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Opportunities for journalists laudable
Omaima Al-Fardan | Arab News
JEDDAH: Freedom of press is a relative concept and the opportunities for journalists in the Kingdom to criticize is laudable when compared to newspapers in other countries, said the editors of several major Saudi Arabic-language newspapers.
The editors also added that perceived red lines in the print industry are set by individual newspapers, and that accurate and credible stories are not curbed.
Some said that growing social freedoms have contributed to an increase in the quality of stories that appear in the Saudi media, which Reporters Without Borders ranks, in terms of press freedom, 17th in the Arab world.
�Red lines in the Saudi press are determined by the individual interpretations of editors-in-chief and their assistants,� said Qenan Al-Ghamdi, former editor-in-chief of both Al-Watan and Okaz. He added that reporters should stay away from attacking religion and national principles, and touching issues that harm the country�s interests. Al-Ghamdi said the responsibility of making rules rests with the Saudi Journalists Association, which, he said, is presently working on setting up such rules. He also called on journalists to be more professional while bemoaning the quality of journalists in the Kingdom.
Anmar Mutawi, a lecturer at King Abdulaziz University�s Faculty of Information, attributed the absence of clear and explicit red lines that would protect journalists from being legally held accountable to the absence of laws questioning officials in charge.
He added that recent social freedoms in the Kingdom have led to a free press and allowed articles on sensitive issues to be published. According to him, the free press is partly to do with a large strata of society being more liberal in its thinking.
Mutawi also attributed the free press to the amount of freedom given to officials to divulge information to the press. When asked why foreign reporters have easy access to information compared to Saudis, Mutawi said this was due to the international media�s focus on the Kingdom and the region.
Al-Ghamdi also attributed this to the �efficiency, professionalism and courtesy of foreign reporters.� He said that Saudi journalists in comparison �do not have the minimum qualifications.. ..and lack talent.�
Khalid Darraj, editor-in-chief of Shams, the Kingdom�s only tabloid, said red lines exist in all countries. �No media institution in the world can claim 100 percent freedom, including those in the US and UK,� he said, adding that red lines are usually set by newspapers themselves.
Darraj said the Kingdom�s media was the freest in the Arab world, and regretted that Reporters Without Borders placed the Kingdom�s media on par with those of Syria and Libya. The report put the Kingdom at number 161 internationally and 17 in the Arab world. �We know that we are not the freest (media) in the Arab world but we are also not in that position,� he said.
Asked whether the tabloid nature of Shams has made it easy for its reporters to address previously unaddressed news, he said this was not the case and that Shams is only different in terms of its presentation. Darraj also said the greater freedoms accorded to the Kingdom�s media was a result of the freedom offered by the country�s higher authorities.
He also said it is the duty of newspapers to protect and defend their writers and not to abandon them. �There are shortcomings in this,� he said.
According to Turki Al-Sudairi, editor-in-chief of Al-Riyadh and president of the Saudi Journalists Association, journalists in the Kingdom are given �sufficient� opportunities to write and that this has improved over the last 10 years. �Everyone going to other Arab counties would recognize the amount of criticism available in the Kingdom�s media,� he said.
He also described the Reporters Without Borders� ranking as �biased.� He said that although there are shortcomings, the Kingdom has improved in past years. He added that such developments were not marked on the international level.
Asked about the association�s role in protecting journalists� rights, he said, �No reporter has lost his life under mysterious circumstances, they either leave work or change from one newspaper to another.�
Muhammad Al-Tunsi, editor-in-chief of Okaz and head of the Al-Ikhbaria Channel, said, �Codes of ethics and professionalism are present in the journalism industry but they only help in clarifying red lines. They do not outline red lines clearly.�
According to him, such red lines are �clear for people who can deal with them efficiently, professionally and according to codes of ethics.�
Al-Tunsi believes that the current freedoms enjoyed by the Kingdom�s media must be capitalized on to improve the country�s media industry. The key words, said Al-Tunsi, are �accuracy and credibility,� which ensure freedom of speech is not curbed.
�Political sensitivity is not like what it was in the past,� said Al-Tunsi while discussing the impact of news carried in the local press media that then attracts international scrutiny.
�On the contrary, if they (the international community) see us criticizing and disagreeing professionally they will respect us,� said Al-Tunsi, adding that the previous approach of not welcoming criticism in favor of maintaining the Kingdom�s reputation is invalid.
�What we have achieved locally does not need to be evaluated by an international report. We are rather looking for objectivity. What is being addressed and criticized here cannot be done in the same rhythm in any other Arabic country,� said Al-Tunsi who also criticized the Reporters Without Borders report.
Source: Arab News
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