Muhammad Afazaz / Al-Jazeera Net correspondents

The Corona virus crisis dealt a painful blow to the paper press in the Arab world. It deepened the wounds of institutions that lost all their revenues and were unable to pay the salaries of their workers, and they no longer have any solution other than requesting government support.

In this joint report, the Al-Jazeera Net website monitors the economic and financial reality of Arab press organizations and their employees.

Morocco .. paused until further notice
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent in Rabat Sanaa Al-Quwaiti says that after two days of activating the health emergency as of last March 20, the government has called publishers of paper newspapers to suspend the issuance, publication and distribution of paper editions until further notice, while continuing to Providing an information service in alternative formats in the current circumstances.

After this decision, the newspapers turned to the digital version in PDF format for free on their websites and on several platforms.

The cessation of printing and distribution has been reflected in the media institutions and their workers, as many newspapers have tended to temporarily arrest administrators and technicians, reduce journalists ’wages by 20% to 50% and dispense with some of them, which was denounced by the National Press Union.

And the union considered targeting the rights of workers and journalists by forcing them to sign obligations to abandon their gains and rights or get rid of them, "a behavior that lacks taste, decency and patriotism."

Noureddine Moftah, a member of the Publishers' Federation and director of publishing the paper “Al-Ayyam” weekly, said that since the decision to suspend the publication and distribution of paper publications, media organizations live an odd irony, “their incomes are non-existent after sales and advertisements have stopped, in return they are still continuing their media work.”

He noted in an interview with Al Jazeera Net that this situation makes the press sector lose ten million dollars a month.

He added that the press today calculates its life in days, expecting the closure of a number of paper newspapers. "Even if the state interferes and provides assistance or support, this will not save many newspapers from bankruptcy and closure," Moftah said.

Observers expect the closure of a number of Moroccan newspapers (Al-Jazeera)


On his part, Younis Mujahid, head of the National Council for the Press, believes that the crisis experienced by the paper-based press today does not only concern press institutions and journalists, but also society and the state.

He explained to Al-Jazeera Net that "the current circumstances have proven the importance of the media and the need for it in news, mobilization and combating false news."

Mujahid revealed that the National Press Council is in constant contact with the representative bodies of journalists and publishers to discuss the implications of this crisis, which will affect the future of the press, and to search for solutions, stressing the need for a public intervention to support paper newspapers and save what can be saved.

In the face of this situation, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports announced the acceleration of the annual government support for media institutions to reduce the situation of fragility affecting these institutions and to preserve jobs for journalists and their workers and their wages in these emergency circumstances.

Algerian newspapers (Al-Jazeera)

Algeria .. Decent paper attendance
Al Jazeera Net reporter Abdel Hakim Hadaqa stated that three major newspapers have been withheld from appearing, with the start of quarantine measures, namely, "An-Nahar, Al-Khobar, the French-speaking homeland", which prompted the Ministry of Communication to intervene on March 25, Emphasizing "the necessity of the continuation of the various public and private media outlets and all its types in the performance of its vital role."

In a statement, the ministry pledged to provide administrative licenses for all workers in the sector to move freely in light of the quarantine procedures, but the complexities of the situation forced the paper newspapers to disappear except with a symbolic presence in the public scene.

Al-Jazeera Net learned from multiple sources that all newspapers without exception have reduced the edition to its lowest levels, many of which are printed within the limits of three thousand copies only.

The contraction of advertising advertisements due to the crisis forced it to reduce the number of its pages by an average of eight full pages to ease the financial burdens, after the National Agency for Publishing and Distribution, a public body, resorted to reducing advertising grants by more than 80%, according to major newspaper indicators, while completely absent For small headlines with a limited reach, which are ads that generally relate to postponing or cancellation of public deals.

The emergency situation led to the temporary suspension of the publication of some well-known newspapers such as "Al-Nahar," the news of French-speaking tribes, the other voice. " Small newspapers were also forced to publish irregularly, based on whether or not they were notified.

According to data obtained by Al-Jazeera Net correspondent, most of the media organizations have stopped paying wages since last February, and journalists in one of them have filed a complaint about being informed of the dismissal, and the case is currently under investigation.

The first days of the quarantine witnessed a complete cessation of the distribution companies, before returning modestly, as it concentrated in the major cities without reaching the interior and remote areas, and covered only 10% of the points of sale, and some small newspapers resorted to directing half of their issuance towards the paper stores.

All Tunisian newspapers stopped publication (Al-Jazeera)

Tunisia .. Suffering
Al-Jazeera Net reporter Amal Al-Hilali reported that the Corona virus blocked the paper press after most of the newspapers stopped publishing, at a time when the University of Newspaper Managers launched an appeal to the government to save the already strapped sector and secure the wages of hundreds of journalists who are threatened with losing their jobs.

Written media organizations are distributed between seven daily newspapers and 28 periodicals, and more than three thousand people are active among workers, technicians, journalists, and employees in the paper-press sector.

The President of the University of Newspapers, Al-Tayeb Al-Zahar, described, in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net, the repercussions of the Corona virus on the paper-press sector in Al-Karthy, especially since most media organizations that stopped publishing today are unable to pay the wages of their employees.

Al-Zahar pointed out that this sector lives mainly on advertising revenues, calling on the government to adopt urgent measures to save the sector.

The economic crisis experienced by the paper newspapers was the focus of a meeting between Finance Minister Muhammad Nizar Yaish and officials of the University of Newspaper Managers, where the two parties discussed possible solutions to save the affected media institutions and how to deal with the problem of workers ’wages.

Earlier, the General University of Media called on all media organizations that issue paper copies to pause, and only publish on the websites, given the losses that the newspaper stops may cause.

The Speaker of the People's Assembly called for the necessity of adopting urgent measures to support and support written newspapers and enacting legislations that stimulate that orientation, including the "draft law creating the National Agency for the Disposition of Public Publicity (Announcements) and Contributions" which secures a share of incomes for institutions similar to other countries that have created funds To support written newspapers.

Newsstands in Cairo are closed due to the embargo (Al-Jazeera)

Egypt .. A Mercy Bullet
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Abdullah Hamed says that the Corona epidemic came as a mercy bullet to the old press of Egypt, which has recently declined sharply due to economic factors such as stagnation and politics, such as restrictions and censorship.

He added that before Corona, the night shouts of newspaper vendors in the names of newspapers had abated and scarcely, and as a result of Corona, they completely ceased the famous call of the names of the newspapers, "The Pyramids of Republic News", which are the three major newspapers.

The newsstands are closing their doors early to comply with the decision to close the shops at five in the evening, and most of its sales were at night after the newspapers were issued.

The Corona epidemic came to compound the troubles of the heavily indebted government press institutions that exceeded twenty billion pounds (about one billion and three hundred million dollars), in addition to the struggle with the digital press and the suffering of publishing restrictions, which led the Egyptians to refrain from reading it, and its sales declined.

The head of the Supreme Media Council, Makram Mohamed Ahmed, said in press statements that newspapers are issued to one reader, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

With the decrease in the number of printed pages and the number of pages, the revenues of the institutions and newspapers declined from advertisements to an unprecedented degree, which is the main source of their funding, and according to press statements by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al-Ahram Abdul Mohsen Salameh, the most acquisitive of the advertising cake, the advertising revenue for the Foundation decreased by 75%.

Private newspapers are about to close their doors, and some of them were waiting for their owners an opportunity to stop them, just like Al-Tahrir newspaper, whose administration was in conflict with journalists for their demobilization months ago.

The National Press Authority has been bearing the salaries and expenses of all governmental press institutions for years, in light of the inability of these institutions to provide them, and the institutions ’demands for the state to support them increased after the Corona crisis.

In a press statement, the head of the commission, Karam Jabr, stated that the paper press was affected by the hours of the ban and the absence of vendors.

Officials in a number of private newspapers demanded that the press bodies should support them by postponing the collection of financial dues for presses, insurance and taxes for six months, while lending these newspapers to pay the salaries of their employees in light of the high prices of paper and printing and operating supplies.

With the collapse of newspaper sales after the spread of Corona, the quantities received by the sellers decreased in the morning, as the press distribution institutions affiliated with the three main institutions (Al-Ahram, Akhbar Al-Youm and Dar Al-Tahrir) agreed to operate only one car carrying the publications of other institutions in order to save expenses, in line with the new situation.

Most of the private newspapers suspended their publications until the crisis passed, with the exception of three daily newspapers that reduced the number of publications to less than a quarter on average, and they stopped only electronic editions in the form of "PDF" after the spread of warnings of carrying copies of newspapers for the Corona infection, and journalists defended saying that the banknotes He claimed to be afraid of dealing with it, accusing the authority of using the crisis to permanently get rid of the press and newspapers.

"Modernity" made its decision early to stop issuing (Al-Jazeera)

Sudan .. Corona topples newspapers
, Al-Jazeera correspondent Net Muzdalifah Muhammad Othman said that the Sudanese newspapers have suffered over the past few years from a significant decline in the distribution numbers, as they are not far from the economic damage applied to the country.

With a wave of high prices, newspapers were forced to raise their prices to twenty pounds per copy (approximately $ 0.1), which led to a decline in distribution.

In the midst of the suffering that the newspapers are suffering under, the Corona pandemic came to darken the situation, he says to Al-Jazeera Net Al-Fateh and Diddy, the editor-in-chief of the "Modernity" newspaper, where the epidemic was resolved at a time when it was trying to overcome the concerns of the collapse of the local currency and its implications for industry inputs from papers, inks and transport fees.

"As newspaper market operators struggle to stick to the price of publications at their current limits, the virus overthrows the newspaper's latest attempts to survive," he says.

And the newspaper "Modernity" made its decision early to stop publishing with the beginnings of the disease in the country before all paper versions were attached to it.

The Indian Izz al-Din, the owner of the newspaper "Al-Michar", confirms to Al-Jazeera Net that the newspapers are greatly affected by the precautionary measures taken by the state to close the capital from the states.

And he added, "For weeks, the sale of newspapers in the capital became only, which lost us about a third of our readers and a third of the distribution revenue."

The weak movement and the stoppage of many businesses and companies in Khartoum - as Ezz El-Din says - have reduced the number of printed copies of newspapers, which has had major impacts on financial accounts.

Ezz El-Din said that his newspaper will not be able to publish during the period of the comprehensive ban due to the halt of the printing press as well as the distribution company because of the logistical complications that can be faced due to the closure of the bridges linking the three cities of the capital.

 The Sudanese press has suffered for many years (Al-Jazeera)

And the same reasons are listed by Ashraf Abdel Aziz, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Al-Jarida, telling Al-Jazeera Net that they went to electronic publishing after the printers and distribution companies failed to work due to the complete ban. He also confirms that the impact on paper newspapers started since the partial curfew was banned and interstate movement was banned, causing newspapers to be published. Only in Khartoum.

A number of newspapers have activated their websites and some have also printed pages through the PDF system and distributed them on social media platforms, in an effort to maintain their communication with the public.

Wadidi explains that their initiative to suspend the publications was dictated by several reasons, including the difficulty in distributing under the pandemic, which will be reflected in the revenues. He stresses that some institutions have financial flexibility that may allow the salaries of workers to be paid up to the end of the crisis.

We do not reflect negatively on the announcement of the  state of public mobilization on newspaper sales in Lebanon (Al-Jazeera).

Lebanon .. Journalism wrestling with crises
Al-Jazeera Net correspondent Waseem Al-Zuhairi says that the multiple problems, especially financial ones that the Lebanese paper-press suffers, precede the crisis of the spread of the Corona virus.

Observers believe that the battle today regarding paper press is existential in light of the severe economic crisis.

George Solag, deputy head of the Syndicate of the Press Syndicate, says that ads, the primary source of independent newspaper entry, have fallen dramatically in recent months, reaching the start of the spread of the Coruna virus and the near-total paralysis it has imposed to 75%.

He adds to Al-Jazeera Net that the percentage of sales has declined about 65% since the crisis of the Corona virus due to the closure of libraries, the sale of newspapers, and the commitment of people to homes.

Concerning the fears of closing newspapers as a result of the accumulation of crises, Solag said that everything is possible, considering that the reality of newspaper and administrative workers in the newspapers has become threatened, like other sectors as a result of the repercussions of the economic crisis and the spread of the epidemic. 

The editor-in-chief, Joseph Kossifi, said that the paper press has suffered from great problems over the past five years, which led to a drop in sales in high proportions. He pointed out that the crisis of the spread of the Corona virus has left negative negative repercussions on this sector.

Kassifi told Al Jazeera Net that the Press Editors Syndicate worked to exclude media workers from public mobilization measures to counter the Corona virus, and pointed out that most newspapers asked their employees to work from home to relieve overcrowding.

He added that some newspaper departments have deducted the salaries of their employees as a result of successive crises, and Qosseifi did not rule out the possibility of some newspapers closing their offices, especially if the crises remain, and the absence of the required support continues.

Chief Editor of the Iraqi "Al-Mada": Press revenues stopped due to the Corona pandemic (Al-Jazeera)

Iraq .. Newspapers declaring bankruptcy
Al-Jazeera Net peace correspondent Zaidan says that the situation of the paper press is suffering a very great deterioration, as there were 171 newspapers and magazines in 2003 and they are now 21 newspapers and magazines, all of which are printed thirty thousand copies per day distributed to government and private institutions, and has abandoned them Citizen for not being able to keep pace with developments.

He adds that with the Corona crisis, most newspapers turned to publishing their numbers electronically only, and with fewer pages than before, while other newspapers stopped issuing and cut the salaries of their employees to avoid bankruptcy and "death."

Ali Hussein, editor-in-chief of Al-Mada newspaper, which is one of the largest newspapers in the country, was quoted as saying, "We resorted to the electronic edition to keep the newspaper connected with its fans, in light of the printed number stopping due to the Corona virus pandemic."

Hussein mentioned in an interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the electronic version is provided free of charge to the reader, so the press revenues from selling and advertising have stopped, indicating that the current circumstance will force most newspapers to switch to electronic work only.

On the other hand, the head of the Association for the Defense of Freedom of the Press, Mustafa Nasser, said in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net that the paper newspapers had completely stopped publishing at the recommendation of the Press Syndicate, and most of them had turned into electronic newspapers.

Nasser pointed out that the financial revenues of newspapers and magazines also stopped, and that some institutions were affected by the salaries of their employees, as the newspaper administration deducted a percentage of their salaries.

He stressed that the debts of press institutions may increase at the current stage, in the absence of government support.

He pointed out that the prolonged stay of the Corona crisis may lead to the closure of some newspapers that do not have the ability to pay their financial obligations towards their employees, and may declare bankruptcy.

The editor-in-chief of the Iraqi "New World": the newspaper administration has deducted a percentage of the employees ’salaries (Al-Jazeera)

On the other hand, the correspondent Omaima Younes indicated that the Corona pandemic - and the consequent imposition of a comprehensive curfew - forced many newspapers to conceal and not appear for more than a month.

The correspondent quoted Muntazir Nasser, the editor-in-chief of the "New World" electronic newspaper, as saying that most citizens are now reluctant to buy newspapers, adding that the decline in the paper press is not limited to Iraq but to the world as a whole. He stressed that the imposition of the curfew contributed greatly to what he considered a "qualitative shift" for the paper-based electronic journalism.

It also quoted Bassem Al-Sheikh, editor of the newspaper Al-Dustour, as saying that neglect and the lack of real infrastructure and investment resources to advance this field, in addition to other reasons that contributed to the deterioration of the reality of the written press.

The sheikh added that the Corona virus "dealt a painful blow to the paper press", excluding what he described as "government-backed newspapers or political parties" which he said "represent their orientations and positions that are far from the concerns of the street."

He pointed out that the closure of many newspapers and the conversion of others to the electronic press added a new burden for hundreds of workers in those newspapers.

For his part, President of the Journalists Syndicate, Moayad Al-Lami, called on the Council of Ministers and the Central Bank to allocate interest-free loans to support press institutions, especially paper ones. 

Al-Lami demanded - via tweet on Twitter - the government to allocate salaries for workers in paper newspapers.