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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: justify; MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 9pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN style="COLOR: windowtext; FONT-SIZE: 10pt" lang=EN-US>It's with great pleasure that the Institut Panos Paris is proud to announce the publication of the regional report "Public Service Broadcasting in the MENA region, Potential for Reform". </SPAN></P></O:P></SPAN>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P></O:P></SPAN></P><SPAN lang=EN-GB>In the Arab world public television broadcasters are part of the Establishment and one can therefore infer the extent of authoritarian intervention or, alternatively, of progress towards democracy from the content of their programmes. Between modest attempts to open up to the expression of political diversity on the one hand and the cult of the personality showing the Head of State in every news bulletin on the other, the output of Arab State broadcasters has always been the focus of comments. Yet for a long time television viewers and media analysts have been content with criticizing the backwardness of national television channels without trying to induce change in their performance.</SPAN>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>It remains to be seen whether the recent popular upheavals in the Arab countries will eventually mark the end of the practice of broadcasting in the service of paymasters.</SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>The present study is a review of the mission of public service broadcasting in eight countries of the Middle East and North Africa. It examines the books of specifications and the legal frameworks that regulate public broadcasting as well as it looks into the means made available to implement it. Furthermore it analyses segments of the programmes to assess the extent to which national television channels actually deliver a mission of public service. The present book represents the synthesis of research work conducted by NGOs and associate experts to the Institut PANOS Paris and to the Observatoire méditerranéen de la communication in all of Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Tunisia.</SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>The outcome of this research varies greatly from country to country, whereas in some cases the failure to deliver a mission of public service is obvious, there are also examples of programming that indicate attempts to make some headway towards the ideals of public service broadcasting. The participants in this research have been able to identify the mechanisms set up by the powers that be to create the illusion of political pluralism and diversity of content. At the same time in a few rare cases the politicians have foreseen the need to launch a process of opening up to national television programmes offering greater diversity and better quality.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Over and beyond the mere stating of findings the present book aims at raising the awareness of all stakeholders to the importance of the mission of public service broadcasting at a moment when major political changes are happening. It offers numerous recommendations that aim at supporting the reform of public broadcasting in order to foster the democratic process.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>This collective work is geared towards journalists and media professionals who are willing to take a fresh look at the practice of journalism and to engage with the production of quality content for television broadcast. It is calling upon political decision makers who are ready to take the opportunity of political change and to foster a mission of public broadcasting. Last but not least it offers NGOs engaged in the media sector and citizens in general the possibility to gain a better understanding of the vital role of public media.</SPAN></P>
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<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>This publication of the Institut PANOS Paris and of the OMEC is available as a print and an online version</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB> in both French and English. </SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Contact</SPAN>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Magalie Nam Hee</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><A href="mailto:communication@panosparis.org" moz-do-not-send="true"><FONT color=#0000ff>communication@panosparis.org</FONT></A></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><A href="http://www.panosparis.org/" moz-do-not-send="true"><FONT color=#0000ff>www.panosparis.org</FONT></A></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>The production of the present book has been made possible thanks to the support of Irish Aid, Agencia catalana de cooperacion y desarrollo (ACCD) and Open Society Foundation.</SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB><O:P> </O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN lang=EN-GB>Ammannet, Arab Internet Media (AMIN), Centre for Media Freedom Middle East and North Africa (CMF MENA), Ligue algérienne de défense des droits de l’homme (LADDH) and Maharat Foundation were all partners to the project.</SPAN> </P></DIV></body></html>