Khaberni - Amid the accelerated digital transformation, traditional television faces significant challenges that impose redefining its role in the life of modern society, according to experts and specialists.
The number of licensed satellite stations in Jordan is about 19, according to data from the website of the Media Commission.
Experts explained in their talks on the occasion of World Television Day, which occurs today, Friday, the importance of the media's role in general as an effective means to enhance truth and ethical principles, and the role of television in particular in shaping awareness, culture, and community values. The media are no longer just tools for entertainment or information, but have become an important part of the fabric of society, influencing the awareness and behavior of its members, and contributing to shaping public opinion, according to Petra.
At the same time, they praised Jordan's role in presenting a unique model in developing the legislative framework that regulates the media sector, especially the visual and auditory media, reflecting official recognition of the importance of television and its role in solidifying public awareness.
Associate Professor of Digital Media and Director of the Media Training Center at the Middle East University, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Rajabi, confirmed that digital broadcasting platforms have brought significant changes to viewing habits in Jordan, especially among youth and residents of modern cities.
Al-Rajabi said: "Traditional television is now primarily used to follow news, national events, and dramas during seasons, while global viewing of movies and series has shifted to platforms like Netflix and YouTube and Arab platforms, with a preference for flexible watching on smartphones rather than large screens".
He pointed out the major challenges facing traditional media, including "the aging model of television advertising, migration of advertisers to digital social media platforms that offer precise audience targeting, lack of audience data, in addition to high costs of technical transformation and complexities of intellectual property rights".
Al-Rajabi noted that these challenges create new opportunities, such as "producing high-quality local content sellable on global broadcasting platforms, creating new digital platforms, investing in the television archive, and linking the traditional screen with social media platforms to build an interactive community around the programs".
He asserted that traditional metrics are no longer sufficient for evaluating media content performance, calling for "integrating them with digital indicators, such as on-demand views, watching duration, interaction rates, episode completion rates, in addition to measuring impact through polls and digital tracking boards".
He emphasized the importance of developing "integrated measurement dashboards that link data from terrestrial and satellite broadcasting and digital platforms, providing a comprehensive view of dispersion and contributing to providing accurate indicators reflecting the actual viewing reality".
Dr. Youssef Mohammed Al-Sharman, Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Service at Al-Balqa Applied University, noted that television has become an influential media that imposes its presence in every home, highlighting its pivotal role in shaping individuals' behaviors and culture, where it often replaces the family and school in the socialization process.
Al-Sharman explained that television plays a key role in instilling community values through various methods such as coaxing, warning, and threatening, relying on the fact that human behaviors are acquired through repetition and watching.
He added that the diversity of media programs and content offered by television makes it acceptable to different community segments, reflecting their interests and cultural and ethnic diversity.
Al-Sharman pointed to the "cultural planting" theory by George Gerbner, which asserts that prolonged exposure to television shapes viewers' perceptions of reality, where the credibility of the media message depends on factors like the source's reliability and the content's attractiveness, thereby enhancing its impact in changing attitudes and behaviors.
He confirmed that television has become an effective tool for social adjustment, guiding the audience toward positive behaviors, and warning against negative ones, by displaying successful models that set an example for followers.
He noted that some old habits have disappeared and have been replaced by new ones as a result of the repeated presentation of influential media messages, pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic was a clear example of this transformation.
Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Jordan, Dr. Laith Nasrawin, said: Jordan has presented a unique model in developing the legislative framework that regulates the media sector, especially the visual and auditory media, which reflects an official recognition of the importance of television and its role in consolidating public awareness and shaping opinion and providing knowledge.
This evolution was within a constitutional and legal path aimed at enhancing freedom of expression and protecting media work while ensuring professionalism; as 2011 witnessed a series of constitutional amendments that aimed to enshrine legal protection for the media, explicitly stating that they shall not be suspended or closed except in accordance with the law, thereby establishing a broader system of guarantees governing television broadcasting and visual and auditory media in the country, according to Nasrawin.
He pointed out that Article (15) of the Constitution, in its amended form in 2011, which guaranteed the freedom of opinion, press, printing, publication, and media, formed a constitutional umbrella that placed on the national legislator the responsibility to develop and amend media regulations in a way that achieves balance between freedom and responsibility, protects television institutions from unjustified restrictions, and ensures that regulatory and supervision procedures are based on clear and precise criteria.
He mentioned that the visual and auditory media law of 2015 is the most important legislation regulating television work; it is the legal framework that controls the licensing procedures, accreditation conditions, content standards, and obligations of the visual and auditory media institutions. This law granted the Media Commission broad powers to ensure channels' compliance with professional standards, regulate the broadcasting market, protect the audience, set precise controls for advertisements, prevent monopolies, and define broadcasting rules via satellite and digital platforms.
This coincided with provisions of the Communications Law of 1995 and its amendments, which regulate the management of the frequency spectrum as a national resource directly related to television channels' operations, especially terrestrial broadcasting, and contributed to regulating the relationship between media institutions and the public, especially after including electronic publishing within its scope, thereby enhancing the legal responsibility for the content displayed on screens and digital platforms and linking it to professional and ethical standards ensuring the quality of media discourse.
It also represented the law of guaranteeing the right to information in 2007 as a qualitative step that contributed to supporting media freedom, as it enabled journalists and television institutions to access news sources in an organized and legal manner, raising the level of professionalism and establishing a culture of transparency in television work. Intellectual property legislations have provided advanced protection for television and drama content and media production, contributing to reducing piracy and attacks on channels' rights and program providers, thereby enhancing investment in visual production and encouraging competition based on quality rather than circumventing rights, according to Nasrawin.
He pointed out that with the accelerated digital transformation, the cybercrimes law has emerged as a modern legislative framework that provides additional protection for the media space, through imposing deterrent penalties for crimes committed through electronic media, combating fake news and hate speech and digital assaults targeting television content, whether piracy or unauthorized reproduction or distortion of media materials or impersonation of official channels' pages on digital platforms, and this law has contributed to enhancing public confidence in media content and ensuring a legal environment that protects television materials and broadcasting rights in the digital age.
It is noted that the United Nations General Assembly has designated November 21 as World Television Day, celebrating the anniversary of the first worldwide television forum.
This event was recognized as acknowledging the increasing impact of television in the decision-making process, recognizing television as a fundamental means of delivering information to the public, influencing and affecting global politics, and its presence and impact therein.
