Media monopoly & development [Archives:2005/887/Viewpoint]

Editor
In most developed countries there are more than one independent Television channel and many independent radio stations. Such verity of media allows the public opinion to be formed objectively and enhances awareness of the people. Having independent TV and radio channels are most important for a country like Yemen because majority of the population watches TV or listens to the radio rather than reading newspapers or checking the internet, due to the high rate of illiteracy.

The daily routine of a rural family in Yemen, for example, habitually includes time for listening to the radio, whether while the woman of the house is going about her chores or the farmer working in the field accompanied by his small battery radio. Laborers and handicraft workers in the city also dedicate time in their daily routine to listening to the radio and all Yemeni families who are able to, watch TV.

However with government's control over such vital mass communication tool it becomes almost impossible for the people especially those uninvolved politically to have an objective idea regarding the issues of their country. The official media is used to convey the government's point of view and to polish the leadership's image regardless of facts. This causes a misunderstanding on the public's part; hence it keeps them in total isolation and hinders their awareness and in turn development process. All Yemeni broadcast services are controlled by the government and there several restrictions to independent or opposition media. This monopoly has a direct relationship with corruption as this monopoly of the media hinders accountability or responsibility.

In spite of the government's understanding that opening media channels for non-official broadcasts would accelerate the development process and enforce transparency and good governance, the government continues to monopolize the media and lays down several restrictions on print media which only reaches an elite minority of the population. However the rise of pan-arab media and regional TV networks can become the resort of the rising opposition which is bound to find communication means that would reach the Yemeni people regardless of the government's monopoly, making this policy to media monopoly nothing but a prime obstacle of the nations' development.
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