In light of financial crisis, JPA appeals to gov’t to take ‘urgent measures’

AMMAN — The Jordan Press Association (JPA) council on Thursday called on the government to take urgent measures to save print newspapers from the financial crises threatening their existence, with major implications for the national media scene.

The council directed an official letter to the media minister requesting the government to respond to the demands of the association, which were submitted several times under the umbrella of efforts to support print media, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“In light of the great financial crisis experienced by print newspapers, we stress the importance of taking urgent measures to save these national institutions in accordance with the proposals that the association sees,” the council wrote. 

The letter added that the measures should be “based on accurate financial studies that will contribute to solving a large part of the financial problems that newspapers suffer from”.

With this in mind, the council called for raising the prices of government advertisements in newspapers to JD1 instead of 55 piasters.

The council also called for increasing less-prevalent newspapers’ share of government advertisements to 5 per cent instead of 2 per cent, and increasing the number of subscriptions of ministries and government institutions.

The council stressed the need to exempt newspapers from the fees and taxes imposed on them for a period of at least 5 years and reducing electricity tariffs for newspapers — measures that echo those in other sectors covered by the economic stimulus plans launched by the government in 2019. 

The JPA in December 2019 stood against any measures to dissolve or merge Al Rai and Ad Dustour dailies, which are both owned by the Social Security Corporation (SSC), under any circumstances, JPA President Rakan Saaideh said.

During a meeting of the Lower House's national guidance committee for media and culture, Saaideh, who is also editor-in-chief of Al Rai, stressed that the state “must find drastic solutions” to the challenges facing print media, especially for Ad Dustour and Al Rai dailies. 

He added that these dailies and the private Al Ghad daily should be viewed as national institutions rather than investments.

The editor-in-chief noted that previous administrations and government decisions have had “clear impacts” on exacerbating the "crises" of these dailies.

The activities of Al Rai, Ad Dustour and Al Ghad have a large and influential role, and their financial hardships must be addressed, Saaideh reiterated, suggesting the establishment of a national fund to support print media in a way that guarantees its sustainability and independence. 

At the time, SSC Director General Hazem Rahahleh also highlighted the challenges that the print media industry faces, calling for direct communication with the administrations of Al Rai and Ad Dustour to examine their difficulties and work on resolving them through a joint approach. 

Social Security Investment Fund CEO Kholoud Saqqaf said in December that the fund places special attention on these two national institutions, highlighting "intensive" follow ups by the SSIF to arrive at the procedures necessary to put these two dailies “back on the right track”.