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2020 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

12. Tunisian Post-2011 Private Presses: Economic and Political Mutations

Authors : Enrique Klaus, Olivier Koch

Published in: The Independence of the News Media

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

In this chapter, Enrique Klaus and Olivier Koch study the history and current state of what they have dubbed the Tunisian “private presses”, which have been pluralised in order to highlight the diverse nature of these daily, weekly and pure-play media. The first Tunisian private newspapers indeed date back to the colonial era, and one also remained during the one-party period after the independence. Although the real opening-up of the media is due to the “Arab Spring” after which over 200 publications were authorised, freedom does not necessarily mean prosperity. Today, the Tunisian media face two main challenges: the government’s attempts to keep the former players in a dominant position, and the strategies of advertising investors, who tend to favour social media sites over the traditional media.

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previous chapter The Algerian Press: Deregulation Under Pressure—The New Forms of Control or the “Invisible Hand” of the State
next chapter Fortune and Misfortune of the Egyptian Private Press: Sociohistorical Study of a Place of Production of Information
Footnotes
1
The number of publications authorised for publication in 2011 comes from the National Authority for Reform of Information and Communication (INRIC 2012, p. 59), an advisory body created in 2011 to propose reforms of the media sector following the ousting of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali.
 
2
The current number of publications was established in the study led by the Tunisian NGO Al-Khatt and Reporters Without Borders in 2016. Link: http://​tunisia.​mom-rsf.​org/​fr/​medias/​presseecrite/​. Date of consultation: 27/7/2016.
 
3
The field investigation was conducted by the two authors of this chapter with the assistance of Sofien Ammar. This research project was carried out as part of the “Cultural and Media Industries in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) regions” funded by Labex ICCA (Cultural Industries and Artistic Creation).
 
5
This is also linked to the fact that, throughout the colonial period (1881–1956), this sector of the press was the main barometer of relations between the Resident-General and the Tunisian national movement. According to the figures cited by Christiane Souriau-Hoebrechts (1969, pp. 49–65): in 1910, there were 20 newspapers which were all suspended from 1913 to 1920 as a result of the state of emergency that was declared during the First World War. In 1921, 28 Arabic-language newspapers were published. In 1937, under the Popular Front, this figure reached a peak of 52 which then fell to 25 during the Second World War due to growing nationalist pressure. One year before independence was gained it fell again to 17.
 
6
The Neo Destour became the Socialist Destourian Party (PSD) in October 1964.
 
7
For a socio-historical analysis of the TAP news agency, see E. Klaus (2017).
 
8
Interview with Rachida Ennaïfer, La Presse Hors-série (conducted by Hédia Baraket and Olfa Belhassine), May 2012, p. 8.
 
9
Interview conducted by the authors with Zied Krichen, head and editor-in-chief of Al-Maghreb (“The Maghreb”), Tunis, 02/02/2016.
 
10
The MTI changed its name to Ennahdha in 1988, in the hope of entering the political arena. For more on this, see Elbaki Hermassi (Hermassi 1989). Ennahdha became the Islamic party that won the first post-Ben Ali elections in October 2011 and led a coalition government from 2012 to 2014 alongside the centre-left Congress for the Republic (CPR) and Ettakatol. This three-party coalition is known as the Troïka.
 
11
Among the editors that were imprisoned were Omar Sahbou, founder of Al-Maghreb who had already served several prison sentences under Bourguiba, Hamma Hammami, the current leader of the radical left and editor of Al-Badîl (“The Alternative”) and Hamadi Jebali, editor of the Islamic publication Al-Fajr (“The Aurore”) and future prime minister of the Troïka (2011–2013). For more on this, see the testimonials taken at the Tunis Centre for Press Freedom (CTLP), 2013.
 
12
In its report, INRIC (2012, p. 58) counted an average of two defamatory articles per week in 2011 in newspapers such as Koul En-nâs (“All People”), Les Annonces, Al-Hadîth (“The Events”) and As-Sarîh (“The Franc”).
 
13
Act of 7 August 1990 based on the creation of the External Communication Agency, Journal officiel de la République tunisienne, no. 52, 10 August 1990, p. 1032. Link: http://​www.​cnudst.​rnrt.​tn/​jortsrc/​1990/​1990f/​jo05290.​pdf. Date of consultation: 02/12/2014.
 
14
Despite the controversy surrounding its discontinued publication, (the PDF having been leaked beforehand), the “Black Book of journalists” contains several examples of training sessions to counter the arguments of opponents on pan-Arab television platforms. See the Presidency of the Republic of Tunisia (2013).
 
15
Interview conducted by the authors with Walid Mejri, editor-in-chief of Akher Sâ‘a (“Final Hour”), Tunis, 08/02/2016.
 
16
Interview conducted by the authors with Zied Krichen, head and editor-in-chief of Al-Maghreb (“The Maghreb”), Tunis, 02/02/2016.
 
17
Henda Chennaoui, “Distribution: Daadaa, le vieux démon de la presse”, Nawaat.org, 04/03/2013. Link: http://​nawaat.​org/​portail/​2013/​03/​04/​distribution-daadaa-le-vieux-demon-de-la-presse/​.
 
18
According to several interviewees.
 
19
Interview conducted by the authors with Mohammed al-Hamrounî, editor-in-chief of Al-Dhamîr (“The Conscience”), Tunis, 22/07/2016.
 
20
Henda Chennaoui, “Distribution: Daadaa, le vieux démon de la presse”, art. cit.
 
21
The five private press groups who decided to create CDD were: Grand Maghreb Media SA, Maghreb Media Réalités, Dar Akher Khabar, Dar Al Binaa, Dar El-Fajr d’impression et de diffusion and Dar Assabah. Link: http://​kapitalis.​com/​tunisie/​2016/​03/​10/​des-editeurs-de-journaux-se-liguent-contre-messaoud-daadaa/​.
 
23
Estimate by Zied Krichen. Interview with the authors, Tunis, 02/02/2016.
 
24
Estimate by its owner, Khaouther Zantour, interview with the authors, Tunis, 08/03/2016.
 
25
Since 2013, the number of employees at Le Quotidien and Al-Dhamîr has been close to that of similar online publications.
 
26
Interview conducted by the authors with Samie Sherif, head of the Huffington Post Maghreb-Tunisia, Tunis, 14/02/2016.
 
27
As an example of these discrepancies, the head of Ach-Charî’ al-Maghribî reports that the newspaper has not attracted any advertisers since its creation in 2015. Khaouther Zantour, interview with the authors, Tunis, 08/03/2016.
 
28
Sigma Conseil is often criticised for the links between its director Hassan Zargouni’ and the former regime and with the leaders of the ruling Nidaa Tounès party, but remains the most frequently cited polling institute by commentators and professionals in the sector.
 
29
These figures are estimates reported in the online document Open sigma 2016. Link: http://​www.​e-sigmaconseil.​com/​open2016/​sigma1/​sigma1.​html#p=​6. Date of consultation: 15/01/2017.
 
30
Interview conducted by the authors with Taïeb Zahar, head of the FTDJ and editor-in-chief of Réalités, Tunis, 23/03/2016.
 
31
From the end of January 2011 onwards, the first transitional government announced the dissolution of ATCE and its placement under judicial supervision. It was officially dissolved on 18 December 2012, under the Troïka.
 
32
Interview conducted by the authors with Zied Krichen, Tunis, 02/02/2016. To remind the reader, Troïka is the nickname given to the coalition government led by the Islamic Ennahdha party alongside the CPR and Ettakatol.
 
33
Interview conducted by the authors with Mohammed al-Hamrounî, head of Al-Dhamîr, Tunis, 22/07/2016.
 
34
Interview conducted by the authors with Taïeb Zahar, editor-in-chief of Réalités, Tunis, 23/03/2016.
 
35
There is no evidence to support Taieb Zahar’s interpretation. Indeed, nothing can prove that the Ennahdha-led public administrations did not cancel their subscriptions for budgetary reasons, for example.
 
36
Interview conducted by the authors with Mohammed al-Hamrounî, editor-in-chief of Al-Dhamîr (“The Conscience”), Tunis, 22/07/2016.
 
37
Our interviewees wished to remain anonymous.
 
Literature
Barrouhi, A. (1990). Demain, la démocratie ? Communication et politique sous Bourguiba. Tunis: Afkar wa Ich’haar.
Camau, M. (1984). L’État tunisien: de la tutelle au désengagement. Portée et limite d’une trajectoire. Monde arabe Maghreb-Machrek, 103, 8–38.
Chouikha, L. (2004). Pluralisme politique et presse d’opposition sous Bourguiba. In M. Camau & V. Geisser (Eds.), Habib Bourguiba, la trace et l’héritage (pp. 341–356). Paris: Karthala.
Dakhlia, J. (2011). Tunisie. Le pays sans bruit. Arles: Actes Sud.
Habermas, J. (1962). Strukturwandel der Öffentlichkeit: Untersuchungen zu einer Kategorie der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft, Darmstadt: Luchterhand. English edition: Habermas, J. (1989). The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Hammami, S. (2015). La presse tunisienne: transformations et continuités. Revue tunisienne de communication, 63(64), 5–38.
Hammami, S. (ed) (2016). La presse écrite: crise ou mutations ? Conference proceedings, Tunis: IPSI/KAS-Tunis.
Klaus, E. (2017). La restauration autoritaire au prisme des instruments de propagande. Le cas de l’agence Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP). Politique africaine, 146, 49–71.
Poulet, B. (2009). La Fin des journaux et l’avenir de l’information. Paris: Gallimard.
Souriau-Hoebrechts, C. (1969). La Presse maghrébine. Libye, Tunisie, Maroc, Algérie. Paris: CNRS Éditions, 1975.
Tunis Centre for Press Freedom. (2013). Sahâfîûn tûnisîûn fî muwâjahat al-diktâtûrîa. Thalâth wa-‘ishrûn sana min al-qam‘ wa-l-tadhlîl (Tunisian journalists under the dictatorship. Thirty years of repression and misinformation). Tunis: Tunis Centre for Press Freedom.
Zamit, F., & Elhaou, M-A. (2015). Les tentatives d’institutionnalisation d’un conseil de presse face aux logiques des acteurs. Conference La Presse écrite: crise ou mutations? Tunis: Institute of Press and Information Sciences, 20–22 April.
Metadata
Title
Tunisian Post-2011 Private Presses: Economic and Political Mutations
Authors
Enrique Klaus
Olivier Koch
Copyright Year
2020
Book
The Independence of the News Media

Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34053-7

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-34054-4

Copyright Year: 2020

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4_12