LIBYA: Journalists in rebel-held eastern Libya are wreaking revenge on their former master Muammar Gaddafi after decades of forced adulation, reviving the fortunes of the country's moribund press

Record ID: 784615

  • Title: LIBYA: Journalists in rebel-held eastern Libya are wreaking revenge on their former master Muammar Gaddafi after decades of forced adulation, reviving the fortunes of the country's moribund press
  • Date: 8th June 2011
  • Summary: CLOSE OF NEWSPAPERS VARIOUS OF PUBLISHING HOUSE WORKERS FOLDING NEWSPAPERS MORE OF NEWSPAPERS
  • Embargoed: 23rd June 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Libya
  • Country: Libya
  • Topics: Communications,War / Fighting
  • Reuters ID: LVA1PBQJBX1FJ9FBNWZB2U5QH3QZ
  • Story Text: Docile titles once faithfully relayed the musings of the "Brotherly Leader" and had to report world affairs through the prism of his world view. Now a flurry of new titles serve up daily helpings of invective and caricature at his expense.
    Cartoons portray Gaddafi as a criminal, a mass murderer or a vampire thirsty for the blood of Libya's people. Caricaturists are giving their imagination free rein, drawing missiles falling out of Gaddafi's bushy hair or depicting him as a rotten tooth pulled from Libya's mouth.
    Benghazi and Tobruk now have more than 50 newspapers and magazines run by independent companies or volunteers, with a circulation ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 copies for each publication, according to the head of the rebel media centre in Benghazi.
    The city's head of the Cultural Commission said press freedom is also flourishing, with articles no longer being put under the microscope by Gaddafi's aides.
    "We have a lot of newspapers that are not liable to press cuttings and this is the opposite of what was happening under Gaddafi's regime. Every word was under control and it reflected a unilateral perspective, the perspective of Gaddafi or of his aides that were given orders by phone and no one can violate orders. But now we do not monitor the articles that are published in newspapers,'' said Mohammed al-Fanoushi.
    "We have a lot of successful and distinguished newspapers in addition to a group of publications in a modest form and size, but it reflects the opportunity of the young people to express themselves through journalistic work. This is our chance to teach society, in particular the young people, what the meaning of freedom is," he added.
    Many publications have chosen for their logo an image of Omar al-Mukhtar, the symbol of Libya's resistance against Italian colonialism. Others have reprised Mukhtar's historic declaration, "We do not surrender, we win or we die" as their motto.
    Some are published in English, a language Gaddafi tried to ban from the press in an attempt to diminish the influence of the West, according to his critics.
    Despite journalists in the east still revelling in their new-found freedom, poking fun at Gaddafi, some journalists say Libya's press needs maturity, factual rigour and stronger foundations to follow professional journalistic work.
    "The multiplicity of newspapers is a good sign if it is in the framework of professionalism, but not if it follows non-professional journalism rules, unfortunately as it happens now. There are a lot of newspapers which are quoting news from Reuters, quoting from Al Jazeera news channel, all newspapers are quoting news. If you have a look at the large number of newspapers in free Libya you will see that Gaddafi's media preceded us, we can not deny that Gaddafi's media preceded us, because it follows the rules of professional journalism work despite it being used to serve Gaddafi's interest,'' said Tawfiq Qaderbu, Editor in Chief of Al Waten newspaper.
    At least today the papers are read. Libyans say that previously, they used them mostly to clean windows and wrap gifts. When they did open them up, many would skip the politics and society pages and jump straight to the sport.
    "The media at the beginning were not publishing articles that can provide people with information, they were publishing news about Gaddfi's activities and his revolution, news like Muammar leaves the country, Muammar returned etc. It was not taking care of the young people and it was not publishing activities, it was just something to read whilst enjoying a coffee. We were forced to follow what we read in newspapers for 42 years. I was born in 1973, we didn't have freedom of expression, nobody can say that there were any benefits from the former regime,'' said Benghazi resident Fauzi Mohammed.
    During Gaddafi's four-decade rule, opposition was crushed, power concentrated in his hands and opponents spirited away by his revolutionary committees, never to be heard of again. But those in east Libya now say the blossoming of the press in the region is a natural result of decades of repression.
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