Libyan President Moamer Al Kadhafi has reportedly approved plans to allow a degree of private media ownership in his country, after 30 years of government dominance over the sector. He has appointed his son, Seif Al Islam to lead the initiative through a new company dubbed 1/9 in reference to the elder Kadhafi’s 1969 revolution.
Officials with the firm were quoted by AFP as saying the first radio broadcast would take place in March and that a satellite television station would be launched by 2007. The company has reportedly signed a $16 million contract with German firm Heidelberg to construct a modern printing facility that would be open to Western publications.
Officials also said Libyan nationals will make up 60% of its workforce with foreign nationals making up the remainder.
The younger Kadhafi is said to have signed contracts with international printing houses to distribute Western publications such as US magazine Newsweek, Germany’s Der Spiegel and the French newspaper Le Monde in Libya.
There was also talk of publishing a daily in cooperation with the UK’s Financial Times. "It will be a variety publication including politics and sports. Its door will be open to all Arab and Libyan journalists," company official, Salam Al Mushri, was quoted as saying.
Libya has four state-owned newspapers and one government TV station and radio station.