Ramallah, 30/9/2014 - The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms MADA has issued a new study on the “Official/Governmental Media and Freedom of Expression in Palestine.” Written by journalist Ghazi Bani Odeh, the 126-page study focuses on the official Palestinian media institutions which provide direct news to the public.
The study seeks to examine the role played by Palestinian official media institutions in the coverage of different events, issues and opinions in the country, their level of interest in – and respect for – the principles of freedom of expression in their daily operations, and how they respond to the needs and interests of the Palestinian public who contributes to their funding.
The research also asks the question whether the agenda and commitment of the official media are geared towards serving the interests and needs of the audience or towards promoting the image of the political leadership as well as governmental and official bodies.
The study analyses a number of issues such as the professional performance of the official Palestinian media and the extent of their respect of objectivity, pluralism and the highlighting of differences while covering various Palestinian issues. It also investigates if there is a practice of withholding news and opinions likely to affect the authority, officials and influential figures, and it evaluates the performance of journalists in terms of conveying different views within the Palestinian society and upholding principles of neutrality and impartiality.
The study shows that the most important obstacles hindering the free performance of the official Palestinian media identified by most journalists are two interrelated issues: the absence of will of the official authorities and the editing bodies supervising the official Palestinian media on the one hand, and censorship, self-censorship, and persecution of journalists on the other hand.
The study recommends to transform the Palestinian official media into a true public media sector and to amend the legislative framework related to their work. This includes putting an end to the quasi-absolute power of the executive authority and guaranteeing the independence of the bodies supervising editorial policies, whose members must not be directly connected to the executive branch and the ruling party, and whose board of directors must be independent as well as truly representative of the various segments of the Palestinian civil society. Besides, a complete assessment of the nature, importance and relevance of the role played by each of the official/governmental Palestinian media institution must be carried out.
This study was completed with the generous support of the Open Society Foundations (OSF). It is the 9th research study issued by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) on the subject of media freedoms and freedom of expression in Palestine, and is part of MADA’s efforts to promote the development of independent and professional media, freedom of expression, and a healthy legal environment for the media in Palestine.
