A number of independent Algerian newspapers, prestigious francophone daily El Watan chief among them, are undergoing a period of crisis aggravated by political and economic pressures that may threaten their existence. This situation raises questions about the future of Algerian media, and more broadly about freedom of the press.
The Algerian independent press is facing an existential crisis. Many publications created when the media landscape was opened up to the private sector in the late 1980s have been forced to cease activity in recent decades. This was the case for French daily Le Matin in 2004 and for Liberté, a flagship of the Algerian independent press, which closed its doors in April. "Financial and economic hardships" were cited as the reasons for the closure of the daily belonging to Issad Rebrab, a wealthy businessman.
