civil war, include:[17]

  • Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
  • Al-Masdar News, sometimes criticized as sympathetic to the Syrian government. Shut down in 2021.[18][19]
  • MENA region.[20]
  • SUNA news agency, an online news platform focused on Syria.[21]
  • Click News Syria, an online news service and a special media blog focused on Syria.[22]
  • Snack Syrian, an online news service focused on Syria.[23]
  • Q Street Journal, an online news service, online radio and a special media blog focused on Syria. Broadcasting from
    UAE.[24]
  • ARA News, an online news service focussed on the consequences of war in Syria and Iraq, ceased operation in 2017.[25]
  • press agency
    intended to report news about Syria.
  • Syria NewsDesk, a Beirut-based Arabic news agency, focussed on the ordeal of the Syrian population, supported by the Dutch foundation "Free Press Unlimited".[26][27]

Pro-rebel media

The public does have access to Western radio stations and satellite TV, and Qatar-based Al Jazeera has become very popular in Syria.[28]

In August 2012, a media centre utilized by foreign reporters in

Syrian Air Force in an airstrike on a civilian area during Ramadan.[29]

Television

There are also satellite stations which broadcast outside Syria. Two of the primary satellite networks, Eutelsat and Nilesat, have recently expressed frustrations over the Syrian government preventing satellite TV transmissions broadcast from international outlets.[8]

Satellite channels

Press

  • Enab Baladi, based in Istanbul, Turkey. Announced closure on 23 November 2023.[30]
  • Al-Ahd (The Vow): published by the
    Syrian Muslim Brotherhood
  • Qasioun News Agency: news agency licensed in Turkey, based in Gaziantep.
  • Shaam News Network, which is an activist news organization. It is privately financed. Each 16-page edition includes coverage of culture, translation from foreign news sources and cartoons.[34]

Radio

Pro-Turkish

Internet and social media

With the breakdown of many traditional media outlets during the civil war, much of the current events are reported by individuals on Facebook and Twitter. However, the reliability of such reports can in many cases not be independently verified by credible news agencies. While many websites have appeared and publish a pro-opposition alternative to pro-government media, the lack of robust journalistic standards has often benefited the government since correctly denying news reports gives them more credibility.[35]

Prohibitive measures against media

State of Emergency law

The constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic guaranteed the right to a

freedom of expression, but Syria was under a highly restrictive state of emergency law since the Ba'ath Party came to power in 1964 until 2011. Anyone wishing to establish an independent paper or periodical must apply for a license from the Ministry of Information.[28] In 2011 the state of emergency was lifted.[41] This seems to have had no effect what-so-ever on the way the government conducted itself regarding the media, with Syria's ranking actually worsening the following year with journalistic organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists,[42] and Reporters Without Borders[43]
both ranking Syria as one of the top four most repressive countries in the world.

In April 2009,

Syrian Kurdish journalist Faruq Haji Mustafa was arrested by the Ba'athist secret police and has never been heard from again.[44]

Internet censorship

There are over 5 million Internet users in Syria. Reporters Without Borders lists Syria as an “internet enemy” due to high levels of censorship. The Internet is controlled by the Syrian Computer Society (SCS) and the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE).

Internet cafes to record all comments in the online chatrooms.[47] There was a two-day Internet blackout in 2012, which was likely orchestrated by the government.[8] Authorities have blocked journalists and bloggers from attending and reporting on events by arresting and torturing them. This is not limited to Syrian journalists as members of the Associated Press and Reuters have been arrested and expelled from the country for their reporting.[46]

Press freedom

Press Freedom Index in 2023.[48] On the Press Freedom Barometer for 2022, the organization reports that 1 journalist has been killed, while 27 journalists and 2 media workers have been imprisoned.[49]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d European Neighborhood Journalism Network (n.d.). "Syria-media profile". European Neighborhood Journalism Network. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  2. TheGuardian.com
    . The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  3. .
  4. ^ "On World Press Freedom Day: The Annual Report on the Most Notable Violations Against Media Workers in Syria". OCHR: Reliefweb. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Iran, Syria rank lowest for press freedom globally". Middle East Monitor. 4 May 2023. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Country profile: Syria". BBC News. 30 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Toll of ten years of civil war on journalists in Syria". Reporters without Borders. 12 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022.
  10. ^ "707 Citizen Journalists Killed Since March 2011 to Date, 78% by Syrian Regime Forces". 3 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. The report notes that 707 citizen journalists have been killed since March 2011 to date, 78% of them by Syrian Regime forces.
  11. ^ "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. The regime treats the media as a tool for disseminating Baathist ideology and excludes any form of pluralism, driving many journalists into self-imposed exile...During the initial anti-government protests, the government banned international media outlets and freelancers from entering the country...with the risks of arrest, abduction, torture or murder, Syrian journalists are often forced to flee the country to escape mistreatment or death.
  12. ^ Houry, Nadim (2010-07-16). "A Wasted Decade: Human Rights in Syria during Bashar al-Asad's First Ten Years in Power". Human Rights Watch.
  13. OCLC 1241253592.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link
    )
  14. ^ "707 Citizen Journalists Killed Since March 2011 to Date, 78% by Syrian Regime Forces" (PDF). SNHR. 3 May 2020: 1–19. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2022. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ^ Rasha Salti (2006). "Critical Nationals: The Paradoxes of Syrian Cinema" (PDF). Kosmorama. Danish Film Institute (Copenhagen). Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  16. .
  17. ^ a b New York Times (November 29, 2012). "Official Syrian Web sites hosted in U.S." The New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  18. ^ O'Connor, Tom (17 March 2017). "Syria at War: As U.S. Bombs Rebels, Russia Strikes ISIS and Israel Targets Assad". Newsweek. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
  19. ^ McKernan, Bethan (2 February 2017). "Syrian army creates unit just for women after so many sign up to fight Isis". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-12.
  20. ^ "Forbes Releases Top 50 MENA Online Newspapers; Lebanon Fails to Make Top 10". Jad Aoun. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  21. ^ SUNA About us
  22. ^ عن كليك
  23. ^ https://snacksyrian.com/
  24. ^ Q Street Journal Main Page
  25. ^ "Interview Adib Abdulmajid". Tilburg University. Archived from the original on 2017-10-10. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  26. ^ "Independent news agency launched in Syria". Free Press Unlimited. 22 May 2013.
  27. ^ "Developing Professional Journalism in Syria". Free Press Unlimited. 2015.
  28. ^ a b Syria country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (April 2005). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  29. ^ "Syrian warplanes hammer rebel border town". Al Jazeera. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  30. ^ a b c d "Syria media guide". BBC News. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Syria's media war". Columbia Journalism Review.
  32. ^ "بيان إغلاق أورينتعلاء فرحاتععلاء فرحات". Orient News. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  33. ^ Kilani, Feras (2014-11-28). "Qatar's Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: Will new media venture silence suspicions?". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  34. ^ MacFarquhar, Neil (April 2013). "Syrian newspapers emerge to fill out war reporting". The New York Times.
  35. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  36. ^ "Rojava Information Center". Rojava Information Center. Retrieved 2020-03-29.
  37. ^ "Têkilî (contact)". ANF News (in Kurdish).
  38. ^ "Contact ANHA". Archived from the original on 23 February 2018. Retrieved 2 January 2017. Phone +96352463446 (Hasaka Syria number)
  39. ^ Issa, Philip; Mroue, Bassem (13 April 2017). "Misdirected US strike killed 18 allied fighters in Syria". AP News. Beirut.
  40. ^ "About us - Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News". Kurd Net - Ekurd.net Daily News.
  41. ^ Khaled Yacoub Oweis (21 April 2011). "Syria's Assad ends state of emergency". Reuters. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  42. ^ "10 Most Censored Countries". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  43. ^ "Press Freedom Index 2011-2012". Reporters Without Borders. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  44. ^ "Syrian journalist held incommunicado, another on trial". Committee to Protect Journalists. 22 April 2009. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021.
  45. ^ "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 2012. Archived from the original on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  46. ^ a b "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 1 September 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  47. ^ "There is no media in Syria at all". Irish Times. 11 April 2012.
  48. ^ "Syria". Reporters Without Borders. 2023. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023.
  49. ^ "Syria | RSF". rsf.org. Retrieved 2022-05-06.

Further reading

Joseph Daher Syria, the uprising and the media scene, OpenDemocracy 26 October 2017

External links