Gatekeeper Editors: Custodians of the truth?

Shaping world events is usually left to politicians, but shaping responsible public opinion is the mandate of a fair and ethical media.
A fair and ethical media does not camouflage its story in bias or preconceived notions, or distorted truths… nor does it serve its own interests or that of its financiers. A fair and ethical media is impartial, honest, transparent and balanced… always seeking to shed light on the unseen and unreported… always presenting both sides of a story — with the single purpose of exposing untold truths and making sure that it reaches the public at large.
Maintaining an unbiased media is not an easy task, but luckily many nations are trying to do so. A Case in point is the US based organization called “The International Reporting Project (IRP). Launched in 1998, the program pioneered as a US non-profit journalism movement that hopes to fill the gap left behind by US mainstream media in its poor reporting of international news. Its aim is to increase the American public’s knowledge of international affairs by educating US journalists and editors on global issues through a wide range of fellowships, conferences and publications.
One of the largest initiatives of the IRP is the “Gatekeeper Editors” program. This program provides exclusive fellowship opportunities to a select group of Senior Editors and Producers whose jobs require them to determine what gets on the air or online or in print at their news organizations. Each year, two groups of up to a dozen Gatekeeper Editors are selected for visits of 10 days to two weeks to an important country in the news.
In fact this week, 14 Senior US Editors and Producers (representing major news organizations: The World Policy Journal… The Christian Science Monitor… USA Today… The National Public Radio and The Herald Tribune, to name a few) will have the unique opportunity to engage in a fact finding study tour as part of their IRP Gatekeeper Editors visit to Saudi Arabia.
Needless to say, this is a golden opportunity for both sides. A golden opportunity for us, Saudis to seek to better understand why is it that — in spite of the democratic nature of the US — its media has become so chronically biased and single-sided in the content they air and publish. It is also a golden opportunity for our US colleagues to better understand and experience first-hand that Saudi Arabia is a normal country like any other, but with extraordinary challenges. This is also a golden opportunity for both sides to engage in citizen-to-citizen dialogue far away from political agendas and power influences wherein both parties can open their minds and hearts with the aim of seeking common ground and fostering genuine acceptance, tolerance and respect for each other’s differences. I remember back in 2008, a certain Ms. Lin Hansen Petro from Portland Oregon commented on one of my articles saying ” While writing her article “Peace & Stability: Pre-requisites for Reform”(March, 2008), Fatin Bundagji conveniently forgot, as Arab writers usually do, that the USwas attacked by Arab terrorists which led to retaliatory action in the Middle East and out of America. All those glorious outreach programs she was describing that America used to do would still be in effect and there would be no war waging at the moment if the radical Arabs kept their opinions and hatred of American policies in the Academic or political arena… the majority of Americans are getting pretty fed up with handling out billions of dollars in aid, education, medical care, technological advancements, and religious tolerance and so on to a world of egocentric ingrates”. Ms. Petro has every right to her opinion. But as a citizen of a democratic nation built on the values of liberty, equality and justice; a nation that values its free press no less than it values its governing process; Ms. Petro also has the right to an accurate and unbiased media beaming into her home on a daily basis. Hopefully this visit will help pave the way for that.

— Fatin Bundagji President
TLC Consultancy
[email protected]