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Movie Script Libya: “The State of Journalism in Post-Gaddafi Libya”
by Filip Brokes and Fredrik Tombra, September 2017
The overthrow of long-time leader Muammar Gaddhafi in 2011 led to a power vacuum and instability,
whereby no single authority has been able to assume full control. Arab leadership council that fought to topple
the Gaddhafi government, called the National Transitional Council (NTC) declared Libya liberated in October
2011 and took over the running of the country. However, it failed to impose order over the many armed militias
that had become active in the months leading up to the ouster of Gaddhafi. In August 2011, the NTC handed
over to the General National Congress (GNC), which was an elected parliament. The congress then went on
to elect an interim head of state. Voters chose a new parliament to replace the GNC in June 2014 called the
Council of Representatives, which relocated to the Eastern city of Tubruk and thus leaving Tripoli under the
control and power of militia groups. The Islamic State extremists’ militia took advantage of the conflict
between forces loyal to the outgoing GNC and the new parliament to gain control of several coastal cities,
including Derna and Sidra. Late in 2015, the UN broke an agreement to form a new unity government called
the Presidency Council, which was headed by unity Prime Minister Fayez al-Sharraj, but both Tripoli and
Tobruk administrations refused to acknowledge its authority. Mr. al-Sharraj and some of his deputies finally
arrived in Tripoli in March 2016 and set up their headquarters in a heavy naval base. As a result of the
continued fighting among various fractions, more than 400.000 people have been internally displaced. Given
its proximity to Europe, Libya has also been used as a passageway for Libyan refugees and refugees from
either North African or Sub-Saharan countries. In 2015 only, an estimated 76.000 refugees and migrants made
the journey to Europe from Libya. There is general concern about the permanent fracturing of Libya as the
various rebels and militia groups have tried to divide the country along political and tribal lines. It is far from
certain that the new unity government will be able to bring together the varying fractions and re-establish
stability in Libya. Given the fact that the media in Libya are typically congenial to political forces around
them, the political fragmentation of the country has brought about a fragmentation of the media landscape
whereby it is increasingly harder to operate.
To better understand the forming of Libya’s media landscape today, we have to go back in time to 1969 when
Gaddhafi seized the power. He immediately took over TV and radio, and a few years later he forced the nonstate-owned newspapers off the market, defacto creating a state-media monopoly. During his years as a
dictator, the media frequently shifted shape and the organisations were re-organised, mainly to keep control
over his people and keep the power within his family. In 1992, UN imposed sanctions on Libya due to
involvement in the Lockerbie bombing in 1988. This prevented the country of taking use of modern
technology and eventually led to a paper crisis in the early and mid-2000’s, preventing newspapers from being
published. Sanctions were dropped in 2003, but Libya remained an underdeveloped media nation. When
Gaddhafi was overthrown in 2011 the state media broadcaster’s leaders were changed but the large staff,
counting around 5-6000 people largely remained, switching allegiance overnight. None of them were
journalists according to the Western standards: who held regime and elites responsible and carried out the
«watch-dog» mission. They had been producing low-tech, sub-standard material that did not touch upon issued
that might have caused upheaval, such as the regime, Islam, territorial and minority issued. During the
uprisings in 2011, a new generation of journalists became active. Young and with little knowledge of the
media industry and armed with pens and microphones, they were advocating for the rebels trying to spur the
anti-Gaddhafi movement on. So-called «citizen journalists». This led to a massive increase in new media
outlets, both newspapers and online. Today, as Libya finds itself in a transitional face where media is a
potential facilitator for debate, it needs to professionalise the media sector in order to democratise the country.
Although many are pessimistic due to the low amount of quality journalists, the inability to attract talent from
other Arab countries and the danger connected with reporting on militias and former rebels, some think the
new generation may have what is needed to lead way, modernise and professionalise the Libyan media
landscape.
Rebels with a pen: observations on the newly emerging media landscape in Libya. |
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Libya Media Transition: Heading to the Unknown. |
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The Voice of Libya. An inspiring story of citizen journalism. |
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Libyan Broadcasting under al-Qadhafi: The Politics of Pseudo-Liberalization. |
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Richter, Carola (2013): Libyan Broadcasting under al-Qadhafi: The Politics of Pseudo-Liberalization. In: Guaaybess, Tourya (ed.): National Broadcasting and State Policy in Arab Countries. Houndmills: PalgraveMacmillan, pp. 150-165. |
Free Speech, Free Press, Free Societies. How Media Regulation Can Help Create The Foundations For Prosperity And Peace In Transitional Countries. |
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Timmins, Jerry (2012): Free Speech, Free Press, Free Societies. How Media Regulation Can Help Create The Foundations For Prosperity And Peace In Transitional Countries. Legatum Institute. URL https://lif.blob.core.windows.net/lif/docs/default-source/default-library/free-speech-free-press-free-societies.pdf?sfvrsn=0 |
Reinventing the public sphere in Libya. Observations, portraits and commentary on a newly emerging media landscape. |
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Wollenberg, Anja/ Recker, Sven (Hrsg.) (2012): Reinventing the public sphere in Libya. Observations, portraits and commentary on a newly emerging media landscape. Berlin: MICT. http://www.reinventinglibya.org/ |