All the sides of censorship

Abstract

The historical formation of the national media field in Tunisia shows that media accountability issues are mainly shaped by the autonomization and professionalization of journalists vs. state control and censorship. Scrutiny of the transformation with the national media field since the end of the 1990s reveals the emergence of several mechanisms and new spheres of debates, which are contributing to shape a nascent movement of reflexivity and criticism on news making practices and representations of society. Online journalism and others initiatives are evolving between continuities and ruptures with the traditional media. The continuities are related to the different positioning of the profession vis-à-vis state control. When the ruptures occurred the Internet offered possibilities to widen editorial freedom, to enhance independence from advertisers and to diversify public expression of opinions. This report explains the developments in media accountability online just before the revolution at the end of 2010. Interviewees were granted anonymity considering the political situation at that time.