On 29 January and 11 February 2026, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa (SDI) convened two media lunches at the Residence of the Director. The meetings brought together a cross-section of Jordan-based journalists, editors, community media actors, and regionally active correspondents. The purpose was twofold: to introduce the Institute’s mandate and programming priorities, and to listen to practitioners’ reflections on the evolving media landscape in Jordan and the wider region.
Across both lunches, participants described a media environment shaped by constraint, adaptation, and structural transition. Self-censorship emerged as a defining operational reality. Rather than explicit written prohibitions, “red lines” were characterised as learnt boundaries reinforced over time through editorial caution, shifting sensitivities, and digital regulatory frameworks. Participants noted that unpredictability complicates editorial planning; as one participant remarked: “Sometimes an issue is sensitive one day and not the next. That unpredictability is part of the pressure.”
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