El Watan

El Watan (Arabic:الوطن, meaning the Homeland) is an independent French-language newspaper in Algeria.

Not to be confused with Al-Watan.

El Watan
El Watan logo
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)SPA El Watan Presse
EditorMohamed Tahar Messaoudi
FoundedOctober 8, 1990
Political alignmentCentre-right
LanguageFrench
HeadquartersMaison de La presse Tahar Djaout, 1er Mai, Algiers, Algeria
Circulation200,000 (May 2006 – May 2007)
WebsiteEl Watan

History and profile

The paper was founded in 1990 after Omar Belhouchet and nineteen colleagues left the FLN government-owned newspaper El Moudjahid (English: "The Martyr").[1]

It aims to promote democracy and to give coverage to the Algerian opposition, and has acted as an outspoken voice against censorship and corruption. It has been suspended several times by the Algerian government, and journalists and editors jailed for various offenses. Its reporters have, according to the international press watchdogs Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) been targeted by both government forces and Islamist insurgents.[2][3]

In July 2007, the paper started the first weekend edition in Algeria. Subsequently, the newspaper started economic, real estate, and television supplements, with the goal of having one supplement per day. In 2008, El Watan launched a trilingual Arabic, English, and French website. Fayçal Métaoui, an El Watan journalist, said that the paper created the website because its most significant competition originated from Arabic-language and English-language news sites.[4]

El Watan is one of the few newspapers in Algeria to own its own private printing facilities.[5]

Controversy and Strikes

El Watan has faced numerous boycotts from the Algerian National Publishing and Advertising Agency (ANEP) and the Algerian Press Service (APS), preventing the newspaper from accessing public advertisement.[6][7] In 2018, El Watan editor Omar Belhouchet noted that fear of reprisals have led "media companies [to] self-censor regarding certain topics".[8]

In September 2020, El Watan released a critical report detailing alleged large-scale corruption by Ahmed Gaid Salah, son of a late Army Chief of Staff.[9] The report prompted the government to suspend El Watan’s advertising revenue and the newspaper eventually responded by emphasizing its support for the army.[10]

In 2022, following months of inconsistent, and then unpaid, salaries, El Watan's staff went on strike. Newspaper management claimed unpaid salaries were due to revenue lost from bullying from the state, as well as improper notification of debt repayment by tax authorities and Crédit Populaire d’Algérie's decision to "freeze the company's accounts despite continuous attempts to find a solution to the problem".[11] [12] Creditors responded that the newspaper has substantial unpaid debt.[13]

In an effort to regain revenue, El Watan negotiated with ANEP and APS to allow the newspaper access to free public advertisement. Subtle changes in the newspaper's outputs following the end of strikes in late 2022 have been noted, especially in regards to foreign parties Algeria is increasing its economic and political relationships with.[14]

Global Popularity

The paper's online version was the 45th most visited website for 2010 in the MENA region.[15]

See also

References
  1. Youssef M. Ibrahim (26 July 1991). "Algeria in Ferment -- A Special Report; In Algeria, Hope for Democracy but Not Economy". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  2. "Algeria – 2003 Annual report". Algeria: Reporters Without Borders. 2 May 2003. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  3. "Reporter for El Watan attacked and kidnapped". Algeria: Reporters Without Borders. 23 July 2002. Archived from the original (Print) on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  4. The Report: Algeria 2008. Oxford Business Group, 2008. 199. Retrieved from Google Books 20 September 2012. ISBN 1-902339-09-6, ISBN 978-1-902339-09-2.
  5. El-Issawi, Fatima (February 2017). "Algerian National Media: Freedom at a Cost" (PDF). LSE Middle East Centre Report.
  6. "Algeria Report: Between Death Threats and Censorship". Refworld. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  7. "Custom Report Excerpts: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia +190 more". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  8. "2018 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Algeria". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  9. "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Algeria". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  10. "Custom Report Excerpts: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia +70 more". United States Department of State. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  11. "Algeria: Last days for the El Watan newspaper?". France 24. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  12. "El Watan is back on Algeria's newsstands but its survival is still threatened | RSF". rsf.org. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  13. "El Watan is back on Algeria's newsstands but its survival is still threatened | RSF". rsf.org. 27 August 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  14. Haden, Madelyn; Harr-Siebenlist, Gabriel (2 November 2023). "Algeria's economic and political trends after the Hirak movement". The Journal of North African Studies. 28 (6): 1303–1316. doi:10.1080/13629387.2023.2254025. ISSN 1362-9387.
  15. "Forbes Releases Top 50 MENA Online Newspapers; Lebanon Fails to Make Top 10". Jad Aoun. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
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