[3] In 1906, Sheikh Muhammad Bin Abdul-Kabir Al-Kattani started publishing a short-lived Arabic-language newspaper called al-Taʿun (الطاعون), meaning "the plague.
They were followed by the launch of a press group called "Mas" which issued "Farmhouse" and the daily newspapers "Le petit marocain" and "L'Écho du Maroc", although these titles continued to cater mainly to foreigners.
[2] In the past, the majority of Moroccan newspapers did not represent actual commercial ventures or profit-making corporations, since they were essentially the written public outlet of political parties.
[citation needed] The development of the Internet has brought a new dimension to news reporting in Morocco: many of the major dailies and weeklies can now be accessed on their own websites.
[citation needed] Opposition dailies have begun to explore social and political issues that have traditionally been considered out of bounds, though journalists continue to practice self-censorship.
In a 2009 evaluation of the state of press freedom in Morocco, Reporters Without Borders found that real progress at the start of King Mohammed's reign had been followed by reverses and tension, especially from 2002 onward.
[citation needed] The number of daily and weekly newspapers has grown dramatically since 1999 and several new radio and TV stations were given licenses when state control of broadcasting began to be relaxed in May 2006, offering Moroccans some diversity in this sector for the first time.
Twenty policemen raided the Arabic-language weekly Al Ayam on 10 February 2009 just because of a photo of a member of the royal family which it had requested permission to publish.
The media were angered by the code's latest revision, in May 2002, because the possibility of prison sentences was maintained even if the maximum terms were cut significantly (for example, from 20 to five years for attacks on the king's honor).
The most draconian article, 41, extended the defamation law's applicability to Islam and Morocco's territorial integrity, while the courts, in addition to the executive, were given the power to suspend or close newspapers.
Moroccans who have digital terrestrial television, are eligible to view many Arabic and French private channels, including Nickelodeon, MTV, MBC or M6, which are freely accessible.