Government-press relations : a comparative study of Syria, Jordan and Kuwait

• Main Author: Al-Shamari, Sulaiman Gaza
• Published: University of Leicester 1989
• Subjects: 800; Press freedom in Arab states
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.352941

This study attempts to determine the effect of foreign policy on the freedom of the press through analysing newspapers from three Middle Eastern countries (Syria, Jordan and Kuwait) to test hypotheses regarding the direction and trends in the coverage of the two superpowers (The United States of America and the Soviet Union). The coverage was examined in the light of trends in Syrian, Jordanian and Kuwaiti foreign policies towards the United States of America and the Soviet Union. This study is trying to assess any correlation between foreign policy and the freedom of the press, and to look at internal factors (press and publication law) which might influence both foreign policy and press. This study found out that the meaning of freedom of the press is shaped by political and economic factors. There are clear differences in the definitions and implications of freedom of the press between journalists in Syria and in the other two countries (Jordan and Kuwait). This analysis leads us to the conclusion that the Syrian, Jordanian and Kuwaiti press and publication laws share one major characteristic that is the laws of these countries are more restrictive than protective. The ideals in the three countries constitutions which guarantee freedom of the press are one thing and practices are another.