Public Service Broadcasting in the MENA Region

One of the most important consequences of the book is the evidence it presents which concretely confirms the widespread perception that governmental television programs are out of synch with the needs of the population and represent an outdated approach to broadcasting.
The study focuses on eight countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories and Tunisia. Data was obtained as research teams explored the definition and the values represented by the PSB and came up with concrete recommendations to enhance PSB and to raise awareness about the importance of a transparent, open and liberalized media for a democratic society.
Television is by far the most prominent vehicle for both information and entertainment for the approximately 200 million who live in the countries featured. As a consequence, the project of nation building is closely intertwined with television.
The book is the result of a project that began in 2010, prior to the dramatic events that sparked the Arab Spring in Tunisia.
The book made use of both qualitative and quantitative analysis and provides a wealth of evidence that can be used to guide policy recommendations.
The book is published in four languages (Arabic, Catalan, English and French) and was created in close partnership with the teams of the Panos Paris Institute (IPP), the Mediterranean Observatory of Communication (OMEC) and the project partners in the countries of the MENA region: the Algerian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LADDH Algeria), the Community Media Network (CMN, Jordan), Maharat Foundation (Lebanon), the Centre for Media Freedom Middle East North Africa (CMF MENA, Morocco) and the AMIN Media Network (Palestine).
An associate expert of the IPP Dr. Dima Dabbous has supervised the conduct of the assessment and synthesized its major findings in a document that highlights the substantial elements of information from each national analysis.

( Download book: http://iwsaw.lau.edu.lb/publications/documents/PSB-Book.pdf )