"Castles in France, accounts in Switzerland, large estates in Argentina!" it says in large letters on the front page of the newspaper Al-Chourouk. "We have the hunt for the riches of Ben Ali's opened," is the subtitle, with the Tunisian "Sunrise" on Wednesday to woo readers. Also, the competition is trying to lure buyers: it shows a picture of a man in flames.The story about this: Since triggered by self-immolation of an unemployed academic revolution in Tunisia have set in several countries in the Arab world, people on fire. The suicides were hoping thereby to her hometown to spark a revolution, reports the Journal "as-sarih" in German, "blunt".
The two largest newspapers in Tunisia have been through in less than a week a radical transformation. Formerly adorned the portrait of the despot Ben Ali every front page, today is on them to hunt blown onto the head of state. Because the flight was Ben Ali's abroad at the weekend also marked the birth of press freedom.
The next step was the formation of the transitional government: "The Ministry of Information will not open again," declared Interior Minister Ahmed Friaa. "The press is free." Tunisia had so changed at once from the rear in to the annual press freedom ranking of the leading nations in the Arab world.
So far, Lebanon was considered the country where journalists from the region can work best. "We are all broken dams," says a bleary-eyed completely Schekir Bisbe. Since the regime has collapsed, the most popular commercial channel Radiporter for Tunisia "Mosaique FM" is hardly been home.
By day three or four blocks of the news channel has switched overnight to a live coverage around the clock. Reports from the road and policy analysis are interspersed with phone-ins: The hunger for information, the listener is as big as you need to talk. After 23 years of silence do the Tunisians currently nothing better than to talk about politics.
Many employees of "Mosaique FM" now go to sleep itself not go home. "Our engineers have moved in here," says Bisbe before a conference room in which to be fitted sheet-covered mattress. Worse than the credit for al-Jazeera, despite the lack of sleep these days is Bisben a happy man at last, he may practice his profession.
"When I reported live from the demos, I've felt for the first time as a real journalist." Now it is time to keep a cool head: "We try to report balanced, not to beat us on a side," says Bisbe. In the dispute over the legitimacy of the transitional government there for Radio Mosaique only one position.
"We stand by the people." Bisben enjoying his new role, but warns against overestimating the power of the newly free press in his country. The Tunisians had decades of practice in it to make themselves even without a credible media is a picture of the situation. "Now everyone is talking about the fact that this was an al-Jazeera Revolution" to Bisben angry about the importance of the Tunisia-reporting of pan-Arab channel is granted.
"This is grossly exaggerated. Facebook, Twitter, and al-Jazeera have only strengthened the impetus coming from the people." Al-Jazeera had begun shortly after the riots of intensive reporting. Night threatening phone calls, raids, always afraid of the prison: Nuredin Butar, editor of "Mosaique FM", was put under pressure for years.
"We tried to make us the limits of journalism as good as possible," he says. Sometimes, however, he and his colleagues have failed. He seeks out as an example of an old fax. It is dated October of last year, when there was a kidnapping scandal in Tunisia. A nephew of the president clashed with a rival for an export license.
When the others did not yield, was the nephew kidnapped his young son. The incident was further told behind closed doors, the radio picked up the story. But the next morning was received the fax: A judge forbade pursue the transmitter, the story. Retrieved from "TV7" the Tunisian national television a week ago, was the main news program of the Tunisian national television an effective sleep aid.
Every night she started with long accounts of the daily routine of Ben Ali: The President is consulting with his ministers, the first lady dines with ambassadors' wives. Five years ago, Walid Abdallah hired still at the station TV7. "My family has ever since been accused of having sold my soul," says the TV reporter.
Also why was the last Saturday a very special day for him: When he came on this day one by the end of the reign of Ben Ali's work to home, his mother greeted him joyfully. "Suddenly she is proud of me," says the 34-year-old. For only hours earlier, the station had changed its stance: union members among the employees themselves before the camera and had admitted that they had been placed on government propaganda to the people.
This is now over. At the same time the station changed its name from TV7 - which was seven in honor of Ben Ali's seizure of power on 7 November 1987 part of the name - was the National Tunisian TV. The renaming was done against the will of the direct team. "They wanted that everything remains the same," says Abdallah.
As the leaders would also have many employees of the station maintained excellent relations with the regime. "Friends and Family of party bigwigs were in our care items." The faithful to the system are now suddenly become the underdog. "They used to set the tone, now they are quite subdued," said Abdallah.
He believes that the channel is clear: "Once the regime supporters to come to work," he says. "Still."
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