AKEED -- Al Rai, Al Dustour, and Al Anbat on Thursday morning, 31 May 2018, replaced the strike, which was staged by public figures and associations, with the word "protest activities." The newspapers factually covered the event, which the Council of Association Presidents called for repeating next Wednesday if the government fails to meet the demand of withdrawing the draft income tax law.

A monitoring conducted by AKEED of the coverage of the largest circulation dailies (Al Rai, Al Ghad, Al Dustour, Al Sabeel, and Al Anbat) over the course of three days (29, 30, and 31 May) showed lack of balance in most of the coverage of the strike. Some newspapers highlighted the government position, while neglecting the opposite view. Other newspapers focused on the positions of professional associations and civil society organizations that called for the strike. However, the coverage tilted in favor of the government.

Al Rai

Al Rai did not publish any news about the strike on Tuesday, 29 May, a day before the event. On Wednesday, however, it devoted the first page of its economic supplement to news against the strike, let alone the wording of the introduction, which sought to refute the reasons for the strike. The sources of news were mostly attributed to the government or associations that announced not taking part in the event.

On Thursday, 31 May, the first page did not contain any story about the strike, but the inside pages contained very factual coverage of what was termed "protest activities."

Al Dustour

On Tuesday, 29 May, Al Dustour did not publish any story that directly talked about the strike on the next day. It was included in a story in the inside pages under the headline "Associations Call For Withdrawing Income Tax Law, Civil Service Law." On the other hand, the newspaper published a number of stories that called for dialogue over the law and that mainly adopted the government's viewpoint, such as "Economists: Dialogue Needed To Draft Income Tax Law That Fights Evasion, Stimulates Growth."

On Wednesday, the newspaper published an illustration on its first page of the sectors that are not taking part in the strike. It also ran three stories, citing government sources, on measures against any civil servant who takes part in the strike.

On Thursday, 31 May, the newspaper published on the first page coverage of what it termed "protest activities." It cited both association figures and government sources. The coverage on its first page reflected the simple coverage of the strike activities in the inside pages.

Al Anbat

On Tuesday, 29 May, Al Anbat did not publish any news on the strike. On Wednesday, 30 May, the newspaper published a front-page report about the Judicial Council, explaining measures if lawyers fail to show up for court sessions. Another story reported that the Bakery Owners Association and the Private Hospitals Association were not taking part in the strike.

On the same day, the newspaper published at the top of an inside page a story headlined "Strike of Associations Gains Large Popularity on Social Media Platforms." The story discussed the strike and its details, as well as the positions of professional associations and the parties taking part in the strike. It highlighted the failure of the meeting between Prime Minister Hani Mulki and the professional associations a day before the strike after he refused to meet their demand of withdrawing the law.

On Thursday, 31 May, the newspaper used the term "protest activities" in its story, which did not exceed 150 words at the bottom of the first page. The story did not provide coverage from the location of the event.

Al Sabeel

The calls for the strike and its activities were published on the first page of Al Sabeel over the three days. Each time, the story was published under a banner headline and over a space of five columns. The newspaper published a front-page story a day before the strike, discussing mobilization for the strike and the participation of different figures. The sources included associations and civil society organizations, while government sources were absent from the story and two other stories in the inside pages.

On Wednesday, the newspaper devoted the same space on its first page to coverage of the entities taking part in the strike. The newspaper published 12 stories on calls for participation in the strike. It did not report the lack of participation by the Bakery Owners Association and the Private Hospitals Association. It also neglected news that had a government source and that warned of the consequences of participation in the strike.

On the day after the strike, the event was the main story of the newspaper on its first page under the headline "Thousands Take Part in Strike; Associations Give Government One Week." The inside pages devoted around one page to the strike through coverage and pictures showing the large turnout.

Al Ghad

The space devoted to the strike in Al Ghad varied. However, the strike was mentioned on its front page and in the inside pages over the course of the three days. The coverage was more balanced and presented different opinions and views of the strike.

On Tuesday, the newspaper published a story on its front page on the strike and the government's position. The story included various viewpoints. However, the coverage in the inside pages, specifically in the economic supplement, highlighted the positions of civil society organizations that reject the new draft law.

On Wednesday, the newspaper published a story on its first page on the strike, showing balance between association, government, and parliamentary sources and their positions toward the law or the strike. It also devoted attention to the event in the inside pages and presented government and parliamentary sources. The economic supplement highlighted the views of experts and businessmen that reject the law.

On Thursday, the newspaper extensively covered the event on its front page under the headline "Large Participation in Income Tax Strike." It included a picture that showed the large turnout in front of the Professional Associations Complex. The story had balance in the wording and sources, while coverage in the inside pages was over the space of two pages.