The Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, announced on Monday at the House of Representatives, the development of a new law relating to the National Press Council (CNP). This bill was examined by the government in form, while its content will be discussed with professionals in the sector, as part of the self-regulation of the profession.
Answering questions about the self-regulation of the press sector, the Minister noted that the conclusions of the experience of self-regulation have constituted a source of development of this text, noting that the objective is to lead to “a text guaranteeing the self-regulation and moralization of the press profession”.
The Minister dwelled, in this regard, on the experience of self -regulation of the journalistic profession through the process which ended by the establishment of the CNP, noting that this process, “much more than a simple administrative measure, reflects a deep awareness than the freedom of the press, as guaranteed by the Constitution, can only be materialized through self -regulation mechanisms”.
After stressing that self-regulation aims to consolidate the freedom of the profession and to consecrate the constitutional law of its exercise, he noted that the Constitution in its article 28 stresses the importance of organizing the press sector on democratic bases.
Self-regulation, he continued, aims to protect the profession from non-ethical or non-professional practices which could tarnish its reputation, such as fake news, disinformation and other negative practices.
And to add that self -regulation is not the prerogative of journalists, but concerns society as a whole in the sense that the press is at the service of the company.
