Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 1

Geopolitics of the Mediterranean Media in the MENA

Societing Summer School Cava dei Tirreni (SA) 22-27 August 2011

Matteo Minchio, LSDP

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 2

Young masses and old elites

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 3

Corrupt and oppressive rulers

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 4

Educated, urban and jobless: Arab Youth is a gunpowder

Urban Population

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Yemen Egypt Syria Morocco Algeria Tunisia Jordan Libya SaudiArabia

Lebanon

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 5

Have Arab netizens reached their critical mass?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Algeria

Bahrein

Egypt

Jord

an

Leban

onLibya

Morocc

o

Saudi A

rabia

Syria

TunisiaUAE

Yemen

Internet Users Population Facebook UsersCountry Mill People

Internet Users

Internet users %

FB users

FB users %

Algeria 35,4 4,7 13,50% 1,41 3%

Bahrain 0,8 0,42 53% 0,28 29%

Egypt 84,4 20,25 24,30% 4,63 7%

Jordan 6,0 1,56 26% 1,10 15%

Lebanon 4,2 0,96 23,70% 0,98 23%

Libya 6,4 0,35 5,50% 0,26 3%

Morocco 31,0 12,71 41,30% 2,45 7%

Saudi Arabia 25,0 9,5 38% 3,21 9%

Syria 21,0 4,2 20,40% 0,24 N.A.

Tunisia 10,4 3,4 34,10% 1,82 16%

UAE 8,2 6,15 75,00% 2,14 45%

Yemen 23,0 2,3 10% 0,18 0,50%

• Internet population is growing fast, but socializers are still few • Youngsters are a large majority in the online world

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 6

Cybercafés and SMS as guerrilla tools

Low Fixed Broadband penetration à High

capillarity of Internet cafés à Back to 1700?

Limited wired networks à Mobile-based system

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 7

Hacktivists agenda: break the (Fire)Wall and make a buzz

u  Handy-cams are your eyes u  SMS are your words u  Chat @ cybercafés u  e-Skype wiretaps u  Blog your storytelling u  Meet-up for a protest u  Geo-localise your crowd u  Hash-clouds provoke

storms u  Big G comes on the stage u  Please record your tweet

after the beep Followers, Viewers and Likers

are your allies!

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 8

AJA & Co: eyes and ears open to the world

From Osama’s tape to the Arab Spring

Building Arabic Mainstream

From “The view and the opposite point of view” to “Continuous Coverage”

Emir of Qatar’s voice

Dubai based Saudi TV

Doha, Cairo, Beirut

Owed by Sheik Al Waleed, News Corp minority share

Entertainment, watched mostly in the Arab World

Puritan at home, Liberal abroad

Hezbollah goes on air

Don’t forget the Cedar!

Emirati banks do business

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 9

Rulers tricks for repression: gags, handcuffs and tanks

Tunisian blogger Slim Amamou

Kidnapped

Asma Al-Ghoul Palestinian female journalist tortured

Lybian woman denoncing violences kidnapped in direct

Vodafone forced to send Regime SMS

Internet Shutdown Egypt, 27/01/11

GCC Police clears Pearl Roundabout

Syrian tanks make 2.000 victims in

Hama

Salerno, August 2011 LSDP, Matteo Minchio 10

Ghosts from 1956: Saudi police cages Bahraini tweet

Are you viral enough to spread the contagion? FACTS

u  14/02 youth groups protest Pearl Roundabout

u  Discrete talks Al-Wifaq-Crown Prince

u  08/03 Coalition for Bahrain Republic

u  13/03 Barricades in Pearl Roundabout

u  14/03 GCC troops crackdown

u  15/03 State of Emergency

u  22/06 Imprisonment and trial of opposition leaders

FACTORS

u  Natives (46%) vs Migrants (54%)

u  Tribal divisions (Settled vs Nomades)

u  Religious divisions (70% Shites vs Sunni elite)

u  Geopolitical issues (Saudi Arabia vs Iran)

u  National media war (Bahrain Tv vs Al-Wasat newspaper)

u  TV spotlight (Al Alam and Al Manar) vs Tv blackout (Al Jazeera)