Marwan Kraidy on Arab Media Charter

Last month, most of the Arab states, led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia, came to an alarming agreement on regulating satellite broadcasting in Arab countries. It proposes further extending state controls over satellite channels in such a way that could temper political dissent. The impact is yet to be seen, but is not surprising given these governments' denial of basic freedoms and intolerance for independent thinking.

Marwan Kraidy, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, wrote a piece about it for Carnegie’s Arab Reform Bulletin:

After years of rhetoric about the need for a pan-Arab satellite television framework, Arab information ministers on February 12, 2008 adopted a charter that provides the tools to penalize broadcasters who attack leaders or air socially unacceptable content. The charter is broad ranging, covering news, political shows, and entertainment—even sports programs. In the weeks before the emergency meeting in Cairo, the Egyptian and Saudi information ministers lobbied their colleagues to pass the document, prepared by a committee of experts during the preceding six months. Even Syria, currently engaged in a media war with Saudi Arabia over Lebanon, signed off on the charter.

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