World Editors Forum Director sees Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon as strong points in Arab journalism

 
Pecquerie says that the barometer did not find, in fact, much difference in attitudes and behaviors of Arab journalists compared with the rest of the world. The biggest difference came here:

APN: So there is nothing specific to Arab editors-in-chief?
BP: Actually, the question that has proven to be the most pertinent for Arab countries is the following: In the future, what might be the greatest threat to your editorial independence? «Political pressure» is almost never cited by editors-in-chief in America, Western Europe and even South America; however, in certain Asian, African and Arab countries, it's the first response. It is governments that are perceived as the greatest threat by 40 percent. In the Arab world, it's not the shareholders or the advertisers but the politicians. This is where the divide is.

Pecquerie is reasonably optimistic about the fate of Arab journalism. “I'm expecting a lot from Egypt and Lebanon where a new paper, Al Akhbar, emerged in August 2006. The fact that opposition newspapers are being created today, and Al Akhbar holds an anti-American position but does not support Hezbollah, is rather encouraging… There has also been progress with professional groups since an association of newspapers from the Gulf was born, MEPA (Middle East Publishers Association).”

He sees Morocco as a strong point as well. “Fifteen years ago, Morocco was really at ground zero, which corresponds to what we see in Tunisia today,” said Pecquerie. “Presently, Morocco is in a phase where the act of reading a newspaper has nothing to do with a political adherence.”

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Source: Arab Press Network