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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Culture and Communication said Moroccan news outlets received MAD 71 million in 2018.
According to the ministry’s press release, more regional and local newspapers received support in 2018 than 2017. The ministry also began supporting online news outlets.
Seventy-six press agencies received direct support, including 60 newspaper and 16 online news outlets. Out of the total, twelve were party-owned newspapers and 16 were regional platforms.
To comply with the Constitution’s guarantee of freedom of thought, opinion, and expression, the ministry said it “supports press agencies and enhances their professionalism.”
Article 28 of the Constitution guarantees the free and unrestricted practice of press freedom.
However, the 2018 Annual Freedom of the Press report published in April ranked Morocco 135th in the world for press freedom, citing alleged “strong judicial pressure on journalists.”
Read also: Morocco Remains Near Bottom in 2018 Rankings for Press Freedom
The ministry commented that Morocco has a diversity of media ownership structures and full freedom to print and distribute newspapers and online content.
The press release concluded that, in 2018, the media sector continued to be tax exempt.
In the past two years, several Moroccan journalists have been prosecuted for expressing their opinions on certain laws or on human rights violations.
Moroccan courts sentenced journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui to 3 years in prison over the Hirak Rif protests and journalist Taoufik Bouachrine to 12 years in prison for alleged sexual assault.
