By Cam McGrath
"CAIRO, May 2, 2011 (IPS) - The collapse of autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt has broken the state’s stranglehold on the local press, but journalists and bloggers must still be careful what they say.
"The red lines are very blurry at the moment," says Rasha Abdulla, chair of the journalism and mass communications department at the American University in Cairo. "We’re in a transition period… and there is still no legislation to guarantee freedom of expression."
Rights watchdogs have consistently rated the Middle East and North Africa region as one of the most stifling areas of the world for journalists to operate in....
Media experts acknowledge the difficulty of dismantling the culture of information control after decades of authoritarian rule. The military – the most secretive and paranoid institution – can hardly be expected to set the bar.
The challenge will only grow as new media entities enter the arena, including platforms for previously suppressed political and ideological streams.
Experts anticipate a flood of private newspapers and television channels in Tunisia once archaic licensing procedures are relegated to the dustbin. Egypt, which already had a small but vibrant independent press, has dozens of new entrants. Among these are a television channel for the previously outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and Radio Ta7rir, a youth-led online radio station that aired in March.
Ramadan applauds the growth of independent media, but says the real test is whether journalists and bloggers will be free to discuss issues and express their views without fear of recrimination."
"CAIRO, May 2, 2011 (IPS) - The collapse of autocratic regimes in Tunisia and Egypt has broken the state’s stranglehold on the local press, but journalists and bloggers must still be careful what they say.
"The red lines are very blurry at the moment," says Rasha Abdulla, chair of the journalism and mass communications department at the American University in Cairo. "We’re in a transition period… and there is still no legislation to guarantee freedom of expression."
Rights watchdogs have consistently rated the Middle East and North Africa region as one of the most stifling areas of the world for journalists to operate in....
Media experts acknowledge the difficulty of dismantling the culture of information control after decades of authoritarian rule. The military – the most secretive and paranoid institution – can hardly be expected to set the bar.
The challenge will only grow as new media entities enter the arena, including platforms for previously suppressed political and ideological streams.
Experts anticipate a flood of private newspapers and television channels in Tunisia once archaic licensing procedures are relegated to the dustbin. Egypt, which already had a small but vibrant independent press, has dozens of new entrants. Among these are a television channel for the previously outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, and Radio Ta7rir, a youth-led online radio station that aired in March.
Ramadan applauds the growth of independent media, but says the real test is whether journalists and bloggers will be free to discuss issues and express their views without fear of recrimination."
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