CENSORSHIP ON THE PRESS AND ON PUBLIXCATIONS

By Nizar Saghieh,Rana Saghieh and Nayla Geagea[38]

In the matter of censorship of the press and publications, the fundamental principle here is freedom of the press. The press, publications and publishing in Lebanon do not require prior authorization, licensing or permits except for matters that are explicitly stated by the law. However, a publisher or author can be legally pursued in cases related to published material that includes violations such as defamation, slander, and fabricated or false reporting. Accordingly, this particular subject shall be examined in two parts: the first part will focus on publishing matters which are subject to prior authorization and licensing; and, the second will focus on the restrictions and regulations in place related to publishing operations in Lebanon.

The law in Lebanon stipulates that there are certain cases where publishing requires prior licensing or permission. In several of these cases, this prior licensing has turned into a kind of privileged or special license to publish, much like noncommercial concessions or a “franchise” license referred to as an “imtiyaz” license. These in turn, have created certain exceptions to the basic rule and principle that anyone has (or should have) the right to publish.

Censorship of publications involves several controls and restrictions exist, some of which are administrative and which are related to the ministry of information (and which, in fact, are completely inoperative), while others are of a more legal nature and thus, require more extensive examination. The remaining forms of control can be considered of a purely disciplinary nature, such as the 2008 Electoral Law, which sets specific regulations on censorship of the media, including publications, during elections.

In the context of the ministry of information’s authority and oversight on publications, censorship controls take on two different forms:The right to repossess a publishing license (in certain cases) The Lebanese Press and Publications Law stipulates that a publishing license and permit to issue a newspaper publication shall be repossessed in certain cases, the most important of which includes the failure to produce the publication or the discontinued production of publication for a certain period of time after two weeks have passed since written notification has been issued by the ministry that a publication must be produced. Other major grounds for repossessing a publishing license includes if the publication has exceeded the scope of operations for which it has been licensed; i.e., if a publication has been licensed as a non-political publication and publishes subjects of a “political nature” or, if a publication has not adhered to its publication schedules or, if the owner of the license no longer meets the conditions and requirements stipulated by the license obtained. But under the imtiyaz system that prevails today in Lebanon those who want to publish a periodical political publication have a direct interest in requesting that the administration exercises its right to repossess a license to publish a political publication, as long as the right to apply for a new license remains restricted to the numbers mentioned previously. Despite this, imtiyaz licenses in general remain protected by the reluctance of the ministry to exercise its authority to repossess unused licenses.

OVERVIEW: INDIRECT CENSORSHIP AROUND THE WORLD

By Don Podesta[39]

The problem of indirect censorship and manipulation of news coverage through the use of government advertising appears to be growing in some regions of the world. There are many ways that governments use financial carrots and sticks to influence news coverage, including calling senior editors or station managers and lobbying against or for specific news items, denying access to official information, and selectively allocating broadcast licenses or control of access to newsprint. This report focuses on the financial aspects of indirect censorship:

•Paying journalists directly to write stories in support of government officials or their policies. This is a particularly effective tool during election campaigns.

• Placing advertising in newspapers and broadcast media that support the agenda of the government or political candidates in essence, rewarding friends and withholding it from media whose coverage is critical.

• Pressuring private businesses to advertise in media friendly to the government and to refrain from advertising in media that covers the government with a more critical eye. While these methods, collectively known as “soft censorship,” are less draconian than overt means of censorship taking over control of media companies or requiring news content to be reviewed by government officials before publication they nonetheless inhibit independent media from publishing or broadcasting certain information. Though these advertising contracts outwardly appear to be straightforward commercial transactions, media watchdog groups and multilateral organizations such as the Organization of American States and the Council of Europe have argued that the use of advertising as a means to punish or reward media for its content is a clear infringement of freedom of expression.

In 2007, the Supreme Court of Argentina ruled that “government discrimination in the placement of advertising is an act of indirect coercion that is contrary to freedom of speech. ”The most common practice is simply to withhold government advertising from newspapers and broadcast stations whose coverage meets with the government’s disapproval. For some media outlets, particularly smaller newspapers and radio stations heavily dependent on advertising from provincial or municipal governments, choking off such revenue streams can be financially devastating. Where there is not a strong commercial advertising environment, the “media begin to live off official advertising,” Catalina Botero, special rapporteur for freedom of expression for the Organization of American States, said in an interview.

In such environments, she said, the government can exercise “decisive interference in the press through official advertising.”

Botero’s view is that government advertising is not meant to be a subsidy: “The determining criterion should be reaching the audience that it is supposed to reach.” For example, if a state government advertises to attract tourists, it should not subsidize local media with that advertising; rather it should place those ads in media whose audiences are located elsewhere, Roberto Saba, executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Argentina, said in an interview.

Guy Berger, dean of the school of journalism at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, and chairman of the board of directors of the newspaper Grocott’s Mail, said that while the media are not entitled to receive any advertising at all, “what they are entitled to is not to be discriminated against.”

This view is shared by Botero and others, including courts that have ruled on the issue. One of the problems for independent media in Africa aside from the lack of strong private sectors is the shortage of reliable, and sometimes any, market research. That means governments can feel free to place advertising where they like. “Most governments don’t seem to care whether they are reaching their target audience,” Berger said. “Governments have a duty to communicate proactively, not just responsively. That means not favoring sweetheart media. ”Soft censorship is particularly prevalent in Latin America and Africa, but it also turns up with some regularity in Eastern Europe and South and East Asia. The specifics of how soft censorship is applied vary from region to region and even from country to country within a region. The following survey shows how indirect censorship manifests itself in a variety of places. Based on interviews with media analysts in several regions, as well as on reports, news items and other existing literature, it is not meant to be all-inclusive. Nevertheless, even such a limited survey clearly illustrates the truly global breadth of the problem.

Censorship and Internet: a Singapore Perspective

By Dr. Peng Hwa Ang and Ms. Berlinda Nadarajan[40]