In 2001 Ahmed Benchemsi, the publisher and editor of the Tel Quel Group in Morocco, launched the national news magazine Tel Quel. It is now the largest-selling magazine of its kind, but Benchemsi, who spoke at Monday's Press Freedom Round Table session, said the company has had its share of challenges in trying to publish such a bold and investigative platform in his country.
Benchemsi and his group have faced several lawsuits for a number of their news stories and coverage, but they have prevailed in his "explaining the news" philosophy rather than pure condemnation of public figures.
Here is an excerpt of an interview with Dean Roper, editor in chief of WAN-IFRA, in which Bemchemsi offers some humble advice for those publishers launching publications in regions where press freedom is a challenge.
