Reaction - Morocco’s Media System in a Democratic Transition

Dr Bouziane’s research paper titled “Morocco’s Media System in a Democratic Transition” gives an account of how media institutions work in Morocco under political and governmental policies constraints.

Dr. Bouziane argues that “free and independent media can play a critical role in the process of democratization”. For him, the lack of free press is then arguably one of the main reasons that Arab countries fail in the process of democratization. In fact, the media in the Arab World only serves to increase the non-democratic system.   

Bouziane focuses on the case of Morocco and how the Moroccan media industry has emerged and evolved before and after the country’s independence from France’s “protectorate” era.

He provides the history of Moroccan media, underlining the monopoly of governmental ownership of media and the heavy governmental regulations on private media, highlighting the connection between media and the political scene in Morocco.

The major change that Moroccan media has known came in the 1990s, especially after the election of a socialist party in 1997 and a few years later the ascension of King Mohammed VI to the throne. From there, a process of democratization of the media was attempted, and an emphasis was put on the promotion of human rights and freedom.

The media scene and its relationship with the political scene has indeed changed. Media are more free to discuss certain subjects and are less pressured by the government than during the Hassan II era. However, the Moroccan media industry cannot be qualified as democratic or free in any way. Despite the establishment of institutions that are supposed to “fairly” regulate or open the market for private ownership of media, restrictions and censorship instances are still plenty. For example, the HACA still regularly bans or fines content in the media that is deemed “offensive” or “immoral”, for example Nabil Ayouch’s “Much Loved”, one of the most famous cases of censorship in Morocco. Instances of jailing of journalists are less in number, but still practiced nonetheless.

I personally agree that Morocco still has a long way to go in terms of the democratization of the country and of the press. No one can deny that the situation has vastly improved in the last 20 years or so, but the simple fact that any mention of any topic related to the three main taboo subjects in the country, namely the royal family, Islam, or the Western Sahara issue can lend someone straight to jail is enough that for me, you cannot qualify the Moroccan media as free in any way.

I do think that Dr. Bouziane’s research is biased, but I would argue that biasness is not an issue as long as it comes with hard facts as evidence. After all, we are all human and we all have opinions. The important thing in this case as a researcher is to not refuse to share research that might contradict personal opinions; while as a reader, it is to avoid being close-minded, even with strong personal stances of certain issues, and try to research opposing views and conclusions as well.

Bouziane, Zaid. “Morocco’s Media System in a Democratic Transition”. Media and Democratization: The African Experience, edited by A. A. Olorunnisola and A. Daoua. PA. IGI Global. 2013. Web.