Libyan state TV gets new lease of life

From the building of state controlled Libyan television, the late leader Muammar Qaddafi controlled the country’s media policy through appointed loyalists who fed people the Colonel’s statements on a daily basis.

Hala Misrati and Hamza are just two of the prominent presenters who defended Qaddafi’s regime before it collapsed as can be seen in these records from the TV channel’s archives.

Today, however, the building is protected by the Libyan revolutionaries who wrestled its control from Qaddafi loyalists.

Fawzi Hanka is one of the rebel fighters in charge of protecting the state controlled TV channel.

The TV channel now broadcasts new material like this video clip in which Qaddafi can be seen asking “who are you?” to which a Libyan singer replies “We are the free Libyan people”.

Thus the Radio and Television Network of Libya was born.

This TV channel represents perhaps the most visible change of Qaddafi’s fall. Its old slogan has been changed as has its editorial policy and the manner in which news is presented. It focuses on broadcasting the revolution’s developments and relating the stories of the revolutionary martyrs.

As Libya’s new wrestles itself away from four decades of iron fist control, it faces many challenges and obstacles on the road to becoming a free media.

Original report: Rofaida Yassein
Adaptation: Stanela Khalil
Voice: Noora Faraj