Current Media Structure in Syria

The struggles over power within the media structure in Syria have only increased over the years, especially with the recent uprisings known as Arab Spring. Syria's current media structure follows the authoritarian theory, where the government is in complete control of all media outlets. Any criticism of the government, president or his family is strictly prohibited and punishable. The domestic and foreign presses are extremely censored. Journalists are told to practice self-censorship and foreign journalists are hardly recognized in the media.

            Syria’s main media outlets are television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet. The television stations are state-run and all news or political content is prohibited. The radio stations in Syria are also mainly state-run, however the first private station was launched in 2005. Like television, all news or political content is prohibited from airing. All of the newspapers are government-owned dailies. Some of Syria’s most popular ones consist of: Al-Baath, which is the Baath party’s newspaper; Al-Thawra, also known as “The Revolution” which is a government-owned daily; and Tishrin, a government-owned daily. Syria’s Internet has a strict censorship and many websites are blocked such as Facebook, YouTube or any site that opposes the government. Despite these restrictions, Syria had almost 4.5 million Internet users and 420 Internet hosts by March of 2011. Because of the recent events and uprising, many journalists have fled the country and those that have stayed face imprisonment or serious injury. It is a dangerous time to be a journalist in Syria.