RIYADH, 11 April 2007 — The Saudi media should not be held responsible for printing information when government officials refuse to speak to journalists at times of crises, said speakers at a symposium organized by the Saudi Association for Media and Communication.
“Why should the Saudi media be held responsible for printing information when government bodies refuse to comment on issues,” said Dr. Abdulllah Al-Arabi, the keynote speaker at the symposium entitled: “The Media and Crises in Government Institutions” Monday night.
Abdullah Al-Tuwairgi, a member of the Shoura Council, accused many government departments of not doing their public duty by revealing information to the press at times of crisis.
“The public relations departments of government agencies only care about polishing the image of their bosses and the bodies they work for at times of crisis,” said Al-Tuwairgi.
“The public has a right to know what is going on. And their failure to fulfill their responsibility toward society is creating a crisis in itself,” he added.
Abdul Malik Al-Shalhoub, secretary-general of the Saudi Association for Media and Communication (SAMC), asked for new blood to be pumped into the media industry by calling for the replacement of editors in chiefs of Saudi newspapers who have been in their posts for several decades.
“I ask from this stage that the leadership of Saudi newspapers be changed; people have been in their posts for over 30 years,” said Al-Shalhoub. “This type of leadership is no longer fit to be in line with modern journalism. Even the government pumps in new blood every four years when it changes ministers,” he added.
Jameel Al-Thiyabi, managing editor of Al-Hayat newspaper, said that Saudi journalism was facing more difficulties than news organizations in other parts of the world.
“We’re probably the only media in the world that use the term ‘a reliable source’ so often in our newspapers,” he said. “Part of that has to do with government officials not willing to speak to us, and the other part with preserving the identity of sources so we could refer to him again in future,” he added.
The Al-Hayat editor said that many reports published in his newspaper provoked some Saudi government officials “because we encouraged our reporters and photographers to be like the paparazzi when it comes to pursuing news.”
He said that even though it was the duty of a Saudi newspaper to report the truth and facts about serious issues in society, the public blames newspapers for raising such issues. He added that among the challenges his newspaper and others were facing was the shifting of employees from newspapers to secure government jobs.
“They have a short breath. ... They don’t realize that working for a newspaper requires staying long hours in the office until the paper goes out to print,” he said.
Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdul Aziz ibn Salamah called for the establishment of a nationwide center which would be solely responsible for handling controversial issues.
Muhammad Al-Hizan from Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University accused Saudi newspapers of lacking credibility. “In Western newspapers, a report lands in a special department where the facts are checked before it goes to print,” he said.
Dr. Hamza Beit Almal discussed a report about the Ministry of Higher Education’s strategy in responding to the categorization of Saudi universities last year. The issue, which later triggered a controversy, was first raised by Dr. Bandar Hajjar in the Shoura Council when he cited a survey that ranked Saudi universities in the rock bottom of the top 3,000 universities of the world.
A total of 113 articles were published in the Saudi newspapers discussing the topic, the majority of which in Al-Watan (22 articles). Beit Almal said the ministry clarified its position only after several other Saudi newspapers followed up the report.
Dr. Al-Arabi listed three top stories that were discussed and analyzed in-depth in the Saudi media: the death of 15 Saudi school girls in a fire in Makkah in 2003, the water crisis in Jeddah last year, and the girls’ school bus that was submerged in flood waters in the Al-Suwaidi tunnel in Riyadh in 2004.
Also speaking at the event were Khaled Al-Malek, editor in chief of Al-Jazirah newspaper.
