Conclusion
TV, Radio and social media are the main three sources of information consumption, but hate speech and lack of professionalism are harming the peace process. There is a need for a unified press message, or at least a common ground, to bring everyone together instead of inciting further violence and spread grievances. Pluralism must be encouraged and totalitarian views must be rejected from the media landscape, which needs less focus on personalities and more promotion for discussion on various topics.
Legislation and up-to-date policies are much needed, to address the issues of freedom of press and regulate the media environment. Licensing and accountability processes are a must to keep watch over the sources of funding and eliminating any possibility of political corruption and defamation of public figures, as media are used as a tool of war and as a means to sort enmities among clashing factions.
The press needs a lot of work and support, a publication and reading culture needs to be encouraged and funded at this stage. Security is required for the newspapers and magazines to operate and to establish a secure distribution network in every city of the country.
Journalism associations and trade unions must be formed to end the impunity and the imposing threats facing journalists, also a code of ethics must be agreed and the general public needs to be educated and made aware of the importance of media, especially independent media. Also cooperation between educational institutions and media outlets must increase to provide internships and more hands-on training, and universities need to bring more experts to their staff and be more flexible, also encouraging student-led media outlets.
Libya needs to draft and implement a proper strategy and a National Innovation System, to encourage a more systemic growth in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. But this also requires financial resources for startups and better legislation to foster the entrepreneurial environment as well as private-sector-friendly legislation.
Civil society needs to fight more to create social awareness on the importance of freedom of speech, freedom of expression and the right to information, through campaigns and also on social media platforms. A call for more gender equity and acceptance for women in the media workplace is also necessary.