The future of online writers and journalism in the Gulf is very uncertain. Current methods of generating online revenue cannot offset the loss of the traditional advertising that mainstream media relies upon to sustain their businesses.
In order to survive, mainstream media must come up with innovative ideas to upgrade their information services and to compete with the emerging technologies for online media. Gulf online writers and journalists and media professionals from Malaysia, Eastern Europe and the United States took part in a workshop organized by the International Research and Exchanges Board to address these challenges and discuss the current situation in the Gulf. The participants included young, talented bloggers who represented the popular new trend of citizen journalism. They debated the role of new forms of media that are changing and reshaping public debate.
Case studies from Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia demonstrated the growing popularity of blogs and online forums and allowed the bloggers to express their views and frustrations over being constantly threatened with shutdown and in some cases prison terms for simply providing people with an online forum to discuss their demands for change and other issues of public interest.
In a session on cooperation, cooptation or competition, participants discussed the relationship between citizen journalists, bloggers and mainstream media. Media professionals highlighted the efforts of mainstream media to adopt the new information technologies in order to keep pace with the ever-changing information revolution.
Online editors shared experiences of employing electronic news sources and creating online relationships with readers. IT experts and media professionals gave an impressive presentation outlining the emerging technologies for online media. They demonstrated how Web 2.0 changed the media landscape and discussed methods to integrate multimedia into existing content.
It was evident that media companies must balance needed investments in technology and content with dwindling revenue resources. Participants discussed the new era of citizen journalism that has created a more vibrant sociopolitical debate. Bloggers opposed alliances with traditional media, preferring independence to criticize social and political issues and expose corruption and human rights violations.
Young bloggers criticized Arab mainstream media and rejected the idea of conforming to official journalist association rules and guidelines. They insisted on maintaining both their independence and their freedom to express their opinions to help shape the public debate. In a heated discussion about ethics for online journalism, bloggers refused to conform to any code of ethics, and they did not want to be labeled professional journalists asserting their right to express their opinions in any form without any ethical, political, social or literary restriction. They openly criticized the Arab mainstream media for its lack of professionalism and failure to expose corruption and provide more accurate reports on issues that affect everyday lives of the people.
Conversely, mainstream editors and journalists were critical of the unethical behavior of many bloggers and asserted that bloggers should be held accountable for spreading inaccurate information and face libel and defamation prosecutions if they do not conform to information laws. Professionals in the field stressed that the contents of blogs and online forums should be monitored and regulated to protect the public interest.
One of the highlights of the workshops was a commentary by a senior news editor from Huffington Post who shared the experience of the popular Internet newspaper and outlined the site’s impact on broader media community during the 2008 US elections and demonstrated how citizens supported the Obama campaign electronically. The Huffington Post represents a futuristic model of leadership in citizen journalism, mobilizing hundreds of citizen journalists to report on the 2008 elections through its “Off the Bus” program.
The site recently announced it intends to launch the Huffington Post Investigative Fund that would fund 10 staff journalists to work exclusively on investigative reporting. The Huffington Post won the 2006 and 2008 Webby Awards for the Best Political Blog and was recently named one of the Top 25 blogs by Time Magazine. Firsthand information on the latest developments in the field and the progress of online American newspapers was very valuable. The workshop on online writers and journalism in the Gulf also provided an opportunity for young bloggers to network and exchange views with editors of mainstream media.
Bloggers from Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were eager to learn and adopt new forms of media technologies to influence change and instigate reforms. Online editors and journalists recognized that citizen journalists could help them upgrade information services and provide better news content.
In the final session of the workshop and after a long, heated discussion, participants concluded that only time will tell how the information technologies will develop and what the future holds for bloggers and mainstream media. The important question remains: Will citizen journalism in the Gulf succeed in serving the public interest?
— Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist.
