Speech by JMI Dean At Opening of Broadcasting Conference

Your Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali, patron of this conference<br /> Friends, Colleagues, Distinguished Guests<br /> Peace, God&rsquo;s Mercy and Blessings be upon you<br /> <br /> It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this conference, on behalf of the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), and to convey the greetings and appreciation of the institute&rsquo;s Board of Directors, faculty, administration and students. Our gratitude and appreciation also go to Her Royal Highness, Princess Rym Ali, founder of JMI, for her patronage of this conference, which is the fruit of positive cooperation between the JMI and the Norwegian Institute of Journalism, and of their mutual awareness of the dire need for serious discussions on current and future transformations in the radio and television broadcasting sectors in Jordan and the Arab world.<br /> Distinguished Guests,<br /> This event is the second of its kind to be organized by the institute; while the conference last year focused on radio, this meeting focuses on television broadcasting. It convenes at a time when radio and television broadcasting in the Arab world is going through novel transformations and challenges, in addition to the existing traditional ones; for some Arab countries have recently introduced legislative reforms that broke state monopoly over broadcast media, thus leading to changes in ownership patterns and paving the way for private-sector investment. In addition, the Arab region was, for the past decade, the scene of fierce competition between satellite channels, especially news channels, for a role in political events. That role had prompted several international news channels to target the region by broadcasting in Arabic.<br /> But the most important transformation lies in the unprecedented state of media inundation; the number of free to air Arab satellite channels reached around 1400 since the beginning of this year.&nbsp; This sector used to double every six years, but now it doubles every three years.<br /> The rise in extremism and violence in Arab societies after 2011 also led to an increase in the number of those competing for control of this sector; religious channels grew to constitute 20% of satellite channels that broadcast in Arabic.<br /> These developments occur amid a deep professional and moral crisis that is evident in the fierce battle for control of the television images in the Arab public sphere. A conflict that carries extremely complex political, social and cultural connotations which reflect the size of complexities and inadequacies of the transitional period in the Arab region.<br /> It is undeniable that the new Arab media space rocked the boat in this part of the world and had, for the past decade and a half, provided news and information that helped shape the Arab societies&rsquo; understanding of the ongoing events and transformations. Regardless of the debate over the role these satellite channels played in setting the stage for or supporting Arab revolutions and transformations, the strong presence of the media during those transformations is definitely due to the strong influence of television which remains the primary source of news in this region.<br /> This media industry was deployed during the past few years in the fierce conflicts, with some registering one of the worst moral deviations in decades, thus wasting a valuable chance for the Arab media to achieve the professional growth that was expected after it flourished in the first half of the past decade. But, some news channels managed to accomplish that professional growth and were able to compete regionally and internationally. However, this professional and moral crisis strikes deep into the Arab social and cultural structure at a time when media literacy is absent from educational and other material which should help children, teenagers, youth and adults learn how to appreciate and deal with the media. On the other hand, media accountability systems remain primitive or nonexistent in most Arab societies.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Your Royal Highness,<br /> Distinguished Guests,<br /> Two days ago, the world celebrated World Press Freedom Day, a critical and harsh moment in Arab history; for our region remains one of the black holes in restrictions on free expression and media freedoms, after the light of the Arab spring went out in more than one place and at an amazingly fast rate that exceeded all expectations. However, there is still hope for the media to play a new role in planting the seeds of democracy and human rights and in building a new generation of journalists who are qualified to do their job in fighting for the freedom of words and pictures.<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Distinguished Guests,<br /> Jordan was the second Arab country to liberalize radio and television broadcasting in 2002 as part of a law that allowed the private sector and society to establish radio and television stations for the first time. Despite some achievements, challenges continue to prevent the building of a prosperous national media industry. We are all optimistic and hope that the recent official moves towards that objective are successful. These efforts seek to establish a new television channel that operates as a public service broadcaster in terms of independence and content. We must stress here that Jordan is qualified for this transformation and we are all partners in ensuring the success of this effort.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Distinguished Guests,<br /> The Jordan Media Institute is committed to its perspective and philosophy in contributing to the development of Jordan&rsquo;s media and efficiently deploying the media in development and in building a democratic state. That is why the institute sought to develop its plans and programs towards achieving distinction and excellence. Last year, we expanded our Journalism and New Media Master&rsquo;s Program and launched other academic programs as well as applied quality academic standards in journalism education which made the institute the first Jordanian and regional educational facility to apply these standards in journalism education. We have also launched a scientific research program and special publications about the media to enrich the Arab library, and the launch of Monitoring the Credibility of the Jordanian Media Project, <em>Akeed</em>, constituted the first institutional model to spread the culture of verifying the news in the Arab region.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> Your Royal Highness,<br /> Distinguished Guests,<br /> Allow me to again express gratitude and appreciation to our partners the Norwegian Institute of Journalism and to the sponsors of this conference the MedMedia project which is funded by the European Union and implemented by BBC Media Action, and many thanks and appreciation to the European Broadcasting Union for their support. Much appreciation to the participants and the guests and friends of the Jordan Media Institute. And best wishes for a successful conference.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;<br /> <br /> &nbsp;