I was in Bahrain to participate in a press awards ceremony, and my visit coincided with the closure of the newspaper Al-Waqt [Time]. A month later or so, I was in Dubai to participate in the Arab Media Forum, and the Awan [Time] newspaper was also closed in Kuwait. I realize that other Arab newspapers are also facing financial difficulties, and some of them will inevitably stop publishing soon. I admit that the status of Arab newspapers took me by surprise. I had believed that we were ten years behind the rest of the world, and that what happened to the American press in recent years would not spread to our countries until many years later. However, the crisis is beleaguering the whole world, and does not stop at finances as it also affects the freedom of the press itself. I cite the following examples: - Rupert Murdoch bought the Times and the Sunday Times in 1981, and took them down to the lowest level of popular press that he masters. He lowered the prices once to take out the competition, but now, he launched a new paid subscription system for everyone seeking to read his newspapers online. This is despite the fact that according to all advertisement companies, online readers only surf the news, and do not have enough money to attract advertisers. What vouches for Murdoch is that when he reduced prices, this prompted the Telegraph Group to also reduce its prices. It then faced financial difficulties that culminated in the imprisonment of Conrad Black, who had embezzled from his newspaper, and in the end of the era of his wife, the Zionist Barbara Amiel who turned a historic newspaper into an Israeli bulletin. - Le Monde, the prudent and prestigious newspaper, went almost bankrupt after becoming indebted by nearly a hundred million euros. Salvation then came in the form of three wealthy investors, their most important characteristic being that they are not the investors favored by President Nicolas Sarkozy to take control of the newspaper. I do not claim to have a large knowledge of French newspapers. However, I do read Le Monde, and I usually consult the English translation if my limited French fails me. But since last month, I found myself reading about Le Monde instead of reading it. I learned that it has been losing 25 million euros each year, and I was surprised to learn that it is not the most widely circulated newspaper in France, and that instead, it is the third most widely circulated newspaper in France at 288 thousand copies per day, after Le Figaro (315 thousand copies) and L'Equipe (303 thousand copies). Furthermore, French newspapers are losing readers constantly, just like British and American newspapers. However, I was surprised by the newspaper distribution figures in France, which are dramatically lower than those in Britain where prestigious newspapers sell between 300 and 600 thousand copies a day, and the popular newspapers between one and two million or more copies per day. Le Monde is a unique newspaper. It was founded after the liberation in 1944, which means that its age is less than half of that of most of London's newspapers. Also, the editors working in Le Monde own the majority of its shares. Yet, they went on strike in 2008 in protest of the management's decision to cancel 130 jobs, which hastened Le Monde's decline, and I think that the ‘three musketeers' [mentioned above] have only managed to rein it in for a while. - The worst news came from the United States, and goes beyond the issue of the near bankruptcy of some newspapers. The Congress, on the ground of the First Amendment to the Constitution that guarantees the freedom of speech, wants to pass a bill that protects writers from libel and slander laws. To understand the subject, I must take the reader back to 2004 when the American writer Rachel Ehrenfeld lost a lawsuit filed against her by the late Saudi banker Khaled bin Mahfouz, after she accused him in her book Funding Evil of funding al-Qaeda. The accusation she made was momentous, and if proven, would have meant that Khaled bin Mahfouz must be sentenced to life imprisonment and the confiscation of his assets. However, Ehrenfeld could not present a single shred of evidence to prove her claims, and she subsequently lost the case. The case was supposed to end at this point. However, a massive campaign ensued in the United Stated under the guise of the First Amendment. Six U.S States passed laws protecting writers from foreign libel and slander laws, especially those in place in Britain. At present, there is a campaign within Britain itself to amend the press laws with a view to protect writers and journalists. As a journalist, I am supposed to be pleased by the fact that laws to protect me from litigation have been passed. However, this issue cannot be understood except in light of Ehrenfeld's case, and her attempt to tarnish people's reputations without any evidence that can be admitted to court. There can be no true ongoing freedom without responsibility, and protection for the press, and from the press, must equally be applied. [email protected]
