UAE: Arab Media Asks Tough Questions – of Itself

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Meena S Janardhan

DUBAI, Dec 18 2005 (IPS) - Arabs are no longer blaming external forces for giving the region and its media a bad name. As debates at the ‘Arab and World Media Conference’ revealed, they are also attempting to identify the deficiencies in their own systems and demanding remedies to overcome them.

Organised by the Arab Thought Foundation (ATF), the two-day fourth annual meeting was aimed at bridging the gap between the Arab world and the West by holding free and open discussions between media representatives from around the world.

At the same time, as a product of the realisation of the media’s influence on political, economic and social variables, ‘Getting it right’ was also about trying to bridge the gap between Arab politicians and intellectuals. Thus, there was a strong case for a free press, as well as for overcoming the lack of transparency and corruption in the regional media.

The Arab media is still largely state-owned and greater privatisation is needed. The way forward “is to break the shackles of the state with privatisation, including many groups”, said Anwar Gargarsh, a professor at UAE University, adding that governments should let the markets decide on the media licensing process.

Though the region boosts over 200 satellite TV channels, the Arab media is still in its infancy and urgently needs more professionals. But there is evidence that change is on the way and that the local media is refashioning itself to meet global demands. In particular, journalists are experiencing a new wave of freedom due to the influence of foreign media bodies setting up shop in the region.

At present, “there is no option for the media in the region but to become free and test its boundaries if it is to survive in the market”, said Dawood Al-Shirian of Dubai TV.

Even on the controversial issue of terror, conference participants engaged in an inward looking debate, trying to identify the reasons for extremism in Arab societies instead of resorting to the usual refrain that western policies fan terrorism in the region.

Some Islamist groups use terrorism to get attention because the Arab media has ignored their voice, argued Abdulkhaleq Abdullah from UAE University. “If the Arab media had paid attention to Islamic groups in the beginning they would not have been as violent,” he added.

For the media, the antidote to terrorism is “consistent commitment to the rights and dignity of all people, a personal and professional standard of the highest order and the need to challenge terror, understand it and analyse it better”, said Jamil Mroue, editor-in-chief of ‘The Daily Star’.

While there is a growing realisation that in today’s borderless, global village the media has the power to shape culture, politics and society, it can also be a dangerous weapon, “no less (powerful) than the weapons of war if it is misused” the meeting heard.

There was also a call to steer away from ‘synthetic’ media reporting, in which journalists conceal news either for political interest – which can lead to adverse political decisions – or due to corruption. It might have been the first time in the region that the phenomenon was debated publicly, accompanied by a call to root it out worldwide.

Journalists who self-censor fearing that reporting what they know could jeopardise future access to government and business officials are more of a threat to the future of the media than state control, argued Hassan Fattah, Middle East correspondent for the ‘New York Times’. “Reporters know if you write a certain thing your access will be denied. Nothing is blocked out by the government censor but your long-term access is blocked. To me, that’s far more dangerous.”

Other serious challenges facing the Arab media include shallow presentation and excessive praise and loss of identity, with many media outlets aping “foreign” reporting, said participants. They agreed that the stereotyped image of the Arab world in the West can be changed, but “it has to be effected by ourselves”, by addressing concerns like development, the role of religion, social and political issues and globalisation.

Recognising that at least some of those changes are occurring, David Ignatius, who attended the conference, wrote afterward in his column in the ‘Washington Post’: “Talking with brave Arab journalists…I hear the passion that animates good reporting everywhere. And it makes me all the more disgusted by recent revelations that my own government has been corrupting the nascent Iraqi free press by planting stories”.

Delivering the ultimate compliment, he added, “At a time when U.S. media are having an identity crisis, they (Arab journalists) remind me what the news business is all about”.