Media of Tunisia: dailies, private radio and digital press

In Tunisia, news is followed in the dailies La Presse de Tunisie and Assabah, on sites such as Business News, Kapitalis or Tunisie Numérique, on radio with Mosaïque FM and through the TAP agency, in Arabic and French, largely free online.

An old press, born under the protectorate

The Tunisian press dates back to the nineteenth century with Er-Raed Ettounsi, an official gazette founded in 1860. Under the French protectorate, Arabic and French titles appeared; La Presse de Tunisie was created in 1934 and Assabah in 1951, in Tunis.

La Presse, Assabah, Le Temps: the historic dailies

La Presse de Tunisie, in French, has belonged to the state since independence and follows an institutional line. Assabah, in Arabic, and Le Temps, its historic French counterpart, belong to the Dar Assabah house, seized after 2011 and placed under public administration.

Standard Arabic, Derja and French

Newspapers write in Standard Arabic or French, while radio and television give wide space to Tunisian Derja. French remains very present in the business press and on sites aimed at managers and readers living in Europe.

Sfax, Sousse, Gafsa: news from the regions

Public radio has regional stations in Sfax, Monastir, Gafsa, Le Kef and Tataouine. Jawhara FM, based in Sousse, covers the Sahel. The inland regions, from Kasserine to Sidi Bouzid, appear mainly during social protests or episodes of drought.

After 2011, the rise of news websites

The 2011 revolution triggered an explosion of online media. Business News, Kapitalis, Webdo, Tunisie Numérique and Espace Manager publish continuously, often in French. Nawaat, a collective born in 2004 under Ben Ali, has established itself in trilingual investigative journalism.

What does the TAP agency publish?

Tunis Afrique Presse, the national agency founded in 1961, publishes statements from the presidency, ministries and governorates in Arabic, French and English. Its regional reports are useful for following news from the twenty-four governorates from abroad.

Watania, Tunisian Radio and private stations

Tunisian Television runs Watania 1 and Watania 2, and Tunisian Radio includes the National Radio and RTCI, in foreign languages. Mosaïque FM and Jawhara FM, very popular private stations, broadcast news bulletins in Arabic and stream live online.

Tunisians in Europe and their sources

Based mostly in France, Italy and Germany, the Tunisian diaspora follows Mosaïque FM, French-language sites and the Facebook pages of media outlets. It also reads the French press on migration and relations between Paris and Tunis.

Economy and sport: specialised titles

Leaders, Business News, L'Économiste maghrébin and Espace Manager follow the Central Bank of Tunisia, the Tunis Stock Exchange and negotiations with lenders. For football, Espérance de Tunis, Club Africain and Étoile du Sahel dominate the sports pages.

From Decree 115 to Decree 54: the legal framework

After 2011, decree-laws 115 and 116 reorganised the press and created HAICA, the broadcasting regulator. Decree-law 54 of 2022 on information system offences then served as the basis for several prosecutions of journalists and commentators.

Looking towards Algiers and Tripoli

Border issues, migration and trade with neighbours are better understood by comparing sources. Read the Libyan press for Ras Jedir and the Algerian press for exchanges with Algiers, two neighbours that remain essential partners.

Free access, archives and verification

Most Tunisian websites are free; a few titles offer a PDF edition or paid archives. To check a story, compare La Presse, a private site such as Business News and the TAP wire report, while paying attention to the publication date.

Following Tunisia from abroad every day

1. Read La Presse de Tunisie in the morning for the institutional version of national news.
2. Add Business News or Kapitalis for a more critical tone and economic news.
3. Listen to Mosaïque FM or Jawhara FM live online for news flashes in Arabic.
4. Check TAP for official decisions and news from the governorates.
5. Follow Nawaat for in-depth investigations into justice, the environment and civil liberties.
6. Verify article dates and the source of videos shared on Facebook, which is heavily used in Tunisia.

Reading Tunisian media: access conditions

Reference points on the Tunisian press

• Languages: Arabic, Tunisian Derja, French
• National agency: Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP)
• Public broadcasting: Watania 1 and 2, Tunisian Radio, RTCI
• Reference French-language daily: La Presse de Tunisie
• Economy: Leaders, Business News, L'Économiste maghrébin
• Time zone: UTC+1, no daylight saving time
• Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)

Classic mistakes with Tunisian news

• Confusing Le Temps, the Tunisian daily of Dar Assabah, with the Swiss newspaper of the same name published in Geneva and Lausanne.
• Taking a Facebook page that imitates Mosaïque FM for the station itself, when it spreads fake announcements.
• Reading an article from before 2011 as if it were current, since archives from that period still circulate widely.
• Treating a TAP wire report picked up by several sites as several independent confirmations.
• Ignoring the difference between public media, under state supervision, and private media, whose editorial lines vary greatly.

Readers' questions about the press in Tunisia