The slow death of Jordan's newspapers

Jordan's al-Rai newspaper has for decades been seen as an extension of the government. 

Now, for the second time in two years, it has been disobedient to the Jordanian state.

Several days ago, the newspaper announced that it would stop publishing news about Prime Minister Abdallah Ensour's government.

Challenging authority?

This comes as several Jordanian newspapers face severe financial problems.

Al-Rai employees, who for years served the Jordanian state loyally, are dismayed that the government is doing little to help them in their hour of need.

Two years ago, the newspaper al-Arab al-Youm briefly closed, but re-opened after a staff cull.

Al-Dustour, Jordan's oldest newspaper, has also suffered funding problems, despite the government's Social Security Corporation owning more than 30 percent of the newspaper's shares.

Jordanian journalists have long argued that print media is an essential forum for public enlightenment and that their newspapers guarantee society's right to knowledge.

They say that, in some democratic countries, the state sometimes provides financial support to media outlets.

Under pressure, there are signs that the Jordanian government might provide newspapers with limited assistance.

The government says that the Social Security Cooperation could help al-Dustour pay outstanding salaries to staff.

However, the corporation has already made its stance clear.

"We cannot provide money that will be spent on salaries without the existence of a clear plan to develop revenues in a manner that guarantees that the newspaper will not go bankrupt after several months or one year," a spokesperson for the company said.

The Jordanian parliament, through its national guidance committee, has stepped in to tackle the issue.

It presented a plan that focused on solutions to the crisis. The most important suggestion was a freezing of tax on newspaper advertisements and production materials.

Parliament also proposed that government bodies should pay more for advertisements it places in newspapers. For years they have paid well below the commercial rate.

However, difficult questions are being asked, and chief among them is whether this is enough to save Jordan's print media?

It also brings up many taboo issues, such as the independence of the Jordanian press, and the relationship of editors and newspapers with the government, royal court and security establishment.

At some Jordanian media outlets, journalists are on the payrolls but have not written a word for years. Many other staff are on the rosters merely because of their personal connections.

This is why the rebellion of some elements of the media has been considered strange.

The journalists' battle does not appear to be a defence of their newspapers' independence, but to protect their jobs and salaries.

So if the government gives in to these financial demands, will the fight end?

Such thorny questions are difficult to answer. Bargaining between the state and the media was publicly acceptable in the past but not so much today.

Cosmetic surgery will no longer be enough now that the crisis has intensified.

Almost 95 percent of journalists said they practiced self-censorship.

The advertising market in print media is shrinking and subscriptions are falling.

Young people are turning online and social media platforms for information.

Out of touch

Through these mediums, people are creating their own media according to their own needs and tastes, so what is the need for newspapers when they merely repeat or promote what the authorities say?

The government is not able to meet all the financial incentives the journalists are asking for, given the serious economic crisis it faces.

Like consumers, officials - particularly among the royal court - are also increasingly turning to social media to put out their messages to the country.

Queen Rania has become one of the most followed international personalities through her social media pages.

The government and the security agencies no longer rely on print media, state television and radio as they used to.

When print media ruled supreme, government informers were the ones who would manufacture our news. The militaries of the Arab world would heavily guard their radio and television stations with soldiers and tanks, fearing they would be the first targets in any revolution.

Now, no one pays any attention to the state newspapers, radio or television. Everyone has the chance to be a journalist through social media.

But it appears that the media has not yet properly understood this in Jordan.

The era of receiving diktats over the phone and placing the text as instructed on the front page is no longer.

The relationship between the government and media is these days less strictly enforced. Managing editors now usually play this liaison role.

Jordanian media still call for "absolute independence" from the "executive power", but this has become an anachronism. 

The party that is assaulting the concept of freedom is being asked to provide a lifeline for the journalists.

A sign of this irony came in a recent survey on the state of professionalism and freedom in the Jordanian press, carried out by the Centre for Defending Freedom of Journalists.

The survery included a question about who journalists believed had the largest influence on the Jordanian media.

Unsurpisingly, the government, the intelligence services, and the royal court topped that list.

What was strange and shameful was that only three percent of the journalists who were surveyed said print media existed for the benefit of the public good.

The number of journalists who believe that the government interferes in the media has not fallen below 80 per cent since the reports began ten years ago, and this figure is on the rise.

Almost 95 percent of journalists questioned said they practiced self-censorship within the past year.

Bringing back readers

Jordan's media circles have few ideas of how they can bring back lost readers.

In Europe, the Metro newspaper was introduced with an original concept. It was made free so it could be read by vast numbers of people.

The International Publishers Association understand that in the internet age, few young people read newspapers.

In an attempt to attract a new generation to print media, it launched a programme called Education Through Journalism to promote the use of newspapers in the classroom.

It established a context and a motive that would make children familiar with newspapers and encourage their parents to do the same.

The programme achieved significant success in several countries, including Jordan. However, the media in Jordan did not follow up on this success.

The basic difference between the media in Jordan and elsewhere is that, in the kingdom, decision makers are looking for quick solutions to funding problems, while around the globe, officials explore all avenues.

Jordanian media have simply bemoaned their bad luck and wept at the government's door.

Jordan has also seen the government introduce tighter controls on the media. The press and publications law made it necessary for all electronic media to obtain a government licence - something of a global precedent.

In a nutshell, the crisis in Jordan's print media highlights a problem of policy. If the newspapers are unsuccessful in their battle then few will weep over the death of print media.

The danger is that the daily newspaper will suffer the same fate as the weeklies that challenged the government.

Newspapers are dying and no one seems concerned.