Rethinking Media in MENA: What Worked, What Didn’t and What’s Next | ARIJ

Описание: What has Arab media in MENA truly achieved—and where has it fallen short?
This session was held as part of ARIJ 18th Annual Forum 2025, titled “Rethinking Media in MENA: What Worked, What Didn’t and What’s Next.”
In this session, we unpack the real-world performance of Arab media across war coverage, misinformation, independence, funding, platform governance, and the shift from legacy TV to digital and hybrid media. The conversation reflects on the Gaza coverage and the role of journalists on the ground, the struggle to build a genuine public sphere in a digital era, and the growing impact of algorithms, censorship, and platform power on what audiences can see and share.

We also discuss the structural barriers facing journalism today—from political polarization and funding agendas to laws and cybercrime regulations that restrict press freedom—and why supporting independent journalists remains essential to community resilience and objective reporting.

Speakers:

Zaven Kouyoumdjian – Media Personality
Dr. Hanan Badr – Professor & Head of the Division “Public Spheres and Inequalities,” University of Salzburg (Austria)
Abdualla Maksour – Journalist & Novelist
Al-Moez Hadra – Human Rights Activist & Lawyer
Mustafa Isaid – Founder & Media Advisor, Berlin Center for Media

Key themes covered during the panel:

What “success” and “failure” mean for Arab media today
Digital transformation vs. building a real public sphere
Hybrid media: from TV to YouTube and back
Platform governance, copyright, and algorithmic censorship
Independent journalism, donor agendas, and sustainability
Legal pressure on journalists (new laws, cybercrime frameworks)
Why slow, long-form journalism may be the future

If this discussion resonates with you, like, subscribe, and share—and tell us in the comments: What should Arab media prioritize in the next five years?

إعلاميون من أجل صحافة استقصائية عربية (أريج) هي أول شبكة في العالم العربي رائدة في ترسيخ صحافة الاستقصاء عربيا؛ وفق منهجية حداثية ومهنية.