After the Arab uprisings : The Prospects for a Media that Serves the Public

Over the past several years, the Arab world has been characterised by an increasingly polarised political discourse. ‘After the Arab uprisings: the prospects for a media that serves the public’ looks at the state of broadcast media in the region, four years after the 2011 uprisings. It focuses on one particular type of media outlets, national broadcasters. The paper argues that national broadcasters could have the potential to help bridge some of these social divides if these institutions can be reformed to serve public, rather than state, interests. To make this case, the briefing examines four countries undergoing political change – Libya, Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia – the potential and challenges for national broadcasters to play a role that is more explicitly geared towards social cohesion.