Media of Syria - Non-state Media

Non-state Media

There are non-state media outlets in Syria; however, criticism of the President and his family, the ruling Baath Party, and the military is forbidden. In addition, the legitimacy of the regime may not be questioned. The government’s human rights record, Islamist opposition, allegations of official involvement in drug trafficking, the activity of Syrian troops in Lebanon, and anything unfavorable to the Arab cause in the Arab-Israeli conflict are topics that are censored. The government monitors domestic radio and television news broadcasts to ensure adherence to government policies, although foreign broadcasts are not censored, and satellite dishes are available and widely used. The government also screens and blocks access to Internet sites that are regarded as politically sensitive or pornographic. Human rights groups have documented cases of arrest, expulsion, mistreatment, harassment, and assassination of prominent journalists.

The government has not succeeded in maintaining total control. The public does have access to Western radio stations and satellite TV, and al Jazeera has become very popular in Syria. In addition, since 2011 and the challenge of the Syrian opposition to the Ba'athist regime's authority, the regime has lost control of vast swathes of Syria; by the estimate of former Prime Minister Riyad Farid Hijab regime control only amounts to 30 percent of Syria's territory. This has allowed foreign media to operate unrestricted by the regime in the parts of the country controlled by the Syrian opposition. In August 2012, a media centre utilized by foreign reporters in Azaz was targeted by the Syrian airforce in an airstrike on a civilian area during Ramadan.

Businesspeople brought some investments into the media industry, but owing to the nepotistic nature of the Ba'athist regime, only regime insiders and associated cronies have been able to obtain the necessary permits needed in order to be allowed to publish any form of media. Alwatan, a private daily published by businessman Rami Makhlouf, President Assad's cousin, has started recently with a circulation that is growing steadily. Aliqtisadi and Forward Magazine are two private newsmagazines, published by businessman Abdulsalam Haykal, Assad's friend. Forward Magazine, which carries the same name as the New York Jewish weekly, addresses the American audience. A major advertising group owned by Majed Suleiman, son of a former senior intelligence officer, runs the non-political daily Baladna. The only other political publication Abyad Wa Aswad (White & Black) is owned by Bilal Turkmani, son of the current defense minister. Other regime-friendly businesspeople started a satellite television channel called Addounia TV, which excludes political news.