Independent Study Jordanian Television - Research Paper Example

is prohibited, as well as anything deemed to harm “the state’s reputation and dignity” (Library of Congress – Federal Research Division, 2006, 20). Fines, prosecutions, and also prison terms are often awarded, to keep the mass media under control. Informants and spies keep the government abreast of the nature of publications (on articles that are yet to be published, and on those that are already in circulation) and often the government applies regulations even before the article can be made public.

The government sponsored media (in case of print media) is highly promoted, and television and radio face even more stringent regulations than the newspaper media; though the Internet functions somewhat more independently than all the others. In my article I will give an overview of the media in regards to the entire Middle East region, especially in Jordan; while focusing primarily on the television media in Jordan. My article will explore in detail the nature of the television media that is functional in Jordan, in today’s context.

Overview of the media in the Middle East: the Middle East regions have recently witnessed the free to air satellite TV launch, which is the latest addition in the still evolving media that we see there. Prior to the satellite TV era, it was mostly state owned newspapers, and other broadcasting services like radio and TV (terrestrial) that was used to broadcast news and programs.“Thus, Arab governments exercised a media monopoly and controlled the political narrative in the MENA region until the end of the 80s by shaping and influencing the opinions of the local population.

More recently, technological innovations and the politics of marketing and advertising have resulted in a long-awaited democratization of the Arab media, opening new venues in the international market to the Arab press” (Kalliny, Arab Media: A Survey of an Imperfect Medium, 2010). The democratization of the Arab media has been a long drawn process, and