Palestinian journalists launch independent online news channel
At a time when biased media outlets are a dime a dozen in Palestinian territories, a group of Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip decided to launch an independent online news channel that uses Facebook and YouTube to disseminate news items.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — A group of Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip launched Oct. 1 the first Palestinian online news channel — Baladna (Our Country) — both on YouTube and Facebook.
Chief among the channel’s founding journalists and staff is journalist Ahmed Saeed, the chairman of the channel and anchor on the local Shaab radio station, and satirist Akram al-Sourani.
The number of internet subscribers in Gaza is on the rise. According to a May 7 report issued by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in Gaza, there were 116,793 subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2017, compared to 94,958 at the end of the first quarter last year.
Saeed told Al-Monitor, “The idea behind the launch of Baladna is to create an independent media outlet at a time when Palestinian media outlets are controlled by political parties. This gives us larger leverage away from partisan influence or ideologies; it gives us the courage to expose all forms of corruption and tackle issues in a more objective and impartial manner.”
