reaction - Quantitative Content Analysis of Moroccan Public Service Television

In this paper, Dr. Bouziane analyzes content from the two main television channels in Morocco, Al Oula and 2M to assess their public service obligations, which are to “increase the percentage of development-oriented prgrams and grant an important portion of their programs to national productions”.

Bouziane starts the article by reiterating that one of the main reasons television ownership is monopolized by the Moroccan government because it is an instrument for them to further their power, since it is one of the two media in Morocco (the other being radio) that can reach everyone regardless of class/education.

Bouziane also explains how the government has imposed a public service function for television, which he evaluates through the following criteria: availability of signal, encouraging diversity and catering to different interests, provision for minorities, serving the public sphere, educating the public, maintaining an independent structure, the prioritization of quality-produced content, and a legislative structure that liberates rather than restricts showmakers.

Bouziane primarily focuses on the universality of appeal, access and participation and provision for minorities.

In his findings, Bouziane found that Moroccan television does not properly apply its intended function for many reasons, including: misrepresentation of women, the choice of language for programs which clash with the reality of spoken languages in Morocco, the lack of platforms for feedback, the location of programs which are concentrated in urban areas and the themes addressed in programs which also concentrate on urban-related issues, and a disproportionate portrayal of elite lifestyles compared to “average” lifestyles.

Bouziane concludes that public service television offers access and participation to only the “male, urban, wealthy and highly educated classes of Morocco.”

Although I agree that television does not accurately portray the reality of Moroccans, especially with the problems of gender misrepresentation and the problem of language use, I think other issues, such as the claim that access is only reserved to urban wealthy elites, are wildly exaggerated.

I also had a lot of issues with Dr. Bouziane’s arguments. One example is the claim that for the average Moroccan, “weight loss is a problem because of lack of food”. First it is an argument that is not backed up with any evidence, and second, I find that it is wrong to think that topics such as weight loss are elite topics, because “average” Moroccans do suffer from these issues and do benefit from talking about them on television.

Overall, I found this paper to be a good attempt at assessing the public service function of television but that, similarly to Dr. Bouziane’s other papers, ultimately falls into biased judgments.

Bouziane, Zaid. “Quantitative Content Analysis of Moroccan

Public Service Television”. p. 3-19. Global Media Journal. Fall/Spring 2013-2014. Web.