The 13 December session focused on the challenges and opportunities facing newspaper publishers in the Arab world.

Egypt needs more newspaper readers

Egypt has 81 million people, but newspaper circulation is only 1 million daily.

“This is really shameful, we should go up to three or four million at least,” says Mr Kassem. “This is a national security issue as Egypt is rife with rumors. It must go up.”

Egypt also has three million internet users, and 40 million mobile telephones.

For the independent press, this multimedia mix offers a good opportunity, says Mr Kassem. “In the last four years, there has been an expansion of newspapers that are independent,” he says. “In terms of market share, the government papers had a 90 percent share, the political party newspapers had 5 percent, and 5 percent was independent. But with the increase of independent news, the government share dropped to 75 percent and the independents grew to 25 percent. The party sector has almost disappeared.”

“If we look at the government sector, it is in a 6 million Egyptian pounds deficit and we are entering a period where the government subsidies are less and less and will one day stop.”

“There is a political shift in Egypt, a democratic transition that may take ten years, and a technological transition,” says Mr Kassem, offering good opportunities for the independent press.

Slow but steady in Algeria

Perhaps the most important quality for a publisher in Algeria is patience, says Mr Belhouchet.

The independent press is relatively new-it began in the 1990s - and quickly found itself the target of Islamic militants while, at the same time, facing economic difficulties.

“In the 1990s, newspapers were launched by journalists themselves, and they were not ready to be businessmen,” says Mr Belhouchet. “We had to struggle on more than one front and to build some structures that are directly linked to our industries - distribution, print and advertising.”

The solution, on the business side, was for competing newspapers to form cooperatives for distribution, importing raw materials, and for dealing with advertising agencies, says Mr Belhouchet.

“It was very difficult, but we had no choice. It was as important as editorial,” he says. “Economic and business issues take a lot of patience. We had to build up, day after day, and slowly, to get out of the crisis in which we were living.”

Media measurement more important in a crisis

The global economic downturn is hitting the Middle East, and the competition for advertising revenue in the current climate is fierce.

“Many advertisers are saying their budgets are going down, as much as 30 percent in some cases, but they are not lowering their expectations about what they get for their adspend,” says Ms Amen, whose company is a non-profit association that does media measurement.

Ms Amen made the case for newspapers to provide audited circulation figures to advertisers as a way to convince them to spend their limited funds with newspapers.

“They need some certainty when buying ads, and audit data is one tool that you can use to give them certainty about what they’re buying in your newspaper or website.”

The downturn has also increased the number of advertisers in the region who are insisting on such data, she says. “We have publishers now who were holding out on getting audited six months ago and are now being asked by advertisers, ‘am I audited,’ and, if not, ‘why not’?”

“Add to that the complication that ad agencies want to maintain their margins even in a downturn. They’re going to be very keen to have all the tools they can at their disposal when making decisions about how to distribute that money.”

Sword of Damocles over Bahrain press

All signs point to solid growth of the independent press in Bahrain, but uncertainty is inhibiting that growth, says Mr Al Jamri.

When political opening occurred in 2001, the number of newspapers grew from 2 to 7. Advertising revenues quickly rose to 120 million dollars annually and just as quickly stagnated.

But the biggest challenge remains freedom of expression, says Mr Al Jamri. “It is better than it was in 2001, but it is not guaranteed by law. It is there because of this administration. The prosecutor is not pressing cases.”

“The legal framework is very frightening,” he says. “If they want to implement it, they will curtail the independent media. We have this restrictive law that limits the growth of freedom of expression over the years. We were promised in 2002 that it would change, but we haven’t seen any movement.”

Nevertheless, Mr Al Jamri continues to develop his newspaper company, particularly in digital media. He says the launch of a website - which quickly grew to become Bahrain’s largest - has actually increased print circulation. “The benefit of multimedia is that it is increasing our print readership - this is a phenomenon that I don’t understand, that needs study.”

The most important attributes of the Arab independent press: courage and commitment

In his closing remarks, Mr O’Reily summed up the conference this way:

“I believe this event has shown that newspapers in the Arab region, as in much of the rest of the world, are innovating and adapting as the media world changes - new technologies, a better understanding of our audiences, and a focus on professionalism offer enormous opportunities. But what this event demonstrates more than anything else is the enormous courage and conviction of independent journalists and publications in the region. They continue to push the limits of what is allowed, despite the difficulties and dangers.”

“I find remarkable the commitment and determination of the Arab independent press and of those who defend it, to carry on and challenge those in power, who do their utmost to try to silence them. They stand for the right to inform, investigate, criticize and express opinions that are contrary to those held by the regimes in power. The price they pay is high, as we’ve heard over the past two days. “

Mr O’Reilly condemned the harassment, arbitrary detention and imprisonment that Arab newspaper men and women face every day and called on Arab governments to end these abuses. He also reiterated WAN’s protest to Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Syria, for preventing four journalists and freedom of expression activists from travelling to Beirut and take part in this Forum.

Read his full remarks here.