Media of the United Arab Emirates

The government-owned Emirates Media publishes Al Ittihad newspaper and owns Abu Dhabi’s radio and television stations. Another newspaper, Al Bayan, is also government owned, as are most television and radio stations. The country’s largest English- and Arabiclanguage newspapers, Al Khaleej and Gulf News, are privately owned. By law, the Media Council, which is appointed by the president, licenses all publications and issues press credentials to editors. Laws also govern press content and proscribed subjects. Media Council censors review all imported media for content.^[1]

Limits on media freedom are being challenged by the establishment of Dubai Media City (DMC) and twofour54 Abu Dhabi, free zones intended to attract media and marketing services, business and information services, news media, and multimedia/Internet, as well as publishers, broadcasters, music companies, and production firms. In addition to tax benefits, companies locating there have been guaranteed that the government will not censor their news and information content, provided certain relatively liberal guidelines of taste and propriety are met.

See also

• Communications in the United Arab Emirates

References

1. ^ United Arab Emirates country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (July 2007). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.