Some critics believe that Arab media is one of the places where this can occur. Unfortunately, Arab media in its present state cannot be the agora of debate. The truth is, it’s still shackled and afflicted with the same problems that Simeon Djankov’s study on media ownership has found — wealthy elites manipulate the media to further their own agendas. Post-Revolution Independent Internet publications like Tunisia-live cannot compete with Internet giants who dominate the market. Disney alone controls over 30 Internet companies including ESPN and ABC news. The problem is further compounded by the vast powers that the state still exercises because it has inherited authoritarian media laws.

Opinion piece by Tam Hussein: “Innocence of Muslims” – A Case For Civil Society – citing this 2003 paper by Simeon Djankov et al on media ownership in 97 countries.

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