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Jordan MEDIA
In 1989 Jordan had four daily newspapers, all published in
Amman. One, The Jordan Times, was printed in English. The
three Arabic dailies were Sawt ash Shab (Voice of the
People), Ar Rai (Opinion), and Ad Dustur (The
Constitution). The press was mostly privately owned and subject to
censorship. The Arabic-language papers had been suspended at
various times throughout the 1980s for publishing articles that the
government considered objectionable. In 1988 the government ordered
the dissolution of the board of directors of all three Arabic
papers. The Ministry of Culture and Information was responsible for
most press censorship on a daily basis and frequently provided
editors with guidance on how to report on sensitive foreign policy
and security matters. In practice, editors generally exercised
self-censorship to minimize conflicts with the authorities.
The government also tried to control individual journalists by
rewarding those deemed cooperative and by punishing those whose
stories it considered critical. The most common punishment was the
withdrawal of government-issued press credentials, which all
writers were required to have in order to work for a newspaper or
news agency. This procedure was used to prevent several journalists
(including a principal writer for The Jordan Times) from
publishing during 1987 and 1988. Journalists also have been
subjected to house arrest. In June 1987, the government dissolved
the Writers' Association, a professional organization of
journalists, charging that it had become a political group and had
contacts with illegal parties. The Ministry of Culture and
Information subsequently sponsored an official union, the
Journalists' Association, and required all writers to join it.
The government attempted to discourage the Arabic press of East
Jerusalem from publishing critical stories, especially about
Hussein's relations with the PLO, by such means as banning single
issues of papers and magazines, refusing to renew the passports of
West Bank journalists, and sending messages through discreet
channels that certain writers or editors would be arrested if they
entered Jordan. Foreign publications and journalists also were
banned when their articles criticized Jordan. In 1986 Western
correspondents expressed concern about the government's
interference with press freedom during and after the disturbances
at Yarmuk University. In 1988 the government expelled an American
correspondent for National Broadcasting Company (NBC) because he
had reported on political repression in Jordan.
The government operated an official news agency known as PETRA.
Several international news services maintained offices in Amman,
including Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters, and
TASS. Radio and television broadcasting were controlled by the
government. Jordan Radio and Television had twenty hours of Arabic
radio programs daily, and fifteen hours in English. There were an
estimated 550,000 privately owned radio receivers in 1985, the
latest year for which statistics were available. Jordan Radio and
Television also broadcast ninety hours weekly of television
programs in Arabic and English. In 1985 there were an estimated
280,000 television sets in the country. Both radio and television
accepted advertisements.
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The literature on Jordanian government and politics since the
early 1970s is relatively scarce. Among the readily available
studies in English that merit reading are Peter Gubser's Jordan:
Crossroads of Middle Eastern Events and Clinton Bailey's
Jordan's Palestinian Challenge, 1948-1983: A Political
Challenge. Both books were written in the early 1980s and thus
do not cover events from 1983 on. Middle East Insight,
Middle East International [London], and Middle East
Report are magazines that regularly feature articles about
Jordan's politics, relations with the PLO, and foreign policy.
Lamis Andoni, Naseer H. Aruri, Rashid Khalidi, and Robin Wright are
the principal writers who specialize on Jordanian affairs. Articles
by these authors also may be found in various other journals that
deal with international relations and Middle East politics. (For
further information and complete citations,
see Jordan -
Bibliography.)
Data as of December 1989
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