“I wish I could find Syrians here to cry with,” Lina Chawaf told other fellows in the Nieman Class of 2025 as she followed the stunning developments unfolding in her country in early December.
Chawaf is the CEO and founder of Syrian independent radio station Radio Rozana, which has been operating in exile from France and Gaziantep, Turkey. She spoke to her Nieman classmates about the fast-moving series of events since the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, bringing an abrupt end to Syria’s prolonged civil war and forcing President Bashar Assad into exile in Russia after a 24-year rule.
Chawaf says Syrian journalists in the country and in exile are waiting with uncertainty to see what the new government’s approach to the media will be. The only news outlets permitted under the Assad regime were state-run, and Syria has long been classified as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. During the civil war, hundreds of journalists were jailed and dozens were killed — forcing most independent outlets to operate in exile and earning Syria a second-to-last ranking in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index.
Chawaf says her Radio Rozana colleagues are now openly reporting on the ground in Syria and hurrying to move their transmitter from Turkey to Damascus.
The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
The post After Assad: What the Fall of Syria’s Dictatorship May Mean for the Country’s Journalists appeared first on Nieman Reports.
“I wish I could find Syrians here to cry with,” Lina Chawaf told other fellows in the Nieman Class of 2025 as she followed the stunning developments unfolding in her country in early December. Chawaf is the CEO and founder of Syrian independent radio station Radio Rozana, which has been operating in exile from France and Gaziantep, Turkey. She spoke to her Nieman classmates about the fast-moving series of events since the Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, bringing an abrupt end to Syria’s prolonged civil war and forcing President Bashar Assad into exile in Russia after a 24-year rule. Lina Chawaf, founder and CEO of Radio Rozana, in Gaziantep, Syria. Abdulsalam Jarroud Chawaf says Syrian journalists in the country and in exile are waiting with uncertainty to see what the new government’s approach to the media will be. The only news outlets permitted under the Assad regime were state-run, and Syria has long been classified as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. During the civil war, hundreds of journalists were jailed and dozens were killed — forcing most independent outlets to operate in exile and earning Syria a second-to-last ranking in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index. Chawaf says her Radio Rozana colleagues are now openly reporting on the ground in Syria and hurrying to move their transmitter from Turkey to Damascus. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. The post After Assad: What the Fall of Syria’s Dictatorship May Mean for the Country’s Journalists appeared first on Nieman Reports. Read More