House schedules meeting to discuss print media troubles

AMMAN — The Lower House is scheduled to hold a special session on Wednesday to discuss the “worsening financial situation” of print media as requested by a group of MPs.

During Sunday's session, the House’s first deputy speaker, Ahmad Safadi, announced that the memorandum, signed recently by 53 lawmakers on the financial woes of the country’s major newspapers, will be on the Chamber's Wednesday agenda for discussion. 

In the memo, a copy of which was made available to The Jordan Times, signatories stressed the important national role of print media outlets, providing at the same time a set of recommendations to help alleviate newspapers’ financial difficulties, including exemptions from taxes.

Before voting on the memo on March 18, MPs commented on its content, with some blaming the “bad” management of newspapers for the financial problems they are struggling with. 

Others stressed the need to deal with newspapers away from the considerations of profit and loss, citing the spread of electronic media outlets as the major reason behind print media’s woes.

Some deputies cited consecutive governments’ interference in newspapers as the main factor responsible for their accumulated problems, explaining that these governments flooded print media outlets with unneeded staff.

During a meeting on March 12 with the House Committee on National Guidance and Media to discuss the financial hardships facing dailies in the Kingdom, particularly Jordan’s oldest newspaper, Ad-Dustour, Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani said that exempting daily newspapers from taxes and customs fees would be against the law. 

Momani noted that the law does not give exemptions to a certain sector, adding that the government would be ready to solve difficulties facing print media but within legal limits.
Industry leaders have been demanding the government to exempt newspapers from taxes and customs fees in order to enable dailies to maintain a steady income and prevent the closure of key media outlets. 

Ad-Dustour daily has been witnessing financial difficulties that left its management unable to pay salaries for months.