Arabic news...

Arabic newspapers: The Arabic freedom of press is determined by the interaction of several economical, social, technological and political factors. The independent Arab printing press was initially a victim of severe censorship. It did not display potential until the middle of the nineteenth century. The availability of Arabic news was totally dependent on the goodwill of the government. States like Morocco had a legislation that repressed independent criticism. According to the government, this was necessary to protect the public. The Arabic newspapers can be categorized as:

1. Government owned papers.
2. Private owned newspapers.
3. Newspapers published by political organizations.

The private owned newspapers are not editorially independent. Wealthy individuals, seeking to influence the opinion of the readers, own them. Many of the owners pursue their ambitious political aspirations, via the press. Arabic newspapers tend to remain uninspired, with a few exceptions. This is due to restrictive media and press laws and licensing systems.

BBC Arabic news: BBC, as an international broadcaster, has taken on the responsibility to provide fair and impartial coverage of events to its viewers. Arabic news has derived a new dimension due to this. The BBC has a number of correspondents who report from the Middle East, Asia, the United States and Egypt. It has taken up the challenge to provide reliable information and a forum for the exchange of ideas. The BBC Arabic news service did a great job during the Iraq war. It reported first hand information and also launched a special daily broadcast for public opinion. BBC Arabic news offers 24 hours of updated and factual information on the radio and Internet. BBC has also announced the launch of its BBC Arabic television service in 2007. According to the director of BBC World Service, this launch will make BBC Arabic the only international news provider in the Middle East to offer news in the local language, on radio, online and TV.

Arabic news through Aljazeera: Aljazeera is a news channel that was launched in November 1996, to make Arabic news available. The channel has become a global name that decision makers, the government and the public cannot ignore. The factual Arabic news through Aljazeera has given millions of people a chance to view global events. Aljazeera has more than 30 bureaus and several correspondents that cover the four corners of the world. It is free from censorship and government control. People can avail of authentic Arabic news through Aljazeera.

Online Arabic news: Some Arab governments viewed the ability of the Internet to provide an uncontrolled flow of information across the national boundaries in negative light. Governments in Syria, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia have restricted the access to certain websites. For several years the use of the Internet was restricted to the educated, elite class, who were computer savvy and knew European languages. It was very difficult initially to produce web pages in the Arabic language. But the situation has changed and today, BBC broadcasts news programs on radio and online regularly. BBC Arabic has an award winning website. BBC online Arabic news service receives 12 million page impressions every month. This site has introduced a new debate forum, to which it provides background information and reference material as well. Even the news channel Aljazeera, is online with Aljazeer.net. It has been successfully providing online Arabic news since January 2001. In 2002 this site received more than 811 million impressions.