Tunisia is caught in a media whirlwind. Three television channels and one radio station were shut down by the audiovisual regulator. All were transmitting without authorization. Why these closures? Do these threaten freedom of expression? Response elements.
Tunisian viewers will no longer hear the credits of Nessma TV. Created by Nabil Karoui, businessman and 2019 presidential finalist, the television channel served as a foil for its humanitarian actions and as a political platform, while flooding Tunisians with soap operas. A mixture of genres poses a problem for the Independent High Authority of Communication (HAICA), the body responsible for overseeing the audiovisual sector in Tunisia for years. Finally, the ax fell, for Nessma TV closed on October 27, two other channels and a radio station.
Larbi Chouikha, academic, and media specialist, explains why: “Why today? The reason is very simple. This is because previously there was no real political will from successive governments. Today there seems to be a political will to bring order to this sector which – it must be said – was so confusing since there was an entanglement with the world of business and industry. dirty money whose origin we did not know.“
By giving its approval to these closures, has the Tunisian executive taken the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone by getting rid of media held by opponents? Too early to know, but this turn of the screw would serve the image that President Kaïs Saïed wants to forge.
“I think that’s kind of part of his anti-corruption rhetoric, against dirty money, against crooked businessmen. And in which case, there, it finds itself in conformity with bodies like the HAICA which, since its creation, fights against dirty money”, explains Larbi Chouikha, academic specialist of the media.
The aftershocks of this media earthquake will also be social: hundreds of journalists and technicians find themselves unemployed.