The Manahel Printing House, Rabat, released a new book entitled ‘Journalistic Excavations from Wall Magazine to Facebook Wall’ by Moroccan writer and journalist Jamal al-Mouhafez.
The book explores several journalistic and media causes in light of the challenges imposed by the digital revolution and showcases major occasions from the history of journalism and media in Morocco.
In his 400-page book, the writer sheds light on “the importance of media and communication in the contemporary world, and the analysis of the major journalistic occasions and events for lesson learning and answering the present questions.”
“We can’t understand journalism inclusively without having the sufficient knowledge of the society’s systems and entities because media outlets are part of the social structure, and their development is the result of the political, social, cultural, and economic transformations in any country. The author believes that the main problem in this context is proving the interaction between journalism and media and the political, social, and cultural spaces, because media is not a neutral actor; it affects and gets affected by major events,” the preamble reads.
“The content of this book attracts the reader with its historic depth. Citizen Jamal al-Mouhafez has always been haunted by the history of democracy in his country, and mostly by the role and impact of journalism and media on his community. He has always observed the development of this field, questioning major, fading concepts such as independence, credibility, and ethics,” Idris al-Yazmi, head of the Moroccan community abroad, says in the introduction.
According to al-Yazmi, reading this book is a historical journey full of interesting facts. However, history is not the dominating dimension in this book, which also features many articles that reflect concerns about the future of this profession, and how it is practiced nowadays in Morocco, our region, and the world.
What are the political, technological, economic, social, and ethical contexts and circumstances that surround journalists’ work? What about independence, neutrality, and ethics? What about discussion in media outlets, and the commitment to honor code in the field?
The book stands on the same distance between the media and the society in its political, social, cultural, and pedagogic features, which allows it to look at the exchanges and effects between both of them, and spot the reactions of each one towards the other.
Murad al-Qaderi, head of the poetry house in Morocco, writes on the book’s back cover: “This is not surprising. Dr. Jamal al-Mouhafez is a veteran journalist who has practiced this career for decades, and observed its paths, questions, and bets while serving in different media and civil positions.”
The book features over 100 texts and topics.
