THE EFFECT OF ONLINE JOURNALISM ON THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

The political dispute of power after the death of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jabber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on 15 of January 2006, followed by the public demand to change the electoral constituencies voting system of the National Assembly, and the dissolving of the National Assembly in May 2006 forced many Kuwaitis to go online to get the latest news and analysis regarding the two issues. Kuwaiti online journalism became the source for instant updated information during the disputes. Three different tools (survey, online content analysis & interviews) were used to determine the effect of online journalism on journalist's practices and the freedom of the press in Kuwait, focusing on the most popular Kuwaiti personal writers' sites, weblogs & forums. The results show that online journalism affected journalist's practices but did not replace the traditional practices. The language of online journalism took a different direction from the local press with more freedom to write, discuss, and share ideas online with less fear of government retribution. What was considered a taboo “red line” in the local press became an acceptable “green line” online.