A nation’s culture can be read and deduced from newspaper headlines. The media can mirror a society but it can also marginalize that same society.
In order to realize the media’s role and its power in society, one has only to compare the headlines of foreign and Arab newspapers. Such a comparison shows the long path ahead of us before we achieve qualitative progress in social ideologies. While we speak with the voice of a single person, more developed countries allow many other voices to be heard.
For example, a Western magazine I recently read devoted its front page to a scientific article about treating a sick fetus in the mother’s womb and using its stem cells. An article in another newspaper was about the discovery of a possible cure for cancer. Another story described the auction of an important painting while another dealt with a controversial book. These stories were headlined on the front pages of the newspapers. Those papers thus reflected people’s varied concerns and interests.
The Western media bows to the people but, at the same time, it takes them to higher levels. It educates, discusses and recognizes differences. Accountability in this sense is not derived from political authority, but from the audience which might boycott a certain media organ and put it at risk of bankruptcy if it is seen as unworthy.
An active community is a kind of authority and uses its power to make the decision to buy or not. Advertisers are also interested in public trends and interests and make their decisions about advertisements based on their assessment of public reaction toward a particular media organization.
The news bulletins in the Western press are not always concerned with politics but with people’s interests. Thus, newspapers’ front pages are rarely similar as each paper tries to have its own exclusive slant on the news. Also, the way of reporting stories distinguishes coverage and varies from one paper to another. Newspapers view this as an opportunity to show their editorial skills and capabilities in publishing unconventional stories.
People’s interests in developed societies vary a great deal; therefore, a specialized media has widened into broader fields with a number of sub-specializations.
During my time as a visiting journalist at The Financial Times in London, I was amazed that one journalist specialized in the petrochemical industry; another in the automotive industry and yet another in agro-industry. I had thought that one industry-specialized journalist would be enough but I was wrong. The result is distinctive coverage, even for a specialized audience. Admittedly, that entails an huge investment but it produces a profitable return.
Arab societies are more traditional and their media reflects this. The headlines of Arab front pages are predictable the night before they appear. Initially this is due to politics as if Arabs were only interested in politics or as if most of them even take part in the decision-making process.
Most articles produce feelings of desperation and hopelessness because of the coverage that focuses only on negativities.
The media that bows to people and takes them to a lower level is problematic. It is wrong to believe that this is normal given the nature of the events. Giving space to creativity, innovation, scientific discoveries, social events and encouraging and highlighting the creators in different areas are the media’s responsibility. “That’s how people like it” should not be the excuse for dubious coverage.
Communities evolve, and when the public loses confidence in traditional media, it resorts to personal alternatives in these times of technological change and revolution.
Rather than providing positive models, our media is centered on celebrities and sports — namely football — as if our communities had no other interests. The problem is that this kind of reporting by the media makes us see this reality as normal but it isn’t. The media’s strength is not only the tool but the content as well.
There are many challenges facing the media but they should not lead us into pointless and invalid blame games. Making an impact is the key and the media can play a role in enriching diversity, and taking part in building healthy societies capable of entering into global competition.
