3. Media Institutions
1 major TV and radio broadcaster- ORTAS
3 government owned press- Al-Baath, AlThawra and Tishrin.
Films are government controlled and are
mainly propaganda orientated.
All official websites must be hosted inside
Syria.
November internet shutdown showed
that many of its sites also maintain hosts
outside of Syria.
4. Freedom of Speech
Law
Government controlled
Do not cover criticism of the President
or his policies
State run journalists practice self
censorship
5 journalists have been killed, 21
journalists, 1 media assistant and 18
netizens have been imprisoned.
5. Censorship
2012: US-based committee to protect
journalists raked Syria as the most
dangerous place in the world for
journalists.
28 journalists killed in combat or
targeted for murder by government
or opposition forces.
6. Media
The government and ruling party own and
control most of broadcast and print media
Traditional media outlets do not carry any
criticism of the president
Journalists practice self-censorship
The 3 main newspapers are all state-run
Privately owned titles are predominantly
operated by figures with good government
connections
After 2011 revolt, opposition activists began to
publish hand-outs and weekly A4 sized papers
7. TV
TV is Syria’s most popular medium TV is
Syria’s most popular medium
State-run TV lost much of its satellite
broadcasting capacity in 2012 when
leading operators, including Eutelsat
and Egypt’s Nilesat, suspended carriage
of its networks
Eutelsat has accused Syria of jamming
satellite TV transmissions, affecting
broadcasts from BBC and other
outlets
8. Social Media
June 2012: 5 million internet users in Syria Web emerged as a vehicle for
dissent
Anti-regime activists use social media and online video platforms to
tell the world about their protests. YouTube is often used. (The
video published by the ex Syrian rebel used on the Daily Mail website)
Social media helped to break the taboos that prevent any criticism
of the president and ruling
The Syrian Facebook scene is predominantly used to mock the Assad
government
Authorities try to censor the internet by blocking global websites
such as Facebook and YouTube
Syria experienced a two-day internet shutdown in late 2012. Officials
blamed "terrorists", but IT websites reckoned that the move was a
deliberate government exercise
