4. Communications and media for a more open government in Lebanon

How public communication and media ecosystems contribute to the principles of Open Government

Public communication can both be leveraged to make the policy cycle more transparent, accountable and participative, and as a promotion tool to support the introduction of specific open government reforms both internally and externally. For its part, an active and well-functioning media and information ecosystem plays an important enabling role in holding officials accountable and providing essential information for citizen participation in public policy.

In the past, traditional media, whether in print, broadcast, and now increasingly online, has been the primary vehicle via which public institutions could communicate with the public at large. Citizens would learn about government action and the policies that concerned them through the news media, which also captured public debates and sentiments on these topics.

With the rise of digital platforms, public institutions have themselves become key actors in this ecosystem, as direct providers of policy information through their websites and social media handles. These innovations conversely allow citizens to interact directly with the institutions and can lead to the development of a more direct two-way dialogue. These changes have also brought about a complex ecosystem where established sources of policy information, namely traditional media and the government, are complemented by the many voices of individual stakeholders (Matasick, Alfonsi and Bellantoni, 2020[1]).

In the public policy process more broadly, media and information ecosystems can function as a privileged arena for debate and critique of public policies, whereby different stakeholders can express their views in a public way. Illustrating this function, Penteado and Fortunato (2015[2]) have developed a framework through which they seek to illustrate the influence the media can exert on public policy throughout a six-stage cycle (Figure 4.1).

First, media can help to set public policy agenda and bring to bear pressure on public policy agents on issues with greater popular appeal and salience. Subsequent in the cycle, media can help to identify, evaluate, and select policy options, giving space to dispute alternatives via its channels, foster debate in an open and transparent manner, and allow interest groups to indicate their choices within the presented policy options. Finally, media can play a crucial role in implementing policies and monitoring their effects, including providing coverage of the positive and negative impacts of implemented policies and disseminating their findings to a larger audience.

Besides their broader role in the policy-making context, public communication and media ecosystems can specifically support the principles of Open Government, namely transparency, accountability, integrity, and stakeholder participation and contribute to the implementation of the Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (OECD, 2017[3]), as demonstrated below.

Figure 4.1. Media and the Public Policy Cycle

Source: Adapted from Camargo Penteado and Fortunato (2015[4]), “Mídia e políticas públicas: possíveis campos exploratórios”, Revista Brasileira de Ciências Sociais, Vol. 30/87, p. 129, https://doi.org/10.17666/3087129-141/2015.

Communication in support of Lebanon’s open government agenda

Over recent years, successive Lebanese governments have taken steps contributing to more transparency, integrity, accountability and stakeholder participation in public policy, while signalling support for a broader open government agenda. A number of reforms primarily addressing corruption and ATI have been accompanied by initiatives to modernise the administration.

Prior to the tragic blast at the Port of Beirut in August 2020, these efforts had been in part grounded in the pledges made during the « Conférence économique pour le développement, par les réformes et avec les entreprises »2 (CEDRE) of April 2018. These included 11 governance-related measures (such as anti-corruption and digital transformation reforms) as part of a deal to secure foreign funds in loans and grants. Such commitments were reiterated in the subsequent Cabinet’s Ministerial Statement of February 2020 in which it pledges to develop a comprehensive package of judicial, administrative, financial and legislative reforms. It also committed to the swift introduction of new anti-corruption measures (Government of Lebanon, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2020[7]).

Following the Beirut blast, a new draft proposal was introduced by the French government to renew the commitments of implementing reforms within the CEDRE framework (Al Jazeera, 2020[8]). These reforms align with the goals of former and current Lebanese Ministers of State for Administrative Development, who have formally expressed interest in working towards Lebanon’s adherence to the Recommendation of the Council on Open Government and membership of the OGP. A summary of steps in this direction and a detailed roadmap with recommendations are provided in the OECD Open Government Scan of Lebanon (OECD, 2020[6]).

As illustrated above, when conducted strategically, communication is an essential enabler of open government principles, and as such should form an important part of any related agenda. However, evidence from the interviews and surveys conducted for this report suggests that this outlook is often absent. Given the status quo in Lebanon, deploying public communication that reinforce transparency, integrity, accountability and participation will depend on the implementation of some of the recommendations provided in Chapters 2 and 3.

In developing their strategies and campaigns, the Lebanese institutions could keep front of mind how these can serve broader open government goals and reflect this when setting out objectives. For instance, communication is an optimal tool for greater transparency. The government may therefore wish to ensure that the information that is made public is comprehensive, easily accessible, and that it is up to date. Key websites could be updated frequently with relevant information, whereas government meetings and parliamentary sessions could be made more transparent through the use of video streaming and social media. In doing so, the goal of communicators would be to ensure that disclosed information is presented in a user-friendly and compelling way, to maximise its relevance and appeal to the broadest audiences. Finland’s Central Government Communication guidelines represent well such practices in promoting transparency (Box 4.2).

Similarly, communication strategies and efforts can be designed to serve a diverse set of audiences and ensure that under-represented and vulnerable groups are included in policy dialogues. For instance, they could include dedicated efforts to reach women and youth on key topics relevant to them.3 This practice has been highlighted by the Ministry of Public Health in its response to the OECD Survey, noting in particular how specific campaigns on health issues affecting women or individuals with special needs and disabilities were designed with those audiences in mind. Similarly, such audience targeting can be conducted with the goal of reaching groups who are less traditionally engaged in public policy by adapting content and messaging to their preferences.

Communication could similarly be used by Lebanese institutions to directly raise awareness of opportunities to participate and to target specific under-represented groups for engagement. Despite a recently introduced requirement for public consultations on draft legislation, these are still a rarity in Lebanon (OECD, 2020[6]). However, with the growing focus and commitment to open government reforms, such processes may become more commonplace.4 Matching communication activities to the consultation process can ensure greater engagement and visibility, and build a continuous link with stakeholders throughout the policy cycle. It is also important that when citizens are invited to participate in policy making or service design, their contribution is acknowledged and that they are made aware of how their input is used. The OECD report Innovative Citizen Participation and New Democratic Institutions Catching the Deliberative Wave (2020[9]) includes some guidance on communicating around deliberative processes that can be applied in various participation contexts to enhance their impact.

Finally, public communication could also function as an opportunity for participation in itself, whereby citizens are able to react and interact with government content on platforms that permit it (see for example Box 4.3). Social media offers a primary channel to do this, as most platforms’ features include tools for replying, reacting, polling, that allow for two-way exchanges that can be made more or less formal. In this sense, social media platforms can be used to create virtual “town halls”.

Lebanon’s government could similarly consider developing communication strategies around upcoming reforms such as the National Anti-Corruption Strategy or the ATI Implementation Action Plan to promote a whole-of-society culture of integrity that furthers the objectives of these efforts. In parallel with progress to develop a formal open government agenda and pursue membership of the OGP, Lebanon could consider building in greater integration between the work of the agencies in charge of these activities and that of public communicators.

The role of media ecosystems for transparency, integrity and accountability in Lebanon

As illustrated at the beginning of the present chapter, the media has a primary role in furthering the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability, and stakeholder participation. In this respect, Lebanon has a vast and diverse media sector that benefits from one of the most liberal ecosystems in the region. With a legacy of some ten privately-owned daily newspapers in four languages, and over 1 500 weekly and monthly periodicals, at its peak, Lebanon produced about half of the region's print media (Freedom House, 2011[15]). The country also has nine television stations and about five major radio stations and a dozen of small ones (European Journalism Centre, 2021[16]). Additionally, in the wake of the autumn 2019 protests, new alternative platforms, primarily independent digital media outlets, emerged as a main source of coverage for younger generations, but also for foreign networks (Freedom House, 2020[17]).

The liberalisation of the state monopoly on broadcasting in 1994 meant that Lebanon was the first country in the Middle East to authorise private ownership of radio and television stations (El Richani, 2014[18]). The 1994 Audio-Visual Law additionally established the National Audio-Visual Council (NAVC) as the licence- and frequency-granting body, with the goal to bring under control the multiple informal stations that had emerged (El Richani, 2014[18]). Key legislation includes the Press Law, which dates back to 1962 and concerns print media. It sets up distinct bodies to group and regulate media owners, the Lebanese Press Syndicate, and the Editors Syndicate. Significantly, the law tasked the Ministry of Information with monitoring the financing sources of outlets.

For the most part, Lebanese news outlets act as watchdogs and contribute to holding public institutions and officials to account. However, there is greater scope for supporting healthy media ecosystems and their contribution to open government objectives though policy interventions. This is particularly true in the current context of rising mis- and dis- information, which the media is well-placed to mitigate through quality journalism.

Additionally, as for media around the world, Lebanese outlets have been suffering from funding difficulties, which has led numerous media outlets to close down. The media business model has not been reformed since the 1970s and outlets have not always been able to successfully achieve digital transformation. With the financial crisis that hit the country in autumn 2019, many journalists saw their salaries cut by their employing media institution (European Journalism Centre, 2021[16]).

Like many countries, the degree of media independence and objectivity can also pose a challenge even in a highly pluralistic ecosystem. Lebanon’s media landscape indeed seems to mirror the consociational structure of the political system of the country, which in practice means that journalism can sometimes take sectarian characters and carry political biases (El Richani, 2014[18]). 43% of media outlets are either directly or indirectly owned by 12 families with ties to political parties. This is particularly the case in the print, television and radio sectors (Samir Kassir Foundation, 2018[19]). Based on evidence from the Media Ownership Monitor Lebanon, a CSO-led initiative between Samir Kassir Foundation and Reporters Without Borders, out of 37 selected media outlets, 29 were found to be directly politically affiliated (Samir Kassir Foundation, 2018[19]).

In the eyes of citizens, this aspect can undermine the reliability and trustworthiness of some Lebanese media as catalysts for transparency and accountability. However, a number of independent media also exist. Indeed frustration among some audience groups (particularly young ones) with some outlets’ perceived bias has fuelled demand for a new generation of digital media start-ups.

Alongside private outlets, the government funds through the Ministry of Information two state broadcasters, Télé Liban and Radio Liban, and a newswire service, the National News Agency (NNA). These are important stakeholders in supporting government transparency and expanding the reach of its messages to citizens. The NNA, a newswire, is a primary channel for the dissemination of official information, and covers all government activities alongside current affairs. With around 140 reporters countrywide, it produces reporting that is available for syndication to other news outlets.

The NNA, Télé Liban and Radio Liban have the potential to be an important source of objective public-interest information in an environment where other media often take sides. For this reason, it is important that these outlets continue to receive adequate funding and are kept free of political interference, including through the oversight by the country’s media regulator, the National Media Council (NMC). The latter is also an important actor in advancing the media’s contribution to the open government principles, namely by playing a larger role to ensure journalistic standards are upheld. Similarly, it can extend its role to provide guidance for news outlets to combat disinformation and misinformation.

In its February 2020 Ministerial Statement, the Diab Cabinet had pledged to prepare a unified draft law to upgrade the media regulatory framework in light of the rise of digital and social media, and ensure in parallel protection of freedom of opinion and expression (Government of Lebanon, Presidency of the Council of Ministers, 2020[20]). In May 2020, then-Minister of Information echoed the need for an improved regulatory and enforcement system for the media, while noting that “public information should not be subordinate to any political guardianship, but must be free within certain controls, and not directed or affiliated with the state, but rather serve the citizen” (Government of Lebanon, Ministry of Information, 2020[21]). Although the subsequent policy proposal received criticism from some civil society organisations that it fell short of the above objectives (Amnesty International, 2020[13]), new efforts to reform the current system remain necessary for ensuring a resilient media ecosystem.

The current regulatory landscape, particularly provisions relating to libel and defamation, has been highlighted by some as leaving scope for its application in restriction of free speech. Indeed, since the October 2019 demonstrations, observers have noted cases of social media activists being detained, journalists being investigated or being tried for defamation, including following their reporting on corruption (Maharat Foundation, 2019[22]; Human Rigths Watch, 2019[23]).

These examples suggest that the liberalisation of the media ecosystem and the upholding of freedom of expression in Lebanon are not yet fully achieved. New legal and regulatory reforms, as noted above, would offer an important opportunity for updating how harmful or libellous content is dealt with in the digital age, in respect of essential freedoms and with the goal to safeguard the media’s ability to hold the government to account.

In addition, a new government may consider introducing measures to combat disinformation and misinformation in parallel, for instance by supporting the media sector and independent fact-checking organisations.5 There are growing examples of initiatives where different players in the media ecosystem collaborate against misinformation, as described in Box 4.4 below. Providing direct assistance and amplifying similar efforts in Lebanon would help counterbalance the diffusion of less reliable content online and in traditional media.