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0 - Issue 40
Ockrent: There is much more to Syria than politics
by Stephen Starr
One of France’s most respected broadcast journalists, Christine Ockrent, was in Damascus last month promoting the rejuvenation of Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya, the Arabic-language arm of one of Europe’s best-known flagship radio enterprises. Here she speaks to Forward Magazine.
Why are you here in Syria?
I’m here to talk about Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya which has been here for decades, was very prominent for a long time, was much respected and we want now to revamp its program and of course Syria is a key country in terms of population and other things. It’s a radio station that broadcasts all over the Middle East.
What are your opinions about Syria as a country and in particular its media scene?
Well I’m certainly struck by the development of the city and I think there is also an opening in many more ways than before to take part in a general debate and to be less isolated.
Syria is usually linked to or viewed through its politics, why?
There is much more to Syria than politics and I was struck by the fact that in a radio station like ours, we do a lot of music, culture, social issues and it’s sometimes our Syrian colleagues who want to get me back to politics. I think it’s important that we know that in Europe people are interested in a lot of things, things that are not always related to politics. I think the way to diminish so much prejudice against this part of the world is obviously to talk about what is of interest to them especially in a country with so many young people like Syria. It’s to talk about education, to talk about the web, all sorts of issues on our radio station: politics should not invade everything.
With the rise of the internet is print finished?
[Laughs] I’m in TV and radio so I’m not very much acquainted with print. Every time there has been a technological revolution there are people who would say ‘the old media is finished’ but there is certainly a huge challenge to daily newspapers which now have to prove that they have an added value for their readers. Every media company is wondering how to make money out of the web and I don’t think anyone has found the answer yet. We are seeing now how consumers of news have changed their behavior radically. What has not followed is the economic model in order to sustain news. News is highly expensive and greatly perishable but we are living through a fascinating era.
And for radio?
Now, for radio, the internet is a fantastic opportunity because people can listen on the internet to all the radio stations in the world and it also gives radio a longer range with archives, podcasts, you name it. You can listen to what you want to listen to at a time that suits you which is also a change in behavior.
