fact book_algeria 2009

8/7/2019 Fact Book_Algeria 2009

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fact-bookalgeria-2009 1/10MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX 20092

The country’s overall economic progress did not improve the outlook for

journalists, either. They continue to draw low salaries and suffer from poor

economic security—in a country that is faring better overall as a result of the

improving security situation and the rising price of oil, which provides more

than 97 percent of the state budget revenue.

ALgErIA


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INTRODUCTION

ALgErIA

AL gE rIA

OVERA

SCORE

1.51

DDu in 2009, Al e ia’s p esidential election lacked any semblance of suspense. Al e ians expected all alon

that P esident Bouteflika would win anothe te m afte 10 yea s in office (1999–2009). P esident Bouteflika

p epa ed fo this thi d te m by ensu in that the constitution was amended to allow him to nominate

himself fo a thi d te m; p e iously, the limit had been two te ms.

Unlike the political situation, cha acte ized by total ine tia, the economic and social situation unde went

many chan es—includin some imp o ements. Official data f om the National Office of Statistics indicated

that the economic owth ate went up a few pe centa e points compa ed to 2008, and the unemployment

ate d opped sli htly. Yet, imp o ement in the economic indicato s did not p e ent many p otests and

demonst ations o e social issues, such as housin c ises and unemployment in some pa ts of the count y.

The count y’s o e all economic p o ess did not imp o e the outlook fo jou nalists, eithe . They continue

to d aw low sala ies and suffe f om poo economic secu ity—in a count y that is fa in bette o e all as a

esult of the imp o in secu ity situation and the isin p ice of oil, which p o ides mo e than 97 pe cent

of the state bud et e enue. In othe espects as well, the media landscape chan ed little du in 2009,

the 20th anni e sa y of the openin of the p int media secto —but not in tele ision and adio, as the

o e nment continues to efuse to allow competition in the b oadcast secto . The o e nment now exe ts

fa mo e o e t cont ol o e b oadcast media than in the ea ly 1990s, when the secto had at least a de ee

of openness.

The sco es awa ded by the MSI panelists exp ess the state of media and political sta nation that has

cha acte ized Al e ia fo yea s. The panelists c iticized not only the public media, but also the p i ate

p inted p ess, which has not shown any imp o ement o e the past few yea s despite the la e numbe of

titles. Ad e tisin now ep esents the bulk of the media outlets’ income, and the p i ate p ess has sta ted

to come unde p essu e f om ad e tise s and ad e tisin a encies.

As in the 2008 study, the 2009 panelists focused on what they iew as the dichotomy between theo etical

f eedoms and p ofessional obli ations stipulated by Al e ia’s le al and constitutional f amewo k and the

ealities of an ad e se en i onment and poo p ofessional p actice. This yea , the o e all MSI sco e fellnoticeably, as only Objecti e 1, F eedom of Speech, mana ed a sli ht inc ease. All othe objecti es emained

static o lost ound; Objecti e 3, Plu ality of News, suffe ed the most d amatic d op, losin nea ly half

a point.



MEDIA SUSTAINABILITY INDEX: AlgeRIA

S U S T A I N A B I l I T Y

OBJeCTIVeS

U N S U S T A I N A B L E

M I X E D S Y S T E

M

N E A R

S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y

S U S T A I N A B L E

U N S U S T A I N A B L E

A N T I - F R E E P R E S S

FREESPEECH

PROFESSIONALJOURNALISM

PLURALITY OFNEWS SOURCES

BUSINESSMANAGEMENT

SUPPORTINGINSTITUTIONS

1 . 4

0

1 . 2

5 1 . 4

2 1

. 5 6

1 . 6

7

1 . 4

3

1 . 7

8

1 . 6

2

1 . 5

4

1 . 6

1 1 . 8

0

1 . 3

3 1

. 4 7

1 . 5

7

1 . 5

3

1 . 5

2

0 . 9

3

1 . 6

6

1 . 6

0

1 . 5

0

2 0 0 6

- 0 7

2 0 0 6

- 0 7

2 0 0 6

- 0 7

2 0 0 6

- 0 7

2 0 0 6

- 0 7

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 8

2 0 0 9

2 0 0 9

2 0 0 9

2 0 0 9

2 0 0 9

2 0 0 5

2 0 0 5

2 0 0 5

2 0 0 5

2 0 0 5

ALgErIA AT A gLANCE

gENErAL

> Popu ation: 34,586,184 (July 2010 est., CIA World Factbook )

> Capita city: Al ie s

> et nic roups (% of popu ation): A ab-Be be 99%, Eu opean, less than1% ( CIA World Factbook )

> R i ions (% of popu ation): Sunni Muslim (state eli ion) 99%, Ch istianand Jewish 1% ( CIA World Factbook )

> lan ua s (% of popu ation): The o e whelmin majo ity of Al e iansspeak A abic and Amazi hi, the two national lan ua es acco din tothe 2002 Constitutional Amendment. F ench is widesp ead and used inmajo cities and in administ ati e and economic mana ement.

> gNI (2009-At as): $ 154.2 billion (Wo ld Bank De elopmentIndicato s, 2010)

>

gNI p r capita (2009-PPP): $8,110 (Wo ld Bank De elopmentIndicato s, 2010)

> lit racy rat : 69.9% (male 79.6%, female 60.1% (2002 est., CIAWorld Factbook )

> Pr sid nt or top aut ority: P esident Abdelaziz Bouteflika (since28 Ap il 1999, CIA World Factbook )

MEDIA SPECIFIC

> Nu b r of activ print out ts, radio stations, t vision stations:P int: 65 daily newspape s and dozens of weeklies; radio Stations: 3national radio Al e ia channels and 2 specialized channels (cultu al andradio Ko an), and 43 local adio stations, most in Al e ia’s p o inces.Tele ision Stations: 5 state-owned channels includin a eli ious channeland an Amazi hi lan ua e channel.

> N spap r circu ation statistics: 364 million (www.p ess efe ence.com)

> Broadcast ratin s: N/A

> N s a nci s: Al e ian News A ency (state-owned)

> Annua adv rtisin r v nu in dia s ctor: N/A

> Int rn t usa : 4.7 million (2009 est., CIA World Factbook )

Unsustainable, Anti-Free Press (0-1): Country does not meet or only minimallymeets objectives. Government and lawsactively hinder free media development,professionalism is low, and media-industryactivity is minimal.

Unsustainable Mixed System (1-2): Countrminimally meets objectives, with segmentsof the legal system and governmentopposed to a free media system. Evidentprogress in free-press advocacy, increasedprofessionalism, and new media businessesmay be too recent to judge sustainability.

Near Sustainability (2-3): Country hasprogressed in meeting multiple objectives,with legal norms, professionalism, andthe business environment supportive of independent media. Advances have survivechanges in government and have beencodified in law and practice. However, mortime may be needed to ensure that change ienduring and that increased professionalismand the media business environment aresustainable.

Sustainable (3-4): Country has media thatare considered generally professional, free,and sustainable, or to be approaching theseobjectives. Systems supporting independenmedia have survived multiple governmentseconomic fluctuations, and changes in publopinion or social conventions.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fact-bookalgeria-2009 4/10ALgErIA

OBJeCTIVe 1: FReeDOm OF SPeeCh

Algeria Objective Score: 1.56

Panelists exp essed plenty of conce ns su oundin the le alclimate fo the media, althou h the sco e showed minoimp o ement compa ed with last yea . Within this objecti e,panelists deli e ed the lowest sco es to indicato 2, whichassesses the fai ness of the b oadcast licensin p ocess.Indicato 7 (access to public info mation) also sco ed low;both indicato s fell within the unsustainable, anti-f ee-p esscate o y (unde a 1.00). On the othe hand, indicato s 8(media access and use of inte national and domestic newssou ces) and 9 (f ee access to the jou nalism p ofession) bothsco ed noticeably hi he than the objecti e sco e, by a pointand th ee- ua te s of a point especti ely.

Kamel Ama ni, jou nalist at Le Soir d’Algérie F ench-lan ua e

daily newspape and sec eta y- ene al of the National Unionof Al e ian Jou nalists (SNJ), said that althou h Al e ia’sle al f amewo k has p otected the f eedom of the p ess sinceAp il 1990, the law is not always effecti e and is sometimes

iolated. As e idence of this, he pointed to uestions aboutthe allocation of ad e tisin , the handlin of applicationsfo licenses fo new newspape s, the failu e to open up theb oadcast secto , and the failu e to establish a hi h mediacouncil with ualified membe s. A p ofessional hi h mediacouncil is needed, he said, to issue p ess ca ds to jou nalistsand establish a functional, p ofessional ethics council.

Samia Belkadi, a jou nalist at Djazair (“ Algeria ”), sha edAma ni’s iew that Al e ia’s media secto displays manycont adictions. Althou h it has an outwa d appea ance off eedom of speech, the eality does not match—and thep i ate p ess, which mi ht be desc ibed as independent, isin fact in th all to ad e tise s. The p ess cannot ca y out any

epo tin that does not appeal to ad e tise s. As a esult,

unde standably, the p ess has set its own t ipwi es that ita ely c osses, in the fo m of self-censo ship.

Acco din to Mustapha Bouchachi, a lawye and p ofessoat the Faculty of Law at the Uni e sity of Al ie s and chaiof the Al e ian Lea ue fo the Defense of Human ri hts,le al and social no ms in Al e ia ene ally do p otect andp omote f ee speech—with the exception of ce tain ext emist

oups. Mohamed Laa eb, p ofesso of communication atUni e sity of Al ie s, added that althou h jou nalists a ep osecuted occasionally, the sentences a e usually li ht, andin his iew a e desi ned mainly to est ain and intimidatethe p ess. Howe e , Bouchachi said that Al e ia’s political

institutions act outside the f amewo k of the law andobst uct the f eedom of exp ession, thus f eedom of speech isnot ua anteed.

The watchdo o anization F eedom House a eed, asexp essed in its 2010 epo t on p ess f eedom in Al e ia. Itnoted that a state of eme ency established in 1992 emainedin place th ou hout 2009, “…allowin the o e nmentto le ally penalize any speech deemed th eatenin to thestate o public o de . A 2001 amendment to the P ess Lawfu the est icts p ess f eedom by c iminalizin w itin s,ca toons, and speech that insults o offends the p esident, thepa liament, the judicia y, o the a med fo ces.”

The o e nment subjects the Inte net to only e y limitedcenso ship—applied mainly to the websites of ce tain

eli ious ext emists ad ocatin o justifyin iolence.

The e was b oad consensus amon the panelists thatindicato 2 (b oadcast licensin ) dese es low sco es, i en the

o e nment’s on oin monopoly o e the b oadcast secto .Fu the mo e, while the p int secto enjoys eate openness,

LEgAL AND SOCIAL NOrMS PrOTECT AND PrOMOTEFrEE SPEECH AND ACCESS TO PUBLIC INFOrMATION.

FREE-SPEECH INDICATORS:

> Le al and social p otections of f ee speech exist and a e enfo ced.

> Licensin of b oadcast media is fai , competiti e, and apolitical.

> Ma ket ent y and tax st uctu e fo media a e fai andcompa able to othe indust ies.

> C imes a ainst jou nalists o media outlets a e p osecutedi o ously, but occu ences of such c imes a e a e.

> State o public media do not ecei e p efe ential le al t eatment,and law ua antees edito ial independence.

> Libel is a ci il law issue; public officials a e held to hi hestanda ds, and offended pa ties must p o e falsity and malice.

> Public info mation is easily accessible; i ht of access toinfo mation is e ually enfo ced fo all media and jou nalists.

> Media outlets ha e un est icted access to info mation; this ise ually enfo ced fo all media and jou nalists.

> Ent y into the jou nalism p ofession is f ee, and o e nmentimposes no licensin , est ictions, o special i hts fo jou nalists.

Mohamed Laageb, professor of communication at University of Algiers,added that although journalists are

prosecuted occasionally, the sentences

are usually light, and in his view are designed mainly to restrain and intimidate the press.



relati ely hi h sco es fo indicato 8 (media outlets ha eun est icted access to inte national news and news sou ces)

eflected the panelists’ st on a eement that the a ailabilityof Inte net access, the easy access to inte national news f omEu ope, and the p e alence of a fo ei n lan ua e (F ench)allow media ely on inte national news sou ces in thei

epo tin . Still, media exe cise a ce tain amount of cautionbefo e citin inte national epo ts that mi ht be seen aso e ly c itical of the Al e ian o e nment.

Panelists also a e elati ely hi h sco es to the indicatomeasu in the ease of ent y into the jou nalism p ofession.The law does not e ui e jou nalists to obtain licenses top actice jou nalism, althou h they a e e ui ed to ha e ape mit to co e o e nment e ents. In the Al e ian case, inli ht of the dete io atin social and symbolic alue of the

jou nalism p ofession in Al e ia, the hi h sco e awa dedby the panel ca ies a ne ati e connotation, actually—it istoo easy to become a jou nalist, many panelists exp essed.

As the jou nalism p ofession is expe iencin functionalinstability and a dete io ation of wo kin conditions, it isnot a p efe ed p ofession, and ete an media p ofessionalsa e jumpin ship into othe p ofessions—ha min mediade elopment in the lon te m.

OBJeCTIVe 2: PROFeSSIONAl JOURNAlISm


This objecti e’s sco e fell sli htly this yea , mostly due to lowe

sco es in indicato s 1 (objecti e and well-sou ced jou nalism),2 (ethics), and 5 (pay le els fo media p ofessionals). Mostindicato s sco ed elati ely close to the objecti e sco e;

Al e ian law does e ui e a license anted by the Minist yof Justice to establish a newspape —and last yea ’s panelistssaid that the antin of these licenses also is politicized. AsLaa eb explained, autho ities ant licenses to applicantsille ally, as the applicable law stipulates “notification” toopen a p int outlet athe than “application fo a license”

issued unde political di ection.As noted in last yea ’s MSI, the media a e not subject to anyspecial tax ules—media ente p ises a e t eated in the sameway as any othe business.

C imes a ainst jou nalists ha e almost ceased followin theimp o ement in secu ity in Al e ia since 2000. No jou nalistsha e been epo ted killed in the cou se of conductin theiwo k since 2001; p io to then, Al e ia e ula ly topped thelist fo incidents of iolence a ainst jou nalists. Howe e ,some intimidation of jou nalists pe sists. Fo example, CPJ

epo ted that two Mo occan jou nalists we e ha assed and

detained fo fou days in Septembe 2010 because of theiattempts to co e the efu ee c isis elated to the disputedWeste n Saha a te ito y. Additionally, F eedom House’s“F eedom of the P ess 2010-Al e ia” epo t noted thatautho ities banned th ee F ench-lan ua e publications theday befo e the Ap il 9 p esidential election.

Conside in whethe state o public media ecei ep efe ential le al t eatment, the panelists a eed thatpublic newspape s a e clea ly t eated p efe entially—as a ece tain p i ate newspape s that the e ime fa o s. They

ecei e licenses uickly, benefit f om public ad e tisin ,and a e anted facilities by the o e nment p intin

houses. They also ecei e p efe ential dist ibution th ou hpublic companies.

Jou nalists a e often p osecuted fo libel, as epo tedby last yea ’s MSI panelists, and libel is punishable withimp isonment. Althou h p ison sentences a ainst jou nalistsa e not ca ied out in many cases, F eedom House epo tedthat “a numbe of sentences fo defamation we e handeddown du in the yea , in ol in both fines and p ison time.”

On access to public info mation, the panel ene ally a eedthat some public info mation is a ailable, but se e al topicsa e off limits. Jou nalists do not ha e access to info mation

elated to the secu ity situation, fo example. Hacene Ouali,a jou nalist at the F ench-lan ua e daily El Watan , said thatthe public autho ities efuse to i e media p ofessionalscomp ehensi e info mation about thei acti ities.

Souad Mekache , jou nalist and co espondent at Sawt Al-Ahrar , added that some jou nalists face additionaltechnolo ical difficulties in accessin public info mationif they wo k away f om thei newspape s’ head ua te s,because e ional wo kin conditions a e compa ati ely poo .

JOUrNALISM MEETS PrOFESSIONALSTANDArDS OF qUALITY.

PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISM INDICATORS:

> repo tin is fai , objecti e, and well sou ced.

> Jou nalists follow eco nized and accepted ethical standa ds.

> Jou nalists and edito s do not p actice self-censo ship.

> Jou nalists co e key e ents and issues.

> Pay le els fo jou nalists and othe media p ofessionals a esufficiently hi h to discou a e co uption.

> Ente tainment p o ammin does not eclipse news andinfo mation p o ammin .

> Technical facilities and e uipment fo athe in , p oducin ,and dist ibutin news a e mode n and efficient.

> quality niche epo tin and p o ammin exists (in esti ati e,economics/business, local, political).



financial and economic situation of many newspape s. Thepanelists a eed ene ally that self-censo ship in Al e ia isassociated with jou nalists’ economic situation—includinthei poo sala ies, and the poo financial condition of mediainstitutions—but some pointed out that self-censo ship is a

esult of poo t ainin and education as well.

re a din co e a e of key e ents and issues, panelists a eedthat “secu ity news” is still inaccessible to Al e ian jou nalists,despite the imp o ed o e all secu ity situation. The jou nalists

noted also that it is sometimes difficult to p esent any newsabout ce tain officials and public fi u es. The situation diffe samon a ious institutions and le al secto s, howe e . Atleast some independent newspape s ha e elati ely b oadf eedom in add essin many topics, compa ed to jou nalismin the public secto . This is t ue with public tele ision inpa ticula , and to a lesse de ee in public adio.

Belkadi exp essed the iew that within the adio community,f eedom to add ess diffe ent issues a ies amon stations.F ench-lan ua e Channel 3 usually displays mo e f eedomand del es into eate detail on the issues it aises,compa ed to the mo e fo mal A abic-lan ua e Channel 1.She att ibuted the diffe ence to the economic situation ofthe jou nalists themsel es athe than that of thei employe s.It is difficult to talk about p ofessionalism in jou nalism inAl e ia, she ema ked, when jou nalists ecei e such poo

emune ation that thei economic and social status—o lackof it—puts them at the me cy of whoe e pays mo e than$500 a month.

Amon the panel’s media p ofessionals, the e was a cleaconsensus on the topic of sala ies fo jou nalists. OuahibaAmma i, speakin as an Al e ian public tele ision jou nalist,said that sala ies a e humiliatin ly low. Zait, howe e ,speakin as an edito ial di ecto , said that althou h

jou nalists’ sala ies a e indeed still so low as to fo ce some jou nalists into takin b ibes and w itin a ticles to o de ,such cases emain the exception, not the ule.

Many jou nalists and the academics on the panel disa eed;Laa eb commented that Al e ian jou nalists lackp ofessionalism and fail to comply with the p ofessionaland b oade societal ules in thei media wo k. Thesocial and p ofessional conditions of jou nalists a e not

howe e indicato 5 la ed behind by about th ee- ua te sof a point while indicato 7 (mode n facilities and e uipment)exceeded the objecti e sco e by about the same amount.

Acco din to Mohamed Bouazdia, a jou nalist and edito ialsec eta y fo El Khabar ’s daily edition, the Al e ian p essis expe iencin a eal and unp ecedented disaste in te msof espect fo p ofessional ethics and technical standa ds.Howe e , Kamal Zait, a jou nalist and the edito ial di ectoof El Khabar ’s weekly edition, disa eed; he exp essed thebelief that the Al e ian media a e mo in close towa dsp ofessionalism, althou h they lack expe ience. Panelists alsot aced low- uality, unp ofessional jou nalism to poo sala iesand wo kin conditions fo jou nalists—a point that foundconsensus amon the panel membe s.

Bouchachi concu ed that most jou nalists do not comply withp ofessional standa ds, and some newspape s p o ide onlyshallow e ents co e a e. Also, some political, secu ity, and

financial powe s use newspape s to mislead the public o toemba ass othe s in the e ime and in political and economicdecision-makin cente s, fo cin jou nalists to t ans essp ofessional standa ds. Fu the , acco din to Bouchachi, some

jou nalists ha e ideolo ical tendencies that put them beyondthe pale of p ofessional ethics and standa ds.

The 2008 panelists noted that a council of ethics is in place,o anized by the SNJ, but a eed that jou nalists la elyi no e the council’s decisions.

Ama ni commented on iolations of p ofessional andethical standa ds in li ht of chan es expe ienced in themedia landscape in ecent yea s. O e the past decade, thenumbe of newspape s and ma azines—dailies, weeklies,o othe pe iodicities—ha e inc eased exponentially. Mostly,he said, the aim of the new titles is to make a uick dinafo ze o in estment. P edictably, this d aws in inc easinnumbe s of inexpe ienced jou nalists that fail to meetstanda ds of p ofessionalism, lack the e ui ed le el oft ainin , and comp omise the standa ds of jou nalism in theAl e ian media.

On self-censo ship, Sebti Ouali, a jou nalist at Liberté ,a eed that the de ee of cont ol that ad e tise s holdf e uently fo ces jou nalists to censo thei own wo k.

Al e ian jou nalists a e the efo e unde p essu e f om twosides: fi st, the public autho ities, which cont ol the sou cesof ad e tisin to ethe with politicians and the judicia y;and second, the domestic and inte national p i ate-inte estowne s, who also p o ide ad e tisin and mi ht object tounflatte in co e a e of thei acti ities.

Hacene Ouali said that in li ht of the political climatea ainst f eedom of exp ession, jou nalists often p acticeself-censo ship—which he said is att ibutable to the poo

ALgErIA

Bouchachi concurred that most journalists do not comply with professional standards, and somenewspapers provide only shallow

events coverage.



news) both sco ed th ee- ua te s of a point lowe than theobjecti e sco e.

While the o e nment’s cont ol o e the b oadcast sectoaffects MSI plu ality sco es, news sou ces a e nume ous anddi e se—la ely because of the ich options in p int. Ama nisaid, howe e , that the adio and tele ision media fieldis closed to newcome s, so plu ality and di e sity of newssou ces is not ua anteed within Al e ia.

Most of the panelists a eed that citizens ha e f ee access tomedia, and panelists p o ided hi h sco es fo the indicatomeasu in that p inciple. Dist ibution of fo ei n p intpublications is pe mitted with e y few isolated exceptions,and in any case, usually such publications can be accessedon the Inte net. Ama ni noted that Al e ians ha e owinoptions in new media platfo ms as well, as Inte net accessis almost un est icted—and the same applies to fo ei ntele ision channels.

As fo the state media’s eflection of the political spect um,the panelists a eed la ely that Al e ian public adio andtele ision se e only the inte ests of the political powe sin o e nment and exclude almost all othe opposinopinions, except du in the official election campai ns thatoccu e e y fi e yea s. Hacene Ouali commented that whilesome p int outlets t y to p o ide eade s with an objecti eand c edible medium, the leadin media institutions—tele ision in pa ticula —only b oadcast p o ams about the

o e nment’s acti ities, without i in the opposition o ci ilsociety o anizations e ual column inches o ai time. Laa ebconcu ed that the public media do not eflect the social and

political spect um.

encou a in , and e en push them in the di ection of e enless p ofessional conduct.

In te ms of the balance between news and ente tainment,the panelists stated clea ly that the amount and uality of

news p o ammin is poo compa ed to the ente tainmentp o ams offe ed.

The indicato assessin the st en th of facilities ande uipment ecei ed the hi hest sco e unde this objecti e.Du in the discussion, Leila gueloula, an Al e ian public adio

jou nalist, and Amma i exp essed thei iew that e uipmentis of easonable uality. Mekache , speakin as a p int media

jou nalist and co espondent, counte ed that the same is nott ue in he a ea. Jou nalists lack the necessa y conditions andfacilities to conduct thei wo k, she said, and hi hli htedin pa ticula that many media outlets need p ope e ionaloffices. The opinions exp essed by these panelists eflect thesi nificant diffe ence between the esou ces made a ailableto the leadin public media outlets, and e en some p i atemedia, and othe outlets with much weake standin .

OBJeCTIVe 3: PlURAlITY OF NewS


The o e nment’s di ect cont ol of b oadcast media stiflesplu ality of news, and this is einfo ced by indi ect cont olo e many p int media. This yea ’s sco e d opped, and

all indicato s ecei ed lowe e aluations by the panelistsexcept fo indicato 2 (citizen access to media). None ofthe indicato s sco ed pa ticula ly well. Indicato 1 (plu alityof sou ces and iewpoints) sco ed elati ely hi h, but lessthan a 2.00. Indicato 2 (citizen access to news) was the onlyindicato to sco e hi he than a 2.00, and exceeded theobjecti e sco e by mo e than a point. Indicato s 3 (objecti ityof state media) and 5 (p i ate media p oduce thei own

MULTIPLE NEWS SOUrCES PrOvIDE CITIZENSWITH rELIABLE AND OBJECTIvE NEWS.

PLURALITY OF NEWS SOURCES INDICATORS:

> A plu ality of affo dable public and p i ate news sou ces (e. .,p int, b oadcast, Inte net) exists.

> Citizens’ access to domestic o inte national media is notest icted.

> State o public media eflect the iews of the enti e politicalspect um, a e nonpa tisan, and se e the public inte est.

> Independent news a encies athe and dist ibute news fo p intand b oadcast media.

> Independent b oadcast media p oduce thei own news p o ams.

> T anspa ency of media owne ship allows consume s to jud eobjecti ity of news; media owne ship is not concent ated in afew con lome ates.

> A b oad spect um of social inte ests a e eflected andep esented in the media, includin mino ity-lan ua e

info mation sou ces.

Hacene Ouali commented that while some print outlets try to provide readerswith an objective and credible medium,the leading media institutions—television

in particular—only broadcast programsabout the government’s activities,without giving the opposition or civil

society organizations equal column inchesor airtime.



Hacene Ouali exp essed the ene al iew amon thepanelists: Since the expe ience of Al e ian independentmedia is still thin, spannin just 20 yea s, most media outletsha e not yet mana ed to achie e stability and success ineconomic and financial te ms. The eality is that only a fewmedia outlets enjoy any kind of independence, he said.Bouchachi was mo e positi e, sayin that some media outlets,such as El Watan and El Khabar , a e indeed independent,and o e time could become what would be conside edsound businesses able to withstand outside shocks. Thesepublications own thei own p intin houses, and ha emana ed to establish successful dist ibution companies thatdeli e many Al e ian dailies.

Acco din to Ama ni, only fou o fi e newspape s inAl e ia a e mana ed well, with the est dependent onpublic ad e tisin that is anted to them dependinon thei edito ial lines. But Zait, fo his pa t, disa eed.He said that most media outlets a e well-mana edbusinesses that ene ate enou h p ofit to allow edito ialindependence; howe e , he conceded that some outlets a einfluenced hea ily by ad e tise s that often inte fe e with

edito ial policy.

Laa eb also unde lined the total absence of independentnews a encies as well (althou h Zait noted that Al e ia hasone small a ency specializin in economic matte s). HaceneOuali a eed that the official news a ency emains unde thetotal cont ol of the o e nment, and Bouchachi went fu the ,sayin that the news monopoly p acticed by the official news

a ency and state tele ision obst ucts jou nalists’ i ht toaccess info mation. On the othe hand, the state’s monopolyhas helped ende p i ate newspape s mo e c edible thanthe public p ess, which settles fo official sou ces of news.radio and tele ision se e up the news in the same way—thatwhich se es the e ime best.

The shee absence of p i ate adio and tele ision stationsleft panelists with no choice but to i e a low sco e undethe indicato assessin the in-house p oduction of news byp i ate media, as the b oadcast secto is effecti ely a closedshop to independent b oadcast media.

Laa eb said that owne ship of p i ate p int media outletslacks t anspa ency completely. With the eme ence ofso many p i ate newspape s o e the past few yea s,conce ns about the t anspa ency of media owne ship a e

owin . Acco din to some panelists, the owne ship andfundin sou ces of p i ate newspape s a e not t anspa entat all; especially as often these outlets a e founded bybusinesspeople f om outside the media secto . Today’sopacity stands in cont ast to the expe ience of independent

jou nalism that eme ed in the ea ly 1970s, when mediafi u es that had built solid eputations in the media sectowe e behind the owth.

Zait, howe e , disa eed: he said that owne ship ist anspa ent to some extent because all newspape s a eowned by indi iduals, except fo some new newspape sowned by companies, and the facts of owne ship a e nota sec et.

Mino ity lan ua es a e ep esented somewhat in the media.Al e ia has se e al adio stations b oadcastin in a iousTamazi ht lan ua es—includin Bejaya and Taman asset

adio—and the newly established Tamazi ht-lan ua etele ision channel, which went on the ai in 2009. Howe e ,Zait exp essed disappointment that on the whole, most mediaoutlets adopt a national app oach in te ms of thei co e a e,

i en the lack of e ional media.

OBJeCTIVe 4: BUSINeSS mANAgemeNT


The sco e fo objecti e 4 emained unchan ed this yea , andall indicato s sco ed close to the objecti e sco e.

ALgErIA

INDEPENDENT MEDIA ArE WELL-MANAgEDBUSINESSES, ALLOWINg EDITOrIAL INDEPENDENCE.

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT INDICATORS:

> Media outlets and suppo tin fi ms ope ate as efficient,p ofessional, and p ofit- ene atin businesses.

> Media ecei e e enue f om a multitude of sou ces.

> Ad e tisin a encies and elated indust ies suppo t anad e tisin ma ket.

> Ad e tisin e enue as a pe centa e of total e enue is in linewith accepted standa ds at comme cial outlets.

> Independent media do not ecei e o e nment subsidies.

> Ma ket esea ch is used to fo mulate st ate ic plans, enhancead e tisin e enue, and tailo p oducts to the needs andinte ests of audiences.

> B oadcast atin s and ci culation fi u es a e eliably andindependently p oduced.

According to Amarni, only four or fivenewspapers in Algeria are managed well, with the rest dependent on publicadvertising that is granted to them

depending on their editorial lines.



OBJeCTIVe 5: SUPPORTINg INSTITUTIONS


Objecti e 5 ecei ed a sli htly lowe sco e this yea , mostlydue to lowe sco es in indicato 4 (academic jou nalismp o ams) and indicato 6 (un est icted access to p intinfacilities). These lowe sco es we e miti ated somewhat byan inc eased sco e fo indicato 3 (suppo tin NgOs). Allindicato s sco ed close to the objecti e sco e, except foindicato 1 (t ade associations), which la ed behind by halfa point.

T ade associations ep esentin media owne s and mana e sha e disappea ed la ely f om the Al e ian media scene,ba in occasional statements conce nin e ents in the mediasecto . Such t ade associations a e comp omised by the st onde ee of competition between media outlets. The cultu al

di ide between A abic-lan ua e and F ench-lan ua enewspape s hampe s solida ity fu the .

The pictu e fo p ofessional associations is not much b i hte .Ama ni, speakin as sec eta y- ene al of the SNJ (which, hest essed, is an independent o anization), said that the statep o ides no help to the union, and in fact it t ies to ein inSNJ’s wo k. Howe e , a union affiliated with the gene alUnion of Al e ian Wo ke s eme ed ecently, and panelistssaid that the union is t yin to add ess issues on behalf ofthe p ofession.

The panelists said that NgOs play a sli htly st on e ole.Laa eb said that se e al human i hts o anizations inpa ticula p o ide se ices to the jou nalism p ofession.Othe s counte ed that these NgOs do not p o ide enou hassistance, i en thei close elationship with the e ime.

Ad e tisin emains newspape s’ key sou ce of income, with asi nificant inc ease in ad e tisin f om both the inte nationalsecto and the domestic p i ate secto . Ad e tise s include theautomobile indust y, telecommunications companies, and anumbe of food p oduction companies.

Howe e , the state emains in cont ol of mo e than a thi dof media ad e tisin , and o e nmental publicity andad e tisin is a majo component of ad e tisin o e all. The

o e nment still allocates ad e tisements to newspape sbased on thei loyalty. The National Institute of Ad e tisindominates the dist ibution of o e nment-sponso edad e tisements, without answe in the calls f om jou nalistsand media owne s alike fo eate t anspa ency. go e nmentad e tisin ene ates si nificant income fo selected mediaoutlets, and panelists noted that income could affect theio ientation, edito ial lines, and independence. Bouazdiaconcluded that the ad e tisin ma ket in Al e ia is d i en bypolitical conside ations: uite simply, only those who suppo tthe e ime et the ad e tisin .

go e nment ad e tisin , as cu ently allocated, is the keysou ce of indi ect subsidy to p i ate as well as public mediaoutlets. The o e nment p o ides anothe type of subsidyth ou h its p intin houses. Out of political conside ations,p int companies can be lenient towa ds some newspape s andnot to othe s in te ms of payment.

Objecti e 4’s lowest atin went to indicato 7 (b oadcastatin s, ci culation fi u es, and Inte net statistics a eeliably and independently p oduced). The panelists said

ci culation and audience fi u es a e not t anspa ent, andthe numbe s that many newspape s and b oadcast outletsclaim a e uestionable, especially as no independent pollin

institutions wo k in that field in Al e ia. Zait confi med thatno eliable data exist to confi m the ci culation fi u es ototal eade ship numbe s put out by the p int p ess.

Most of the panelists reaffirmed that the government still holds sway over the

printing houses. However, they described a relatively recent, timid emergence in the

private sector: printing houses owned by the independent El Khaba and El Watan.

SUPPOrTINg INSTITUTIONS FUNCTION IN THEPrOFESSIONAL INTErESTS OF INDEPENDENT MEDIA.

SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS INDICATORS:

> T ade associations ep esent the inte ests of p i ate media owne sand p o ide membe se ices.

> P ofessional associations wo k to p otect jou nalists’ i hts.

> NgOs suppo t f ee speech and independent media.

> quality jou nalism de ee p o ams that p o ide substantialp actical expe ience exist.

> Sho t-te m t ainin and in-se ice t ainin p o ams allow jou nalists to up ade skills o ac ui e new skills.

> Sou ces of newsp int and p intin facilities a e in p i ate hands,apolitical, and un est icted.

> Channels of media dist ibution (kiosks, t ansmitte s, Inte net) a ep i ate, apolitical, and un est icted.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/fact-bookalgeria-2009 10/10AL E IA

Many of the panelists exp essed the belief that mediadist ibution in Al e ia is mostly apolitical and un est icted.The p i ate secto has come to play a cent al ole indist ibution, at the expense of the p e iously dominant publicsecto . Ama ni said that media dist ibution is independent,often subject only to comme cial lo istical p oblems.

List of Panel ParticipantsSa ia B kadi , cultu e edito , Djazair News , Al ie s

Ka a Zait , jou nalist and edito ial di ecto , El Khabar , Al ie s

Ka A arni , jou nalist, Le Soir d’Algérie ; sec eta y- ene al,National Union of Jou nalists, Al ie s

mo a d Bouazdia , jou nalist and editin sec eta y, El Khabar , Al ie s

Oua iba A ari , jou nalist, Al e ian Public Tele ision,Al ie s

l i a gu ou a, jou nalist, Al e ian Public radio, Al ie s

Souad m kac r , jou nalist, Sawt Al-Ahrar , Tizi Ouzou

mo a d laa b , p ofesso of communication, Uni e sity ofAl ie s, Al ie s

mustap a Bouc ac i , lawye ; p ofesso of law, Uni e sity ofAl ie s; chai , Al e ian Lea ue fo the Defense of Humanri hts, Al ie s

hac n Oua i , jou nalist, El Watan , Al ie s

S bti Oua i , section edito , Liberté , Al ie s

Abd kri ha ouc , di ecto , Public P intin P ess, Al ie s

Moderator and AuthorDjabi Abd nass r , p ofesso of political sociolo y, Uni e sityof Al e ia, Al ie s

Bouchachi disa eed, speakin as the chai of the Al e ianLea ue fo the Defense of Human ri hts. He pointed outthat some newspape s in Al e ia that ha e eached a le elthat could be desc ibed as p ofessional and ha e becomefinancially independent ne e theless ecei e subsidies f omci il society o anizations and e en political pa ties.

Conce ns about the uality of educational oppo tunities fo jou nalists ene ated much discussion amon the panelists.Most p ofessed low confidence in the uality of p o amsa ailable to media students at the o e nment- un Uni e sityof Al ie s and othe teachin institutions. The la e numbeof media colle e aduates whose ualifications on papeexceed thei abilities comp omises the accomplishments of all.Laa eb said that althou h the uni e sity plays a key ole int ainin , its effo ts fall sho t fo a numbe of easons.

Some panelists aised the issue of the ene ally poo En lishand F ench lan ua e skills of Al e ian media students,

sayin that the Uni e sity of Al ie s appea s to ha e stoppedp oducin media students fluent in fo ei n lan ua es.The p oblem affects F ench-lan ua e media in pa ticula ;inc easin ly, they a e obli ed to take on lan ua e aduatesas jou nalists. Low sco es fo the elated indicato eflectMekache ’s iew that the t ainin that Al e ian uni e sitiesoffe to media students is inade uate. She also exp essed thebelief that media outlets open thei doo s to students whoa e still waitin to ecei e thei p ofessional ualifications.

Althou h panelists assessed the st en th of sho t-te mt ainin p o ams sli htly bette , this indicato still sco edfai ly low, in the unsustainable, mixed-system an e. gueloula

said that f om he own pe sonal expe ience, the Al e ianradio Institution offe s a la e numbe of t ainin cou sesto imp o e media pe sonnel’s pe fo mance le els. Usually,such t ainin cou ses a e deli e ed in coope ation withEu opean and othe inte national institutions that eithetake on jou nalists fo t ainin ab oad o send t aine s toAl e ian institutions.

Most of the panelists eaffi med that the o e nment stillholds sway o e the p intin houses. Howe e , they desc ibeda elati ely ecent, timid eme ence in the p i ate secto :p intin houses owned by the independent El Khabar andEl Watan . They a e dwa fed by the o e nment p intinhouses but a e ope atin as small businesses. The panelistsdid point to loosenin est ictions on fo ei n t ade, andthis is allowin p i ate p intin houses to obtain pape onthe inte national ma ket di ectly, athe than o th ou hpublic bodies.

fact book_algeria 2009

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