Media Of Tunisia
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The mass media in Tunisia is an economic sector. Under the authoritarian regimes of
Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (; ar, الحبيب بورقيبة, al-Ḥabīb Būrqībah; 3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian lawyer, nationalist leader and statesman who led the country from 1956 to 1957 as the prime minister of the Kingdom of T ...
, and then
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...
, it saw periods of liberalization and then challenges, notably due to Tunisian
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
. The
2010-2011 Tunisian protests The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
and the subsequent change in government may bring significant change in this domain. In 2007, the Tunisian government's Website counted 245 daily newspapers and reviews, grown from 91 in 1987.Presse et communication en Tunisie (Tunisie.com)
These are in large part (90%) owned by private groups and individuals, with much of the press dominated by discussion of government matters. On April 29, 2011, the Minister of the Interior announced authorization was granted to 51 new newspapers and reviews published since the beginning of the revolution.


History

The first daily newspaper printed in Tunisia appeared on July 22, 1860 under the name ''Arra'id Attunisi'', calling itself "The official journal of the Tunisian Republic", founded by the ruler of that period,
Sadok Bey Muhammad III as-Sadiq ( ar, محمد الثالث الصادق; 7 February 1813 – 27 October 1882) commonly known as Sadok Bey ( ar, الصادق باي), was the Husainid Bey of Tunis from 1859 until his death. Invested as Bey al-Mahalla (Hei ...
. The anti-
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
attacks by the Colonial Party and its Editor in Chief, Victor de Carnières, pushed Tunisian intellectuals to launch '' Le Tunisien'' in 1907, the first newspaper in the French language in Tunisia, with the aim of influencing the authorities of the Protectorate of Tunisia and French public opinion. Starting from that date, the number of French-language titles grew to reach 41 in 1956, while the Arab-language press counted 288 titles by that year. At the beginning of 1991, there were six French language dailies, and nine in Arabic; there were 140 weeklies — 45 in French — and 160 monthly publications. Tunisian political parties had the right to publish their own newspapers but those of the political opposition were only published intermittently.Gilles Kraemer, ''La presse francophone en Méditerranée : regain et perspectives'', éd. Maisonneuve et Larose, Paris, 2001, pp. 164-165 Faced with this situation, in 1991 the government issued a grant of 30,000 Tunisian
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s to each of the parties. Other assistance was also provided to cover other expenses (paper, postage, and so on), but appeared to be granted under unclear criteria. In a decree amending the law in 1999 relating to public financing of political parties, the government allocated a grant of 120,000
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s to political party publications and 30,000
dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...
s to other periodicals. These mechanisms constituted a pressure tactic that the government could use on newspapers that expressed too much criticism of the regime.


Legislation

The Code de la presse de 1975 was revised on August 2, 1988, on July 23, 1993, and on May 3, 2001. It notably banned publications that disturbed public order or "defamed" the authorities, even if the allegations had been proven. The crime of "defaming public order" was removed from legislation, as was the administrative formality of preemptive filing of newspapers with the Minister of the Interior before publication, on May 27, 2005.
Freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
is guaranteed by the
Constitution of Tunisia The Constitution of Tunisia is the supreme law of the Tunisian Republic. The constitution is the framework for the organization of the Tunisian government and for the relationship of the federal government with the governorates, citizens, and ...
, although in practice, it has been usual for publications to follow the government line without a critical perspective, and to report the activities of the president, the government and the ruling party, based on dispatches issued by the government
Tunis Afrique Presse Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) ( ar, وكالة تونس إفريقيا للأنباء) is a Tunisian press agency. History and profile The agency, based in Tunis, was founded on 1 January 1961. With a corps of 300 agents, including photographers, r ...
. This agency has in the past examined some of the subjects "not to the liking of the government." A report by the UN Human Rights Committee in 2000 showed that despite the 188 titles in the Tunisian press, it was marked by its "uniformity of tone". This was recognized by the President
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...
and Prime Minister
Hamed Karoui Hamed Karoui ( ar, حامد القروي) (30 December 1927 – 27 March 2020) was Prime Minister of Tunisia from 27 September 1989 to 17 November 1999. From 1986 to 1987 he was Minister of Youth and Sports and from 1988 to 1989 he was Minister ...
without introducing significant change. According to Lise Garon, the press followed "an imperious demand to show a smooth image to the outside world", resulting in a kind of "internal unanimity". All newspapers and magazines, comprising opposition publications, can benefit from
advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
revenue, whether public or private enterprise. However, ''
La Presse de Tunisie ''La Presse'', founded in 1934, is a large-circulation French-language daily newspaper published in Tunis, Tunisia. History ''La Presse de Tunisie'' was founded in 1934 by Henri Smadja, a Tunisian and French Jewish doctor and lawyer, born ...
'', owned by a public company (Société nouvelle d'impression, de presse et d'édition), has held a virtual monopoly, including with respect to Arab-language publications.


Print media


General publications


News magazines


Magazines on economic affairs


Political press


Niche publications

*'' Archives de l'Institut Pasteur de Tunis'' *'' Archives des Instituts Pasteur de l'Afrique du Nord'' *'' Les Cahiers de Tunisie'' *'' Revue tunisienne de géographie'' *''
Revue tunisienne de sciences sociales A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own dur ...
'' *''
La Tunisie médicale LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
'' *'' Il Corriere di Tunisi''


Defunct publications

*'' Le Tunisien'' (1907–1912) *'' Ennasnés'' *''
La Dépêche tunisienne ''La Dépêche tunisienne'' was a French language daily newspaper published in Tunisia. History and profile ''La Dépêche tunisienne'' was established in 1892 when the country was under the French protectorate. It was the first newspaper which ...
'' *''
L'Action tunisienne ''L'Action Tunisienne'' (sometimes abbreviated to L'Action) is a former Tunisian Francophone newspaper founded by Habib Bourguiba and published from November 1, 1932 to March 19, 1988. Working for the Destour party, at first, it later became ...
'' / ''El Amal'' (1932–1988) *''
Erraï ''Erraï'' (الرأي meaning "Opinion") is a weekly Arab language newspaper which was published in Tunis between December 1977 and December 1987. Hassib Ben Ammar on Erraï: :"We opened our columns to everyone. Even to Rashid al-Ghannushi ...
'' (1977–1987) *''
Le Renouveau ''Le Renouveau'' was a French language newspaper published in Tunis, Tunisia. It existed from 1988 to 2011 and was the official organ of the ruling party of Tunisia, Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD). History and profile ''Le Renouveau'' was ...
'' / ''Al Horria'' (1988–2011) *'' L'Observateur'' / ''El Moulahedh'' (1993–2011) *'' L'Audace'' (1994–2001) *'' L'Expression'' (2007–2009) *''
Tunis-Socialiste ''Tunis-Socialiste'' was a French language daily evening newspaper published in Tunis, Tunisia.Nomenclature des journaux & revues en langue française du monde entier'. Paris, Les bureaux de l'Argus, 1937. p. 469 It was the organ of Tunisian Fede ...
'' (1921-?)


Plagiarism

The institutional Tunisian press is frequently accused by large international newspapers of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
. There have been incidents where print publications have been found to have translated and published material taken from
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
s and other online authors, without seeking permission.Nizar Bahloul, « Tunisie : Rafâa Dekhil à la recherche de lendemains prospères pour la presse électronique », ''Business News'', 3 décembre 2008
/ref>


Radio and television

Audiovisual media has long been under the domination of the
Établissement de la Radiodiffusion-Télévision Tunisienne The Établissement de la Radiodiffusion-Télévision Tunisienne (ERTT) – French for ''Tunisian Radio and Television Establishment'' – was Tunisia's state broadcasting organization from 1990 until 2007 before it was split into the ''Tunisian Tel ...
(ERTT) and its predecessor, Radiodiffusion-télévision tunisienne, founded in 1957. The President of Tunisia,
Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very smal ...
announced on November 7, 2006 the splitting up of the organization on August 31, 2007 into separate entities that would oversee Tunisian television broadcasting and Tunisian radio broadcasting.


Television

The Établissement de la Télévision Tunisienne manages the public television stations ( Watanya 1 and Watanya 2 which replaced the defunct RTT 2). Since government policy changes in 2003, the television industry has been opened up to the private sector. This resulted in two new channels on Tunisian television:
Hannibal TV Hannibal TV (Tunisian Arabic: ) is a Tunisian television network. It has been broadcasting since 2005. The channel ceased operations on July 3, 2019. The channel resumed operations on October 2, 2020, but it was ceased operations again on Octobe ...
,
Nessma Nessma El Jadida ( ar, الجديدة نسمة, translation: New Breeze), formerly known as Nessma TV ( ar, قناة نسمة, translation: "Breeze TV") and Nessma Rouge ( ar, نسمة روج, translation: Red Breeze) was a commercial TV channel ...
and Nessma EU, and after the
Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
several new private channels founded as El-Hiwar Ettounsy, Tunisna, TWT,
TT1 The Theban Tomb TT1 is located in Deir el-Medina, part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the ancient Egyptian official, Sennedjem and his family. Description The tomb was foun ...
, Zitouna, Alinsen, Aljanoubia, TNN Tunisia News Network, Tsport, AlQalam, AlMutawasit and Elhiwar Ettounsi. Television in Tunisia reaches 94% of households. The dominant platform in the market is free satellite, though terrestrial platform reaches around 15% of the households.


Radio

The Établissement de la Radio Tunisienne manages four national public radio stations: (
Radio Tunis Radio Tunis called Tunisian National Radio ( ar, الإذاعة الوطنية التونسية) or Radio of Tunisia (), founded in October 1938, is the primary radio station of Tunisia whose offices are located at Tunis. History Backgroun ...
, Radio Tunisie Culture,
Radio Jeunes Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
and RTCI). It also manages five regional stations:
Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterranean ...
, Monastir,
Gafsa Gafsa ( aeb, ڨفصة '; ar, قفصة qafṣah), originally called Capsa in Latin, is the capital of Gafsa Governorate of Tunisia. It lends its Latin name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the ninth-la ...
,
Tataouine Tataouine ( ber, Tiṭṭawin; ar, تطاوين) is a city in southern Tunisia. It is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below-ground "cave dwellings" of the native Berber population, designed for coolness and protection, render the ...
and
Le Kef El Kef ( ar, الكاف '), also known as ''Le Kef'', is a city in northwestern Tunisia. It serves as the capital of the Kef Governorate. El Kef is situated to the west of Tunis and some east of the border between Algeria and Tunisia. It has a ...
. The majority of radio broadcasts are in Arabic, but some are in French. In 2003, a process of opening the radio industry to the private sector began. Since then, private radio stations have started broadcasting in Tunisia:
Mosaïque FM Mosaïque FM ( ar, موزاييك أف أم, link=no, mūzāyik af am; Mosaïque from French, meaning Mosaic in English) is the first private radio station in Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , ...
, Jawhara FM, Zitouna FM,
Shems FM Shems FM (Arabic: شمس أف أم) is the fourth-launched private radio station in Tunisia. It was launched on September 27, 2010, by 12 p.m. local time and it is owned by Cyrine Ben Ali Mabrouk, the daughter of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali -the form ...
and
Express FM Express FM is a private Tunisian radio station specializing in economics which was founded on October 21, 2010 by Mourad Gueddiche and Naoufel Ben Rayana, co-founders of Maghreb Productions Communication (MPC). Express FM is the fifth-launched pri ...
and after the
Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine El ...
several new private stations founded as Mines FM (Sawt Elmanajem), Kalima FM and Oasis FM.


See also

* Decree Law 54 (Tunisia) *
Internet in Tunisia The Internet in Tunisia played an important role in the dramatic events of the Arab Spring which began in Tunisia. The ouster of previous President of Tunisia Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ushered in more open access and use of the Internet. Political ...
*
Telecommunications in Tunisia Telecommunications in Tunisia includes telephones (fixed and mobile), radio, television, and the Internet. The Ministry of Communication Technologies, a cabinet-level governmental agency, is in charge of organizing the sector. Telephones *Intern ...
*
Cinema of Tunisia The cinema of Tunisia began in 1896, when the Lumière brothers began showing animated films in the streets of Tunis. History The first feature-length movie produced in North Africa, ''Les Cinq gentlemen maudits'' (''The Five Accursed Gentlemen' ...


References


Bibliography

* {{Africa topic, Media of
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Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...