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The Mediterranean Arab Mosaic between Free Press Development and Unequal Exchanges with the “North”
Introduction
Arab media and media professionals, much like the average Arab citizen, have experienced increased freedom, as Internet users and even bloggers, thanks to information and communication technologies (ICTs). They currently experience newfound freedom in the “global mediasphere” from a very specific cosmogony. Most of the countries within the Arab Persian Gulf have media cosmogonies that are primarily oriented toward the Mediterranean. Although a handful of countries in the region are culturally and politically aligned with the Anglo-Saxon world, and therefore draw heavily from British and American media, most media cosmogonies in the region are based on the media standards and practices in place on the north shore of the Mare Nostrum, or the Mediterranean Sea.
The viewpoints of the North shore’s media impact on the responses of the media of the South shore. Since the media of the North highlight events and facts of the South, they sway the agenda of the South toward Northern issues, challenges and ideals, such as the struggles for freedom of expression and democracy, as well as Northern values such as good governance, tolerance, diversity, and human rights. Consequently, the North’s “media influence” on the South has an impact on the political relationships and tensions between the two regional blocs, not only in daily ...
