It is true that newspapers in the Kingdom are fully owned and operated by the private sector. Notwithstanding this fact, they are all controlled by the Ministry of Information through the publication law. This law gives the ministry the right to hire and fire editors and because of this law, the government exercises control of the media and, instead of maintaining a relative distance from it, is in fact drawn to it.
In addition to the law that guarantees the government’s awareness of what is being said in the media is another factor which is equally important. This other factor constantly fuels allegations, both inside and outside the country, and it provides all our critics with a strong reason for believing that the media is directly controlled by the Ministry of Information.
I am referring, of course, to the regular meetings newspaper editors have with the minister. News of the meetings is published before as well as after the event but what is never published is what was said and discussed at the meeting.
It is perfectly all right for the minister to meet with editors if there is a convincing reason or justification. Not only that but such meetings are necessary at times, especially when the country faces a crisis or a situation that requires the involvement and cooperation of every citizen and resident.
I see no point, however, in the minister holding meetings with editors in the absence of any such justification. The practice has been going on for decades and news of the meetings are regularly reported in our papers, minus any information about what occurred behind the closed doors.
It is time to revise this policy. It does nothing but feed the impression that the ministry controls the press to the extent that editors rush submissively to attend upon the minister. They go, receive instructions and return to their respective papers in order to implement whatever they have been instructed to implement.
I have waited a long time and hope that this practice will soon be a thing of the past and that people will no longer have the idea that the ministry controls the press. I received optimistically the naming of Iyad Madani as the new minister of information. He is a highly-educated, open-minded media man who is fully aware of future needs.
To the new minister I say there are many who still believe that our media, though owned and run by private institutions, is totally controlled by the Ministry of Information. There are also many who hate and despise us and use these practices as excuses for attacking us. Please, Mr. Minister, consider scrapping this practice.
