This book began with intellectual curiosity regarding the consequences of media pluralism and manipulation for Arab journalism and democracy. During the six years (2015–20) on which we centred our empirical investigation, Tunisia and Lebanon had freer media environments than most other countries in their region. In that sense, we may consider them test cases of what media–politics relations could look like if more Arab states broke out of the authoritarian mould. The freedom to speak one's mind is not a trivial advance in a part of the world where politics is too often held prisoner by fear and repression. But freedom of expression is also not a guarantee for keeping politicians in check and preserving democratic progress. As we have seen, the journalists who provide the raw material of news are liable to become the objects of instrumentalisation. When this occurs, they are far from constituting a fourth estate, instead serving as amplifiers and agents of the decision-makers.

Summary of Findings

As laid out in the Introduction, three questions guided our investigation. We would now like to sum up the answers we found and discuss lessons learned for studies of the Middle East, media and communication and comparative politics. Our first working question was why media instrumentalisation has accompanied press freedom in Tunisia and Lebanon. By combining different sources and foregrounding the experiences of journalists, we have provided a thick description (Geertz 2008) spanning different levels of analysis. Let us break our observations into explanations at the macro, meso and micro levels. At the macro level, the state of the economy, the political institutions and the regulatory environment all have important consequences for media capture. For Tunisia and Lebanon, the combination of strained economies and fragile institutions has made the media vulnerable to political meddling. On the one hand, a constant shortage of funds makes media organisations and journalist increasingly dependent upon the holders of capital; on the other, the uncertainty of the political situation incites contenders for power to invest in loyal supporters in the media realm. In terms of regulation, the response of the Tunisian state has been far more robust than that of its Lebanese counterpart, and to some extent effectual in tying politicians’ hands. However, even in Tunisia, some prominent television channels have refused to comply with HAICA directives.