Syria's Media Blackout

Syria has regularly made headlines since the uprising began there last March, but getting an accurate portrayal of what is happening on the ground has not been easy. For much of the duration of the unrest, the international media has been barred from entering the country. That looked as though it was about to change when the Arab League stipulated that the media should be allowed into the country during its monitoring mission. But even before violence forced the Arab League to suspend its mission, news reports coming out of Syria were being questioned. The government of President Bashar al-Assad has been accused of restricting journalists' access to the real stories, so once again media outlets have been relying on citizen journalism. And it is hard to get a clear picture when most news reports are accompanied by disclaimers from media outlets that can not vouch for the authenticity of the material. Our News Divide this week looks at Syria, a country back under a media blackout.