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Join on Telegram Casablanca – The Moroccan government announced a review of the shift from traditional press subsidies to investment and the focus on large media outlets.
Morocco’s Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid made the revelation, admitting that the previous financial law’s assistance for the press, which amounted to roughly MAD 35 million ($3.2 million), was “insufficient” and will need to be increased.
The government hopes that “these major media platforms will play a role not only at the Moroccan level but also at the international level as a defense of national issues,” the minister noted during a House of Councillors Q&A session on “the establishment of a national media industry.”
While emphasizing the significance of the media’s role, Bensaid lamented the large number of media outlets in Morocco, which he said approached 900 electronic sites.
The minister stated that he is not opposed to “expanding media pluralism by creating more press platforms,” but his ministry’s main “concern” is to strengthen the media services available to counter “fake news.”
Read also: Morocco Eager to Support Media in Digitalization Transitions
Bensaid argued that issues concerning the media affect everyone, not only the government and parliament.
He then announced that a discussion on this issue will be undertaken as part of a study day organized by the two houses of parliament. The initiative will include the participation of numerous partners as well as the competent department, with the objective of culminating in feasible decisions.
Amid the COVID crisis, the minister has repeatedly vowed to assist Moroccan press outlets, especially in their digitalization initiatives.
He believed that Moroccan “press enterprises need a new economic model based on the ongoing digital transition and technological changes,” emphasizing that Moroccan newspapers should not fall behind in the ongoing digital transition.
