More than a hundred participants attended the “Social Issues through the Eyes of Media” symposium that was held in the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Beirut. The two-day symposium, which was organized by the British Council, aims to improve the effectiveness of the media in raising awareness of key social issues through the sharing of experience among a number of media professionals in Lebanon, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
The first day of the symposium started with a welcome speech by British Council Regional Director, Near East and North Africa Sarah Ewans. “We are here to discuss how social issues, especially critical ones, like unemployment, are discussed in the media,” Ewans said.
Lebanese Information Minister Ghazi Al-Aridi said in his speech that there are many social issues that are consequences of political incidents, which are not discussed in the media. He said that the media always focus on political thinking as if they are the main issues in our lives, which is wrong.
“If social issues were discussed in the media, they are mostly discussed from political points of view,” Al-Aridi said. “Social disasters, like poverty, unemployment, absence of good education, decay and many others are all outcomes of wars.”
Al-Aridi said that there are many important social issues that are not discussed in the media. Some of his examples included the problems of children and illiteracy among women in many countries that claim to be civilized.
“Prisons in the Arab world and in Lebanon specifically are in a miserable state that is never discussed in the Arab media. No one knows how prisoners suffer behind the bars,” he said. A main issue that was discussed during the symposium is unemployment.
In his speech, Egyptian journalist Ibrahim Saleh said that many Arab youth are working in the underground economy, or working in jobs that are not of their interests or specialization.
Amira Hamdy, senior research executive Customized Research in AC Nielsen, did a field study regarding social issues and how they are presented in the media. The study included Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, Jordan, Syrian and Lebanon.
In her study, Hamdy mentioned that the basic issues discussed in the Saudi media are marriage and divorce, drug abuse, family relations and globalization. It is said also that 65 percent of Saudis are satisfied with how newspapers deal with social issues.
Regarding Saudi unemployment, the study shows that the major reason for unemployment in the Kingdom is cultural. Saudis do not wish to work in tiring, under-paying jobs reserved mainly for Asian and African expatriates.
“A major hindrance for employing Saudis is their weak fluency in foreign languages. Most of the good jobs available require English fluency, however only 51 percent of Saudis speak the language. Only 3 percent of Saudis speak French,” Hamdy declared.
Beirut Institute of Media Arts at Lebanese American University Director Ramez Maaluf said that 90 percent of what the media serves is entertainment programs. “We should know how to make broadcasting more beneficial. The same thing applies to print media. We want to write to change,” he said.
Among the participants was Syrian cartoonist Ali Ferzat who decorated the hall with his caricatures that expresses political and social ideas. “I hope this symposium can help change the media. We do many symposiums and conferences, but most of the times nothing happens,” he said.
According to AmmanNet journalist Mohammed Omar, the media credibility in the Arab world is declining because of the limitations that are imposed on Arab reporters. “A reporter must submit questions to the organization he wishes to talk to in advance and expect an answer in 30 days,” said Omar.
Another speaker, Philip Whitfield, managing editor at the Ministry of Investment in Egypt, said that information is the basic tool for the reporter. “Listening and understanding how to get knowledge is basic for a reporter. Reporters must also concentrate on valuable information, not rumors,” he said.
