Manama: A Bahrain culture and information ministry official has cautioned bloggers and website owners against referring to their sites as radios or TV broadcasts.
"Some bloggers or owners of websites freely and nonchalantly use terms like radio or TV broadcasts when they refer to their dissemination of views or opinions or activities," Abdullah Yateem, the assistant undersecretary for publication, said on Friday. "I urge them to exercise caution in their statements or announcements because there is a difference between electronic multi-media operations and press, radio and TV activities which require licencing from the ministry."
While print media is deregulated in Bahrain, broadcast media is limited to the state. Sawt Al Ghad, a private radio station with alleged Lebanese connection, launched in 2005 was shut down in 2006 over "irregularities".
Several political societies and media groups have said that they would apply for licences to operate radio or TV stations, but their requests have been turned down.
Several people and businesses publish print media and Bahrain today has seven dailies in Arabic and two in English.
