Media configuration in Morocco

Abstract

The Moroccan news media navigates between the multicoated hammer of state power in all of its shades, including Islamist variants, and the anvil of the economic power of the globalized free market. In recent years the structuring power of state institutions has undergone colossal erosion because of the internal pressures of the privatization and the political dynamism of the street, and the external pressures due to the challenges presented by advances in media technology, such as international satellite broadcasting, the Internet, and private radio on social media platforms. The news media has been subject to significant restrictions, as noted by the Freedom House’s categorization of the Moroccan media as “not free,” due to the various laws put into place to circumscribe media freedom, the frequency of journalists encountering harassment, and the ban in place in certain areas on reporting freely. What the figures presented by Freedom House fail to encapsulate is the resilience of various actors that have played a major role in the historical struggle for more independence and freedom for the news media. The state utilizes advertising and subsidies, as well as rampant financial harassment, to repress critical media coverage. However, the populace retains limited, but treasured, access to independent viewpoints through various mediums, including the Internet, private radio, and international satellite broadcasting.