Address of the Speaker of the House of Representatives at the Seminar of the House of Representatives on “National Media and Society: Future Challenges and Stakes”
Honorable Minister,
Honorable executives of regulatory authorities and professional organizations,
Honorable Chairpersons of the Parliamentary Groups and Caucus,
Distinguished professors,
Distinguished colleagues,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Ten years ago, the legislative institution hosted the “National Dialogue on Media and Society,” with primary national aims and stakes that can be summed up into the aspiration to strengthen an area that undoubtedly contributes to the fortification of institutional building, consolidation of democracy, promotion of its culture, facilitation of openness, entrenchment of diversity, and, most importantly, to the defense of our country’s vital causes.
Before I revert to the main conclusions of the said dialogue, which are still of significant timeliness, and to the aims of our present gathering, allow me to welcome you all and commend your interaction with the invitation of the Speakership of the House of Representatives to a quiet debate that we aspire would bear fruit to implementable conclusions that would contribute to the development of our media sphere, on its organizational, economic, and content levels.
While preparing for the organization of this seminar, we recalled the philosophy and spirit of consensus and maturity that have always marked the reform process in our country, and which His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah glorify him, had entrenched in the various structural reforms and projects, including the drafting of the Kingdom’s Constitution, and previously its Family Code, the report on 50 years of human development, the advanced regionalization, the reform of the educational system, and the New Development Model.
The “National Dialogue on Media and Society” followed the same course and embodied it, both in the formation of the National Dialogue Instance, comprising the representatives of the profession, the political actors represented by the Parliamentary Groups, and the Ministry in charge, or in the dialogue and hearing sessions and parties involved, as these sessions engaged professionals, media institutions, and the establishments concerned with the economy of media, press, and communication, and with the relevant training.
The public debate took one year to agree on a roadmap to reform the sector, on more than 300 recommendations (303), and on several field studies related to media, especially a sociological study on the expectations of Moroccan youth from media, and their interests concerning the sector.
Today, we revisit the conclusions and recommendations of this national exercise, not just to commemorate its anniversary, but because the context and challenges our country is working to address, and the challenges facing the sector itself, dictate a throwback to the outcomes and conclusions of the National Dialogue, as they are a shared record that was agreed upon and that earned democratic legitimacy thanks to the legitimacy of the participating parties.
If we, today, face new contexts and challenges, we should still recall that media and press in the Kingdom of Morocco have played a decisive role in emancipating from the protectorate, constructing independence, consolidating the bases of a national and democratic State, and protecting pluralism. Regardless of the tough times our country went through, it had, at all these times, a free, critical, and pluralistic press that reflects the diverse, pluralistic, and unified nature of Moroccan society. Moreover, as regards the causes of our country, the national press, in all its backgrounds and orientations, has always been mobilized to defend the interests of the Kingdom of Morocco and highlight and promote its positions.
The challenges our nation is mobilized to face behind His Majesty the King dictate the reinforcement of our media sphere, both in terms of organization, control, economic model, and especially in terms of content. In an unstable and, sometimes, insecure regional area, the stability and achievements of our country at the political and institutional levels, its economic ascent, and its societal cohesion frustrate some parties and put our country at the target of some foreign media that deliberately spread misinformation, ambiguities, and diversions. Such actions put enormous responsibilities on our national media.
Besides, the digital revolution increases the magnitude of these challenges, considering the opportunities it offers to publish news without any professional condition or restriction, to a level where we can describe the use of digital technologies in streaming news as chaos. Such technologies pose several challenges to the written press enterprises that fight a survival battle, given the decrease in sales and advertising revenues and the rise in production costs.
In light of these challenges and to overcome them, we gather today in a dialogue that we aspire would produce conclusions that we can exploit to control, strengthen, and make our media sphere more professional. It is the case of challenges that I would like to share with you as general themes for debate.
The first challenge concerns the advancement of the national written, audiovisual, and digital media to a level that is commensurate with the new positioning of our country as a democratic force, pillar of regional, continental, and international stability, and a rising economic force that engages in addressing the shared global challenges, including the fight against terrorism, peace-building, curbing the impacts of climate imbalances, tackling the energy transition pledge, addressing migration, defending the causes of Africa, and achieving medicine and climate justice for the continent.
The second challenge regards the mobilization to fulfill the pledge of digital transition as concerns our national media and working so that the significant potential it offers is not used to promote misinformation, question the credibility of institutions, disturb the public security of our country, or slander others. On the contrary, the enormous potential offered by digital technologies should be used to share knowledge and provide the public opinion with accurate news.
The third challenge concerns the restoration of the strategic role of the national media in building a conscious public opinion that is aware of the causes of its country, in a way that facilitates its participation in the management of public affairs, either through elections, accession to positions of responsibility, or evaluation of public policies, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. In the same respect, we must praise the role and contribution of honest, responsible, and citizen media in preserving the freedoms and rights granted by the Constitution. This mission was entrusted to the national media and has contributed to building societal balance and consolidating democratic institutions.
In relation to this challenge, we are responsible for social upbringing, education, guidance, and promotion of patriotism, openness, participation, moderation, citizenship, and belief in the right to difference, freedom, and the balance between rights and obligations.
The fourth challenge, which is cross-sectoral, revolves around the credibility and earnestness of the media practice in its relation to the profession's ethics, conscience, editorial independence (by which I do not mean neutrality), and the implementation of the motto: "News is sacred while the commentary is free," which the late His Majesty King Mohammed V, may he rest in peace, chose as a motto to the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (Moroccan News Agency) in 1959.
The fifth challenge affects the regulation authorities of audiovisual and written (both digital and paper) media. Without any prejudice to the freedom of opinion and expression, media enterprises must comply with the decisions of the institutions entrusted with the right to practice such authority in accordance with the relevant law and decisions. On the same matter, I am convinced that the record, practice, and working mechanisms of the High Audiovisual Communication Authority (HACA), and its role in accompanying the liberalization the radio industry, and diversity of the audiovisual scene, which now includes private and public television and radio channels, are worth building upon and emulated to control the area of written media, particularly in its digital aspect. There is no doubt that the National Press Council and the professional organizations among us today are determined and keen to address the professional irregularities, imbalances, and practices that violate the rights of society, individuals, and institutions, in the context of practicing manipulation, misrepresentation, defamation, and in several occasions, political extortion.
There is also no doubt that this regulation would contribute to the consolidation of honest practices and protection of the leading press and digital media enterprises. In this regard, we must commend the performance, professionalism, social, and awareness-raising role, and valuable contribution to the enrichment and stimulation of the public debate of many of these enterprises.
The sixth challenge concerns training, continuous training, and the role of the public and private institutions of training in the professions of the press, media, communication, and their techniques. In this regard, and in addition to the compulsory training that must be a prerequisite to access the profession, professionals must be provided with continuous training in editing, image, video, radio, technologies, video editing, and caricature. Besides, training in the Press and Publishing Code and the profession's ethics must be part of the training curriculum, as the advancement of professional skills must go hand-in-hand with respecting the profession's ethics.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is a problem that is no less important than the previous ones. The problem in question is the misunderstanding between politicians and journalists. Such problematic does not concern two complementary spheres, but rather some of the actors.
Overcoming such a problem is one of the goals of this seminar. In this respect, politicians must be open to media, provide information and news that can be utilized, analyzed, and commented on, publish news proactively and willingly, and facilitate access to it by credible, renowned, and accredited sources. For their part, media actors must trust the news provided by institutions, institutional actors, and politicians and utilize it to benefit society and elevate the quality of the public debate. As the House of Representatives, and being a major source of information and a platform for public debates and interaction between the legislative and executive branches that produces important documents amounting, on average, (if we take into account the digitized records of the House), to around 260 pages per day including the proceedings of the plenary sittings, committees, and the events hosted by the House (conferences, seminars, colloquia, and debates), we assume that we are a rich source of daily news that we do not hesitate to put at the disposal of users. In this vein, I believe that instead of controversial news, critical and professional analysis of the performance, productivity, and efficiency of institutions is the kind of content that would benefit the public opinion in evaluating the performance of institutions, considering that some anti-parliament and anti-democracy trends would never contribute to the evolution of societies.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Proximity media is of major importance amidst the current context in Morocco, characterized by the implementation of the advanced regionalization project. Such a context offers excellent prospects for proximity media and press, especially at the regional level, which requires creating regional media institutions that match the economic, social, cultural, and civil regional and local dynamics. Furthermore, amidst the same context, we should also encourage civil society media as the Constitution of the Kingdom grants fundamental rights to civil society as part of participatory democracy and citizenry.
In the same respect, we should value the significance of the structural transformations and the enormous development and evolution achieved in our southern provinces. It is a success story that reflects the determination of a nation to solidify its territorial rights and deserves continuous media coverage by strong and professional national and regional media, both in terms of content and professional standards.
A fraction of this strength is linked to financing and its sources, especially advertising, distribution, and encouragement to read and consume news. Therefore, as legislative and executive branches, representatives of the professionals, and regulatory authorities, we must work to produce practical conclusions and policies that would solidify and ensure the durability of such institutions as enterprises marked by good governance. In the same regard, we must link financing and access to advertising revenues to professionalism, compliance with their requirements, and respect for the laws of professionals hiring.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In a global context marked by the resurrection of national advantages, the prosperity of egoistic trends, and introversion discourses, we have to work together to encourage the national media to work based on the logic of the nation and national belonging, especially that present wars are different from past wars, as they use various means, including the media.
In the Kingdom of Morocco, we have succeeded in winning the bet of stability, institutional building, consolidation of democracy, and pluralism. We also resolved several political problems thanks to the wisdom and proactive visions of the Kings of Morocco: the late their Majesties, King Mohammed V and King Hassan II, may they rest in peace, and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may Allah grant him perpetual health. We today face the challenge of solidifying our positioning as a rising pivotal economic and democratic force, and I do not need to recall the role of media in this construction, in defending the strategic and vital interests of the Kingdom of Morocco, and in elevating the quality of the public debate. To achieve all these goals, we, in the House of Representatives, are always open to dialogue, and to the adoption of laws that can strengthen, enrich, and regulate the national media.
Thank you for your keen listening.