41 Media and the Democratic Transition in Tunisia Case Study: The National Broadcaster Al-Watania TV1 Noureddine Miladi Qatar University, Doha, Qatar Transformation of the media scene in Tunisia after the revolution The media market has been significantly transformed after the revolution of 14 January 2011 which ousted Zein El-Abideen Ben Ali in Tunisia from a handful of media outlets mainly controlled by the former regime, to an explosion of radio stations, TV channels and online news organizations, in addition to a plethora of newspapers and magazines. This new environment has significantly widened the scope for free speech to a level unprecedented before. The global freedom index, Freedom House, for instance rated Tunisia very high in terms of freedom of expression during the year 2014. On a scale from 1 (being the best) to 7 (being the worst) in the world, Tunisia rated 2 during that year (1) . The report also reads that ‘The transitional government proclaimed freedom of information and expression as a foundational principle for the country, and vast new press freedoms emerged from the revolution’ (2) . Moreover, as a guarantee for this achievement, the new constitution passed by the Constituent Assembly in 2014 guaranteed freedom of expression and freedom of religion to every citizen. Article 31 reads that ‘Freedom of opinion, thought, expression, media and publication shall be guaranteed. These freedoms shall not be subject to prior censorship’. Also Article 32 confirms that ‘The state shall guarantee the right to information and the right to access information. The state seeks to guarantee the right to access to information networks’. As a result, TV and radio stations have been hosting a growing number of discussion shows that address every aspect of the Tunisian society. Talk shows about political reform, corruption, education, role of the police, civil society, human rights, culture and sports have become the digest of scores of channels. This has provided a critical space for civil society organisations to express their views regarding the shaping of the new democracy in the country. This new scope of media freedom is (1) Freedom House, ‘Freedom in the World 2015’, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2015/tunisia#. VTJ_nfAUuwE. Accessed 18 April 2015. (2) Freedom House, ‘Freedom in the World 2015’, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2015/tunisia#. VTJ_nfAUuwE. Accessed 18 April 2015.