Specialists in the local press note an unprecedented dynamic with the emergence of more and more followers of the electronic press that deals with local matters in their various social, cultural, economic, political, sporting and educational aspects. The objective is to contribute to bringing the region out of its lethargy.
The presence of more than ten electronic information sites interested in local issues and events through various journalistic genres (reports, investigations, analyses) and reporting events and highlights via videos and photos, has contributed to the enrichment of the local media scene.
Some electronic sites provide rigorous and professional treatment of the reported information while others reproduce, purely and simply, the already existing model.
Specialists in the local electronic press believe that this medium has not yet managed to keep pace with the professional press. This is explained by the fact that the management of electronic information sites is dominated by inexperienced individual initiatives, in the absence of a professional press company.
Approached by MAP, actors in the local electronic press wish to specify that most sites do not meet the criteria required in terms of electronic press, in terms of objectivity, credibility, professionalism and respect for the ethics of the profession in the treatment of events and highlights of the region.
On the web, the media coverage of the province does not reflect the human, institutional, cultural, historical value and the heritage of the region, they added, estimating that the editorial line and the updating of the content of the electronic press constitute a real problem hindering the sustainability of some sites.
In this context, Hafid Karoumi, blogger (Errachidia 24 site), emphasised the difficulty in determining the editorial line of the electronic press of the province, noting that this state of affairs is explained by the absence of financial support insofar as most electronic information sites survive thanks to their own resources.
Thus, electronic sites find themselves between the hammer of the end of their adventure due to lack of means, and the anvil of aligning their editorial lines with those of the bodies and organisations providing funds, noting the rarity or absence of the culture of advertising among various companies, forcing the local press to follow an impartial editorial line in the coverage of events and highlights of the region.
In this context, he noted the similarity of the journalistic product of electronic sites and the absence of diversified journalistic genres, noting that the flourishing of the local media scene requires the plurality of journalistic practices advocating professionalism and impartiality and the provision of electronic information sites with financial resources capable of satisfying their expenses and financing in particular investigative journalism, while restoring the confidence of companies and businesses in the electronic press.
On the establishment of a local press reflecting the reality and aspirations of the region, the media actor stressed that the province has known several initiatives aimed at supervising the electronic press, which remained below the aspirations of journalists and actors in this field and the expectations of the local public.
The local media scene suffers from confusion and the absence of an impartial approach contributing to the valorisation of journalistic practice and the establishment of a local media practice, based on respect for the rules and standards of the profession, while refraining from being the spokesperson for a political party or being responsible for promoting associations and trade union or partisan bodies, he noted.
Mr Karoumi drew attention to the patent lack of training for journalists and actors of the electronic press in the province, calling for the initiation of training sessions for the benefit of directors of electronic sites to improve their journalistic products.
For his part, the director of "nouvelle info", Said Ouacha, highlighted the experience of his electronic site, which he described as "singular", especially since this site reflects the expectations, concerns and aspirations of the local population, in addition to the local cultural heritage of the south-east region of the Kingdom. This site has set among its priorities, since its creation at the beginning of the current year, to lift the "media injustice" on the region by shedding light on the concerns of the population and its social and economic precariousness, explained Mr Ouacha, affirming that despite its professional shortcomings, the local media scene has amply contributed to the promotion and influence of the region.
For Mr Ouacha, the current media experiences in the province which remain marked by volunteering, in the absence of financial support and a law regulating the electronic press, advocate seriousness and credibility in the dissemination of their information.
For his part, the director of the site (Tafilalet News), Abdelali Abdorabo, stressed that some local electronic sites lack objectivity and credibility, affirming that the form and content of the majority of sites are similar, making them titles without substance.
To promote the local electronic press so that it plays the role that falls to it, the head of the "Tafilalet News" site calls for multiplying training sessions in the various aspects related to journalism.
The debate remains open on the role of the local electronic press, in the absence of a legal framework regulating publishing and on the added value of electronic information sites to the local public opinion.
