Media of Libya

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The media of Libya consists of a broad range of newspapers, TV channels, radio stations, and websites mostly set up during or after the Libyan Civil War, which removed previously tight restrictions on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. By the summer of 2012, there were over 200 registered newspapers, over 20 TV channels, and 200 radio stations. [1]

Contents

The media landscape in Libya is fluid - many Libyans are taking advantage of the unprecedented freedoms newly available to them. Of the hundreds of newspapers that appeared during and in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 revolution, few are still published with any regularity. But new newspapers keep being launched. Radio stations - especially local ones - are thriving with each city and town catering to their local audience's need to express their voice. The number of TV stations is similarly growing. The private media sector is steadily expanding despite concerns regarding its financial sustainability. [1] [2]

News agencies and websites

State-owned daily newspapers

Private newspapers

Television

Libya Radio and Television Corporation (LRTC) is the successor to the Gaddafi-era state broadcaster. More than 20 TV stations, many privately owned, broadcast from Libyan cities and from Middle East media hubs. [4]

State owned TV stations

Private TV stations

Radio

State owned radio stations

Private radio stations

Dozens of radio outlets, many privately owned, broadcast from Libyan cities and from Middle East media hubs. The BBC World Service Arabic broadcasts on 91.5 FM in Tripoli, Benghazi, and Misrata. [4]

Government regulation

A new constitution has yet to be written and approved, but Article 14 of the Interim Constitutional Declaration adopted on 3 August 2011 guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of the press: [5]

“Freedom of opinion for individuals and groups, freedom of scientific research, freedom of communication, liberty of the press, printing, publication and mass media, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, freedom of demonstration and freedom of peaceful strike shall be guaranteed by the State in accordance with the law.”

A framework for media policy and regulation has yet to be developed, but authorities during and after the 2011 revolution have made several attempts to bring the sector under official oversight and regulation. Experienced media professionals and newcomers are skeptical about these efforts and have resisted efforts to bring their industry under the control of transitional authorities. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Mass media in Libya describes the overall environment for the radio, television, telephone, Internet, and newspaper markets in Libya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libyan civil war (2011)</span> 2011 armed conflict

The Libyan civil war or the 2011 Libyan revolution, also known as the First Libyan Civil War, referred to as the 17 February revolution by Libyans, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Zawiya on 8 August 2009 and finally ignited by protests in Benghazi beginning on Tuesday, 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security forces who fired on the crowd. The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mustafa Abdul Jalil</span> De facto leader of Libya from 2011 to 2012

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<i>Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane</i>

The Fist Crushing a U.S. Fighter Plane Sculpture is a gold-coloured monument located in Misrata, Libya. It was once located at the Bab al-Azizia compound in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. The sculpture was commissioned by the nation's leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi following the 1986 bombing of Libya by United States aircraft. It was built in the shape of an arm and hand squeezing a fighter plane. It may have been designed to symbolize the apparent downing of an F-111 by Libyan anti-air units in the 1986 bombing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (16 August – 23 October)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khamis Brigade</span> Military unit

The Khamis Brigade, formally the 32nd Reinforced Brigade of the Armed People, was a regime security brigade of the Libyan Armed Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, the official leader of Libya from 1969 until 2011. The 32nd Brigade was commanded by Gaddafi's youngest son, Khamis Gaddafi and was called "the most well-trained and well-equipped force in the Libyan military" and "the most important military and security elements of the regime" in leaked U.S. memos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Transitional Council</span> 2011–2012 de facto government of Libya

The National Transitional Council (NTC) was a transitional government established in the 2011 Libyan civil war. The rebel forces overthrew the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya of Muammar Gaddafi. The NTC governed Libya for a period of ten months after the end of the war, holding elections to a General National Congress on 7 July 2012, and handing power to the newly elected assembly on 8 August.

Khamis Gaddafi was the seventh and youngest son of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, and the military commander in charge of the Khamis Brigade of the Libyan Army. He was part of his father's inner circle. During the Libyan Civil War in 2011, he was a major target for opposition forces trying to overthrow his father.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Voice of Free Libya</span>

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Free speech in the media during the Libyan civil war describes the ability of domestic and international media to report news inside Libya free from interference and censorship during the civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moussa Ibrahim</span> Libyan political figure (born 1974)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Libya</span> Overview of the foreign relations of Libya

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War before military intervention</span>

The Libyan Civil War began on 15 February 2011 as a chain of civil protests and later evolved into a widespread uprising against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. On 25 February, most of eastern Libya was reported to be under the control of protesters and rebel forces. Gaddafi remained in control of the cities of Tripoli, Sirte and Sabha. By 15 March, however, Gaddafi's forces had retaken more than half a dozen lost cities. Except for most of Cyrenaica and a few Tripolitania cities the majority of cities had returned to Gaddafi government control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the First Libyan Civil War</span>

The timeline of the First Libyan Civil War begins on 15 February 2011 and ends on 20 October 2011. It begins with a series of peaceful protests, similar to others of the Arab Spring, later becoming a full-scale civil war between the forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi's government and the anti-Gaddafi forces. The conflict can roughly be divided into two periods before and after external military intervention authorized by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (19 March – May)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and military intervention (June – 15 August)</span>

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Mohammed Abdullah Senussi was the son of former Libyan Intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi. He was also known to be the first volunteer to fight against the rebels, and well-known in Libya for shooting down an American fighter jet above Misrata. On 29 August 2011, he and his cousin Khamis Gaddafi, were killed by a National Transitional Council technical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of the Libyan civil war (2011)</span> Events following the conclusion of the First Libyan Civil War

The aftermath of the 2011 Libyan civil war has been characterized by marked change in the social and political order of Libya after the overthrow and killing of Muammar Gaddafi in the civil war that was fought in Libya in 2011. The country has been subject to ongoing proliferation of weapons, Islamic insurgencies, sectarian violence, and lawlessness, with spillovers affecting neighboring countries including Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Factional violence in Libya (2011–2014)</span> Period of violence in Libya following the overthrow of Gaddaffi

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References

  1. 1 2 "Media Today", Libya Media Wiki, retrieved 26 August 2013.
  2. "Libya's media has its own revolution", Tracey Shelton, GlobalPost, 18 March 2012.
  3. طرابلس تنتفض.. والأمن العام ينضم للثوار (in Arabic). Brnieq. 2011-05-09. Archived from the original on 2011-05-11. Retrieved 2011-05-09.
  4. 1 2 "Libya profile: Media", BBC News, 7 March 2012
  5. "The Constitutional Declaration" [ permanent dead link ], Pomed, accessed 23 July 2012.
  6. "The State of Journalism and Media in the New Libya", Eljarh, Mohamed, Middle East Online, 12 January 2012, accessed 23 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Media Policy", Libya Media Wiki, Legatum Institute, accessed 26 August 2013.
  8. "Libya's media fights for freedom", D. Parvaz, Al Jazeera English (AJE), 3 June 2012, accessed 23 July 2012.
  9. "Libyan media to be regulated by new Ministry of Information", George Grant, Libya Herald, 26 November 2012, accessed 14 January 2013.
  10. "Three new ministers named", Libya Herald, 30 December 2012, accessed 12 March 2013.