The Mediterranean model changes In Syria

By Zeinab Hassan 

    In 2004, Hallin and Mancini released a book on The Three Models, which has become the main source of research after the theories that were before. The researchers analyzed many countries and saw the pattern how media systems in each region developed differently. Therefore, the authors found that political, social and economic conditions, population and cultural features, physical and geographical characteristics have a significant impact on the development of the media in specific countries. For the first time, a new Mediterranean media model was proposed, which includes my country, Syria.

    According to the study, the media systems of the countries of the Middle East are different because their formation is associated with political conflicts that are still ongoing. Also at the present time, the system is associated with political forces that consider the media as a means of ideological mouthpiece and political mobilization.

    Media development in Syria has long remained weak because everything depended on the temples, wealthy private patrons or the government, which is the owner of media enterprises and the main source of funding. At the present time, political parties have also been added - this, in turn, hinders the professionalization and development of the media as autonomous institutions, and "made the government an autonomous and dominant factor".

    In Syria, the print media targets well-educated elite groups, so the real media here is television, which is currently trying to get away from politics, but I will say that so far this has rarely worked.

     Today, typology trends are associated with globalization and commercialization, which should lead to the modernization of the model. Thus, a new trend has emerged in Syria: less attention is paid to politics, more to entertainment. But still job insecurity and low wages remain a serious threat to journalistic independence. An interesting fact is that in many Mediterranean countries, the existing legal framework for gender equality has not yet been fully implemented: women are paid less for similar work and they cannot hold high positions in both private and public media.

    The above factors indicate that the concept of the Mediterranean media model remains relevant even in the period of globalization. The fact is that the media system of these countries is open to change and does not stand still, which determines its viability. Paolo Mancini is sure that the synthesis of the new liberal commercial model and the old political one is inevitable, and this, in turn, will lead to the growth of entertainment content in the media, because the media product, the main function of which is entertainment, sells better and attracts a larger audience. Nowadays, the boundaries between all models have weakened, but not completely erased.  The main characteristics of the typology remain unchanged.

    In my opinion, the Mediterranean model of Hallin and Mancini can only be changed or disappear altogether when journalists abandon state financial support in favor of the commercial development of the media. So, according to Paolo Mancini's forecasts, journalism in all countries is moving towards a liberal media model and in the near future we will have a single model that will not be dependent on traditions and political influence.