Arab media: good political investment but bad economically

A study prepared by Dr. Ali Takesh on media studies in the Arab world revealed that the number of universities teaching the subject have witnessed a surge by over 300% during less than ten years, from 40 and 70 institutions in 2000 and 2009 respectively to a total of 148 universities in 2014. Most of the universities are located in the Mashreq region followed by the Arab Gulf region. The above study indicated that while the investment and expenditure on information and media platforms have reached $12 billion, half of which allocated to television stations, the financial revenues barely reached $1.5 billion, which means that media in the Arab world is a losing investment with nil economic viability. But despite data indicative of an extensive media enrollment which comes second to business administration, media curricula in universities remain poor. This review was supported by another published by ESCWA which showed that the average per capita level of reading in the Arab region per year did not exceed two pages in 2003. Notwithstanding the academic courses and curriculum, the Lebanese universities are generally governed by politics which normally impede the educational process, particularly in the field of media. The field of work is usually dominated by political considerations and ‘twisted’ mechanisms of funding. Furthermore, the study revealed, that there is no proper follow-up of students by educational institutions whether before and after graduation which leaves students with little practical skills. (Al Hayat, 8 June 2015)