Arab Journalists Grapple With Media Ethics

How can Arab journalists secure better and more ethical coverage in their media in light of deadly competition and constant armed conflicts in the region, notably in the post-9/11 environment worldwide?

In fact, do Arabs have media codes of ethics and how do they apply them in times of war, disaster and stress?

"Having covered the (Israeli) war on Lebanon in 2006, I had to take into account how much readers would tolerate by focusing on too much blood and gore," said Bassam Zaazaa, senior reporter for the Dubai-based English-language daily Gulf News.

Lebanese-born Zaazaa, who was on home leave when the war broke out but quickly mobilized to help with coverage for his paper, asked permission of victims whose pictures he took if he sensed they would be troubling to his readers.

The decision to use terms like "terrorist" or "martyr" or "suicide bomber" is editorial and political. How one decides whether to call a movement "fundamentalist," "resistance," "terrorist" or "extremist," is an issue that has plagued decision makers in the news business.

The Arab world has had countless media ethics conferences in recent years, including three organized by this writer in a previous job, in a bid to establish guidelines for good journalistic practice. Participants at these events were keen to avoid the term "code of ethics" so as not to be bound by rules carved in stone or slapped on by higher (government) authorities.

A recent Beirut conference organized by the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar and entitled "Media in Times of Conflict: Did Someone Say Objectivity?" touched on the definition of objectivity, terminology used by Western media in covering the Middle East -- as opposed to their Arab counterparts -- how ethics fit into the equation, the role and limitations of correspondents and how blogs have changed the news landscape.

Egyptian human rights activist and blogger Wael Abbas has had his anti-government videos on police brutality yanked off YouTube and has been harassed for posting very "graphic" footage and reports.

He admitted at the Beirut conference that his blog, which has been attacked (literally and figuratively), aimed at drawing mainstream media's attention to human rights violations but that it was not a news vehicle per se.

So what rules apply in a region where press freedom remains a nuisance or an afterthought to many Arab regimes?

There is also no shortage of conflicts in the diverse Middle East/North Africa region so Arab correspondents and editors are constantly trying to decide what to cover, how to cover those wars, and how ethical that coverage should be.

The difficulty arises when those journalists become the casualties (and the news) and split-second decisions must be made to save them while still focusing on the story and not blowing matters out of all proportion.

Reuters Middle East editor Samia Nakhoul is a case in point. Nakhoul, who had been covering the war in Iraq, almost died when U.S. tanks shelled Baghdad's Palestine Hotel in April 2003. Troops
thought it harbored terrorists, when in fact it was packed with journalists covering the beginning of America's "Shock and Awe" campaign.

She was first treated in Iraq then evacuated after which she underwent several operations to remove shrapnel from her skull. Some of her colleagues were not so lucky.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reported 65 deaths in 2007, the highest toll since 1994, with Iraq and Somalia being the most dangerous places from which to report.

Palestinian journalists are constantly torn between covering events as dispassionate reporters or photographers, abiding by somewhat elusive Western standards, or being engrossed emotionally and physically in their own stories of fighting occupation and being treated as second-class citizens in Israel.

It's a no-win, damned if you do, damned if you don't, ethics situation.

The chair of Bir Zeit University's Journalism Department in the West Bank, Abdel Rahim Abdallah, told Lebanon's Assafir newspaper there were good Palestinian journalists but poor Palestinian media.

Contrary to misconceptions and stereotypes, not all Arab media are created equal, which means not all treat ethics equally. Regional differences mean different applications.

According to Zaazaa, self-censorship in the Arab Gulf is more pronounced. A reporter forces himself to abide by self-censorship, in addition to what his own media outlet may require in that regard.

Some Gulf media have a higher ceiling of tolerance, he said, adding that English-language newspapers targeting expatriates were freer to cover and publish more controversial issues.

"In Lebanon, it's completely the opposite," said Zaazaa. "I can write almost anything I want, within legal bounds. It's easier. I have more space."

He did point out that ethical standards in the Gulf were dictated by the laws of the land - Dubai in his case -- which need to be updated, because they go back over 30 years. His editor in chief was the next standard setter, followed by societal norms that provide the needed background on what to write and what not to write.

Asked if he'd been faced with conflict of interest issues in his work, Zaazaa replied: "Yes, we're sometimes asked to write stories even if they're not newsworthy but because we have to serve advertisers' interests."

Whether it's conflict of interest, speed versus accuracy and credibility, or journalists becoming part of a conflict, Arab media continue to seriously review their performance.

Some, like their Western counterparts, are rectifying their mistakes and seeking higher professional standards. They should be encouraged to adopt ethical practices through constant reminders, training and good examples.

Comments

[realitytrumpsbull]

Sounds to me more like they're trying to keep the global sob-story going for another season...
when are they finally going to pull their socks up and take care of their own country/territory or whatever? Sad, sad story...and to think we're stuck paying for it...even sadder.