Top
Prof.
Mohamed Lagab:
“Algerian public
TV channels have
been losing
ground to social
media and
internet
platforms.”
Below
Prof.
Yunes Grar:
“Huge numbers
of the population
are disconnected
fromnational
political andpublic
media space.”
46
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ISSUE 1 2015
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THE CHANNEL
an Algerian regulatory authority
show that over 40 million mobile
phones exist in a country with a
population of 38 million inhabitants.
A recent study carried out by
Ericsson’s ConsumerLab found that
30% of mobile phone users in
Algeria access the internet through
smartphones. Further, the study
shows that users are young: 74%
are between 15 and 24 years old
and 63% between 25 and 34 years.
“The trends,” comments ICT
expert Yunes Grar, “are that ICT is
poised to shift from a static,
bureaucratic and mismanaged
society to a more dynamic and
prosperous one. ICT is perceived
by the younger population as the
main means to transform Algeria
into a modern and efficient country.”
“It is crystal clear,” suggests
Mohamed Lagab, professor of
information and communication at
Algiers University, “that internet
services and facilities are a huge
challenge for conventional media.
Algerian television channels –
specifically the public ones – have
been losing grounds to social media
and internet platforms.”
According to a study by local
agency Webdialna, 74.5% of
Algerians get their news from
internet sources, 15% from TV, 8.5%
from the press, and only 1% from
radio. Ali Bensoltane, president of
an Algerian cultural association,
asks, “How can you watch news on
national TV when they offer you
only formal and protocol news
about officials’ activities. No news
values, just reading press
communiqués, official messages
and pictures.”
Professor Lagab agrees: “ I
understand why huge fringes of
society have switched either to
other foreign TV channels or social
media and internet facilities to seek
reliable and credible news about
their own country.”
“ENOUGH”
Ultimately internet, social media
and social networks are gradually
replacing traditional media. Thus,
social media is considered a free
space for tackling issues that are
not covered in conventional media
for political or economic reasons.
The new virtual space is providing
a new way to promote pluralism
and democracy. During last April’s
Algerian presidential elections,
political activists used social media
for numerous contributions to the
point that one analyst described it
as a potent political arena.
The Algerian citizens movement,
‘Barakat’ (“Enough”), through the
Facebook platform, called for
boycott and demonstrations in
Algiers that were forbidden by
security forces. Also, excluded from
public and conventional media,
political figures from the
opposition used their own
Facebook accounts to communicate.
“It is logical,” comments Salim
Bensaid, professor in Political
Science at Algiers University, “that
social media services have emerged
as the appropriate spaces for real
democratic and public debate in the
absence of free space in the public
media. They have become an
integral part of contemporary
society and serve as a platform for
spreading the word and mobilising
citizens.”
Although social media has not
yet reached maturity in Algeria,
due to illiteracy, and lack of
genuine media pluralism and
democracy, it continues to become
more deeply rooted in the society.
According to survey findings by
Webdialna, 66.4% of Facebook
users spent more than 30 minutes
per day on the site, 21.5% between
one and three hours per day and
17.3%more than three hours per day.
“These results should be sources
of concerns for political authorities
and media managers alike,” notes
IT consultant Yunes Grar, “Here
you have huge numbers of the
population which are completely
disconnected from national
political and public media space.
And the big question is how to
bring them back to you, how to get
them interested in your policies,
messages and discourses?”
ANEWAPPROACH
“The solution,” suggests Mohamed
Lagab, “is that present public and
private media should operate more
independently from political
interferences and economic
pressures, and also create new
platforms for information,
communication and, most
importantly, interaction with the
audience.”
Lagab believes that in order to
regain audience engagement,
traditional media must consider
internet, social media and social
networks as parts of their new
strategy package.
The new technological
environment is affecting the
political climate and media space in
a very real way, especially with the
emergence of new practices and
new virtual political online
communication. For new Algerian
broadcasters, proper engagement
with the new interconnected
audience is a question of survival.
Algiers rooftop
THE CHANNEL
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MEDIA IN TRANSITION
