(Translation by Yusra Ahmed)
(Zaman Al Wasl- Eqtsad)- When we talk about Arabic media tycoons we recall the name of Al-Waleed bin Talal, Saleh Kamel and Naguib Sawiris, and others, but in Syria, the Ministry of information have enabled certain people to control the media industry and have exclusive access to licensing media corporations.
The Syrian media tycoons are Rami Mohammed Makhlouf- Bashar al-Assad's cousin- Majd Bahjat Suleiman, Bilal Turkmani, the son of Minister of Defense Hassan Turkmani, and Ayman Jaber, the tycoon of iron and steel, and Mohamed Saber Hamsho, and Aktham Ali Duba..
Rami Makhlouf has established Al-Watan newspaper as a “political front" for the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, he appointed George Caesar as a media director.
Majd Bahjat Suleiman, owner of the largest media empire in Syria, the executive director of the international group “Alwaseet", chairman of the United Group for Publishing and Advertising UG, the partner businessman Bashar Kiwan owns 11.05% of the Group's shares, with a capital of 450 million Syrian pounds, and Kiwan is the founder and Chairman of Alwaseet Group, one of the largest media groups in the Middle East, which works on production of Arabic versions only of Fortune business magazine, and the Arabic versions for the Middle East for many magazines like (Marie Claire, Gala, Top Gear, Fortune) in addition to Baladna newspaper and Layalina magazine.
Ayman Jaber and Mohamed Saber Hamsho, have established with other businessmen Dunia TV and Sama satellite channel. .
Aktham Ali Douba, son of former head of Syrian intelligence, has established “Alriyadiya” newspaper and magazine with clear monopoly of advertising and special care in this field.
Mohamad Mansour, a Syrian journalist and TV producer, has highlighted reasons behind establishing private media corporations in Syria and how they stripped journalists from their civil rights.
Q- In the beginning, why businessmen such as Rami Makhlouf, Majd Suleiman, Mohamed Hamsho and Bilal Turkmani and others turned to finance the establishment of private media agency?
I think there are two reasons behind that, The first is to appear as an influential Public figure on public opinion, in conjunction with the "herd strategy" adopted by the regime by dictating and directing media figures to act as “media horns” for the regime and support what the regime wants.
The second reason is to control and share the “media cake” which is controlled by the Arab advertising Organisation, the Ministry of Information’s affiliate, which adopt the “carrot and stick” strategy by withholding the advertisements for the regime’s opponents of local and Arab press, and rewarding those who support it.
Now these businessmen have decided to take over ads’ share and blackmail the government (not the regime) in this issue, not to forget the donations and other benefits
Q- Why licenses have not been given to major media organizations apart from names mentioned above?
The reason is the same as mentioned above, as Baath regime since announcement of the black military coup, it started closing newspapers and magazines, confiscating means of printing and publishing, besides stripping senior journalists of their civil rights at the time.
It is a way to control all means of communicating with the public and limiting them to people associated to regime. So they remain supporters for the regime and helped in its survival and cover mistakes, apart from some allowed margin of criticism to a prime minister or a minister or corrupt general director for not giving them special subscriptions or that honorary care.
Q- How does the media licenses get approved?
Behind any media license there are major security approvals, These approvals take into account the political attitude and influential power besides economic and moral corruption which are needed for granting the license. Certainly licensing granted at limited levels because regime does not want to flood the market with too much media platforms which can be difficult to control later.
These so called “private” media corporations have presence stronger than regime’s official media, but they fiercely defended the regime because they are owned by people who are a part of the regime and investors of its corrupted money. When the revolution began, these media corporations were given so much support to defame the revolution and tried to make it appear as attempts to overthrow the regime or a conspiracy against the country or in best version a civil war.
Q- What have those media corporations given to people? Was their goal only cleaning and brightening the image of those businessmen?
In the beginning, the private media corporation have a little wider margin than the margin of regime’s media, as performance appeared more flexible, but in reality the content was similar to regime’s official media, However, once it went through the first real test required reporting news neutrally in the coverage of first demonstrations of the revolution, this media appeared to have skills in lying and fabricating news even more than the regime itself.
The goal of these so-called private media was not polishing and improving their owners’ image, but they aimed to to improve the regime’s image. They are not real businessmen, they have not reach to their position and achieved their wealth by honest economic competition and project plans or management skill, rather, they are corrupted people supported by military officers or influential people in the regime or al-Assad family and they worked on laundering the money of the corrupt family ruling Syria.
They built their fortunes by seizing a major tenders from the government illegally, Or get rid of their opponents in the market through security harassments, or smuggling through government facilities, Thus, their job only polishing the image of their master al-Assad.
(Zaman Al Wasl- Eqtsad)- When we talk about Arabic media tycoons we recall the name of Al-Waleed bin Talal, Saleh Kamel and Naguib Sawiris, and others, but in Syria, the Ministry of information have enabled certain people to control the media industry and have exclusive access to licensing media corporations.
The Syrian media tycoons are Rami Mohammed Makhlouf- Bashar al-Assad's cousin- Majd Bahjat Suleiman, Bilal Turkmani, the son of Minister of Defense Hassan Turkmani, and Ayman Jaber, the tycoon of iron and steel, and Mohamed Saber Hamsho, and Aktham Ali Duba..
Rami Makhlouf has established Al-Watan newspaper as a “political front" for the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, he appointed George Caesar as a media director.
Majd Bahjat Suleiman, owner of the largest media empire in Syria, the executive director of the international group “Alwaseet", chairman of the United Group for Publishing and Advertising UG, the partner businessman Bashar Kiwan owns 11.05% of the Group's shares, with a capital of 450 million Syrian pounds, and Kiwan is the founder and Chairman of Alwaseet Group, one of the largest media groups in the Middle East, which works on production of Arabic versions only of Fortune business magazine, and the Arabic versions for the Middle East for many magazines like (Marie Claire, Gala, Top Gear, Fortune) in addition to Baladna newspaper and Layalina magazine.
Ayman Jaber and Mohamed Saber Hamsho, have established with other businessmen Dunia TV and Sama satellite channel. .
Aktham Ali Douba, son of former head of Syrian intelligence, has established “Alriyadiya” newspaper and magazine with clear monopoly of advertising and special care in this field.
Mohamad Mansour, a Syrian journalist and TV producer, has highlighted reasons behind establishing private media corporations in Syria and how they stripped journalists from their civil rights.
Q- In the beginning, why businessmen such as Rami Makhlouf, Majd Suleiman, Mohamed Hamsho and Bilal Turkmani and others turned to finance the establishment of private media agency?
I think there are two reasons behind that, The first is to appear as an influential Public figure on public opinion, in conjunction with the "herd strategy" adopted by the regime by dictating and directing media figures to act as “media horns” for the regime and support what the regime wants.
The second reason is to control and share the “media cake” which is controlled by the Arab advertising Organisation, the Ministry of Information’s affiliate, which adopt the “carrot and stick” strategy by withholding the advertisements for the regime’s opponents of local and Arab press, and rewarding those who support it.
Now these businessmen have decided to take over ads’ share and blackmail the government (not the regime) in this issue, not to forget the donations and other benefits
Q- Why licenses have not been given to major media organizations apart from names mentioned above?
The reason is the same as mentioned above, as Baath regime since announcement of the black military coup, it started closing newspapers and magazines, confiscating means of printing and publishing, besides stripping senior journalists of their civil rights at the time.
It is a way to control all means of communicating with the public and limiting them to people associated to regime. So they remain supporters for the regime and helped in its survival and cover mistakes, apart from some allowed margin of criticism to a prime minister or a minister or corrupt general director for not giving them special subscriptions or that honorary care.
Q- How does the media licenses get approved?
Behind any media license there are major security approvals, These approvals take into account the political attitude and influential power besides economic and moral corruption which are needed for granting the license. Certainly licensing granted at limited levels because regime does not want to flood the market with too much media platforms which can be difficult to control later.
These so called “private” media corporations have presence stronger than regime’s official media, but they fiercely defended the regime because they are owned by people who are a part of the regime and investors of its corrupted money. When the revolution began, these media corporations were given so much support to defame the revolution and tried to make it appear as attempts to overthrow the regime or a conspiracy against the country or in best version a civil war.
Q- What have those media corporations given to people? Was their goal only cleaning and brightening the image of those businessmen?
In the beginning, the private media corporation have a little wider margin than the margin of regime’s media, as performance appeared more flexible, but in reality the content was similar to regime’s official media, However, once it went through the first real test required reporting news neutrally in the coverage of first demonstrations of the revolution, this media appeared to have skills in lying and fabricating news even more than the regime itself.
The goal of these so-called private media was not polishing and improving their owners’ image, but they aimed to to improve the regime’s image. They are not real businessmen, they have not reach to their position and achieved their wealth by honest economic competition and project plans or management skill, rather, they are corrupted people supported by military officers or influential people in the regime or al-Assad family and they worked on laundering the money of the corrupt family ruling Syria.
They built their fortunes by seizing a major tenders from the government illegally, Or get rid of their opponents in the market through security harassments, or smuggling through government facilities, Thus, their job only polishing the image of their master al-Assad.
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