Review: Arab Mass Media

The essential message of William Rugh's updated study of the Arab world (he wrote the foundational book "The Arab Press" in the 1970s), is the government shapes the media and, to a certain extent, the media shapes the government. This is particularly interesting in the Arab world because, while the Arab countries share numerous similarities, the environments can be vastly different as a result of the government in place. (and I would add, it can also be different depending on the amount of internet penetration. Compare Lebanon and Saudi Arabia).

The mass media play a larger role than other forms of communication in the daily lives of people everywhere, but especially in the Arab world. These media are consequently regarded by politicians and governments as having great political importance. In fact, the acquisition and distribution of news has been seen for a long time as a vital political function in society because the news items may have political impact very quickly on large numbers of people...The way government and society deal with this institution (mass media) is significant for an understanding of that government and society as well as of the mass communications process. (Rugh xiv)

Rugh spends much the book updating the information he'd obtained for "The Arab Press." Whereas the press and the media were perhaps less developed at this time, the number of type of communications outlets has proliferated so that even the poorest Arab countries have television stations etc. By the late 70s all Arab countries not only had their own television stations but their own magazines and newspapers) (Rugh xiv-xv). As in his previous work, Rugh uses a typology unique to the Arab world to characterize the ways in which media operate. The four categories are:

(1) The Mobilization Press- (Syria, Libya, Sudan) The press system where "the ruling group is aggressively dedicated to revolutionary change, and it has managed to eliminate all real organized public opposition domestically, but requires active support from the media to help achieve its stated goals and combat its declared enemies" (Rugh 251).
(2) The Loyalist Press- (Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) is seated in countries where a "more traditional political system prevails; all are monarchies except Palestine, which has been dominated overwhelmingly by one man. No significant opposition exists, but the government, more satisfied with the status quo than intent on change, is content with passive acquiescence from the public and does not require the press to generate action" (Rugh 251-252).
(3) The Diverse Press- (Lebanon, Moracco, Kuwait, Yemen, Iraq) it takes place in a "political environment where the public expression of a variety of opinions and viewpoints, including criticism of the government, is possible, and where the regime does not intervene to suppress all open dissent" (Rugh 252). The government may occasionally take action against a news outlet, but it is rare and done primarily through the courts.
(4) The Transitional Press- (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia) this press system is a "mixed system in which the largest circulation print media are controlled directly by the government but smaller ones are owned by private individuals or parties, and they have some latitude to criticize those in power" (Rugh 252). The government does try to restrict them at times, but it uses the courts as well and relies on journalists' self-censorship.

These types of press systems aren't an accidental bi-product of political realities, but an object of political calculation (Rugh 254). According to Rugh, the biggest indicator in determining the nature of the relationship between the press and the government is the diversity of press publications. In every Arab country, some media will be in complete support of government policy (Rugh 252). The essential function of the diverse press which allows it to have the freest press in the Arab World (Morocco Lebanon, Kuwait) is the existence of a genuine opposition to the ruling party which can function openly. If no public opposition is allowed, it follows that the press will be in uniform voice (Rugh 253).

Interestingly, the most tightly controlled media (radio and television) are the media which have given the Arab public the most freedom. Because while the media in their country may not aire any news about local government, another country within airwaves may be willing.