The Press of the Friends of the Natives:

It began in 1882. At first glance, there seems to be a contradiction in the name, but the real motivation behind this name was the dissatisfaction of a group of French people with the poor treatment of Algerian natives by the French. They wanted to extend a helping hand to them by providing assistance to prevent them from losing hope in the French presence. According to their writings, the primary purpose of this was to serve French interests. This press was issued by a group of French people adhering to the principles of the French Society for the Protection of Natives. Its origins trace back to the articles published by Ismail Thomas Urban in 1847, where he called on the French authorities to pay attention to the Muslim population. Then, in early 1852, Urban approached Napoleon III, who had come to power, and became his advisor, trying to persuade him to adopt a new policy aimed at establishing an Arab kingdom under French protection. Despite the fall of Napoleon III in 1870 (the Third Republic), the principles of that policy remained in place until the establishment of the French Society for the Protection of Natives in Paris in 1881.

The newspaper "Al-Montakhab" was the first to be published in this approach, which began explaining the policy of participation, urging the Muslim elite to rally around this policy that reinforces French presence, and it was permanently closed after a year. The impact of this type of journalism on Algerian journalism later becomes evident in the ability of the elite to express their political demands. It also contributed to the emergence of subsequent newspapers that adopted the same principles (Al-Akhbar newspaper in 1902, Al-Ahali newspaper in 1927, Al-Jazair Al-Jumhuriyah newspaper in 1937...). From a legal standpoint, these newspapers remained subject to the French law concerning press freedom of 1881, which also became applicable in Algeria. This law stipulated that any newspaper or periodical could be distributed to the public without prior authorisation or financial guarantee. The number of newspaper titles increased significantly, with 238 new newspapers. Economically, there were technological developments and an increase in the number of European settlers, as well as the French-Jewish media struggle for Jewish political and economic influence in Algeria.

Many types of journalism emerged during this era, including conservative religious journalism, opportunistic electoral journalism, as well as sports journalism such as "Algeria Sports" and "All Sports," and also labour and professional journalism, satirical journalism, and others...