Movie   Script Jordan:   “The Jordanian Press and Publications Law and its Implication”

by Priscilla Castro, Yasmine Ayoud, Zulaikha Afzali, Doaa Nasser, Ethar Al-Azem, September 2017

There are restrictions to register at the JPA.  First,   you have  be  a practicing  journalist   and work full time at a broadcast or print   news outlet. Also,  you  can’t work for any   foreign media, but to a local one. The  Jordan Media Monitor says  that only   around  1,000 journalists are   registered in the whole  country.

Some journalists feel limited to exercise  their profession and   are excluded from  many  important events. The  journalist Dana   Jibreel says she misses many  coverages   because she could not register   at the  association.

Interview   with   Dana   Jibreel, journalist   working   unregistered   for   more   than   7   years

Media professionals face a series of challenges in Jordan. One of them is the Jordan Press and Publications Law, which bind the journalist to the obligation to register at the Jordan press association, in order to be recognized as a journalist.

Interview with Dr. Sakher Khasawneh, lawyer in the area

In   August 2012, the Jordanian parliament   passed an amendment to the law, requiring  all websites publishing news material to  register with the  government and to appoint  editors-in-chief  that are  members of the JPA. The obligation to register brings   also   other issues to those who  fail at following the law. The media expert,  Basim Tweissi,  explains how the law affects the media in the country.

Interview with Basim Tweissi, media expert

Interview with Dana   Jibreel, journalist   working   unregistered   for   more   than   7   years