UAE bloggers protected by Journalists' Association

A new article says that UAE bloggers will be protected from prosecution by a union of sorts, provided (of course), they follow a code of ethics:

"Bloggers and "virtual" journalists have the right to be protected by the Journalists' Association, provided they abide by the ethics code, including stating of facts and sources of information, avoiding defaming without tangible proof, or provoking hostility arising from religious, sectarian or race discriminations," Yousuf said.

Mohammad Yousuf, President of the UAE Journalists' Association, also said that full-time, dedicated bloggers will be allowed membership of the association.

So the question is really, who is a "full-time, dedicated" blogger? Again, in previous debates regarding this, does it include personal blogs that ocassionally do political commentary and controversial topics, or only those that are "journalistic"? And what is considered "provoking hostility arising from religious, sectarian or race discriminations"? Expats whining about locals, or vice-versa, or both? Does all of this also include comments?

It seems like a step in the right directon for sure, but certain things still seem a bit vague to me.

Dark Side

Dear international media,
You need to write more articles that reference the 'dark side of Dubai', there are clearly not enough.

BBC Panorama magazine: Dark side of the Dubai dream
ABC News: Dark Side of Dubai's Boomtown
The Independent: The dark side of Dubai
The Times: Dark side of Dubai’s economic boom exacts harsh human toll
Ya Libnan: A rape case exposes Dubai's dark side and injustice
Middle East times: Dubai's dark side - misery for Asians
Qatar Living: The Dark Side of Dubai
Time: The Dark Side Of the Dream
Arab News: The Dark Side of Splendor
NPR: "But foreign diplomats and others say there's a dark side to the economic boom"
Bloomberg: "Fei Fei's story symbolizes the dark side of Dubai"
Guardian: "Carole Cadwalladr explores the dark side of Dubai"

New media law would make blogger anonymity illegal?

As reported in the Khaleej Times

The law is not clear on blogging, said Gureni Lukwaro, a print media student. Though it does not ban blogging, the law stipulates that the blogger cannot remain anonymous. “Blogging could be regulated by this law. Blogs are free statements, something that cannot be backed by facts as they are only opinions. That is why it is done in anonymity. This law could curb that freedom,” Lukwaro said.

Is this a misreading of the proposed law?

English newspapers in the United Arab Emirates: Navigating the crowded market

That's the title of a research article in Arab Media & Society by Peyman Pejman an associate professor of journalism and communication at Zayed University in Dubai. In addition to interviews with editors of all six daily English newspapers he also conducted content analysis of the papers. He concludes:

While English papers in the UAE might be dealing a bit more seriously with old or emerging social issues – not political and not much in the financial realm– but their treatment of those issues still resembles, to borrow a term from Pintak, “behavior of a lapdog and not a watchdog.” But will the performance of English newspapers improve? Absolutely; it already has with the debut of The National and reorganization of the Khaleej Times. At the same time, that improvement so far has been in layout and design, not necessarily the content. The National’s editor said he had hoped the launching of his paper “would be a bomb under the journalism market” that could shake up the industry. “When I [launched] the National Post in Canada, it created a market for journalism. Suddenly journalism was valued. Suddenly journalists were valued. That did not happen here.”

That's interesting in light of reports of the consideration of a new gag law prohibiting publication of information that damages "the country's reputation or harms its economy" (shameless plug to my own blog).

UK Warns of "high threat from terrorism" in the UAE

So says the BBC this morning:

British nationals in the United Arab Emirates have been warned there is now a high risk of a terror attack there.

Travel advice from the UK Foreign Office said terrorists might be planning indiscriminate attacks in places frequented by expatriates...

"High" is the most serious of four terrorism risk levels which the Foreign Office uses in its warnings...

One of the great selling points of the Emirates is the high level of personal safety (well, except on the road), especially when compared to so many expats' home countries. I know that I always felt much safer walking around Al Ain, even at night, than I do now that I'm back in the US.

Here's hoping and praying that either the report is wrong or that the authorities are able to stop any plots that do exist. Stay safe everyone.

New paper - the national

Today is the launch of The National, a new Abu Dhabi based newspaper;
Their website is up and running and is worth a look.

"Picture perfect: How the story of Dubai’s other side can never be told"

An interesting read from Arab Media & Society...

"It’s inevitable, then, that I sometimes forget Emiratis may even read my articles. I resort to using British idioms and words I know they wouldn’t understand, but it isn’t something I’m conscious of; the sad reality is that I’m simply not conscious of them at all. Except, of course, when the government steps in to demand that we remove a chapter or an article from a guide or a magazine.

I am tempted to provide an example of this sort of censorship, but I have been asked not to. While the incident between the government and Time Out is common knowledge amongst journalists in both my company and in other publishing houses, Dubai isn’t ready to admit that it breaches the media’s right to freedom of speech. But I’ll allow myself this: the piece that offended the government was a guide to alcoholic beverages sold legally in Dubai; it is neither news nor a surprise that the emirate has licensed liquor outlets within its borders.

[...]

You can blame it on companies being unaccustomed and overly sensitive to criticism, or you can look at the reality of being an expatriate journalist in Dubai. One of the problems we face is that we rarely hear an Emirati voice. They haven’t had a chance to develop one that foreigners can understand or relate to just yet. They will in time, but until then, the expatriate community will have to continue guessing which subjects we can tackle without having to deal with censorship or corporate bullies.

Such incidents of sporadic censorship have made me, as well as other journalists hesitant to tackle the real stories. As mentioned, it isn’t that the stories aren’t there, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a journalist who’s willing to have their career shredded for a 300-word article.

The result is that Dubai’s stories are rarely told. The truth about the conditions within labor camps throughout the city, where the men who toil for hours in the region’s unforgiving sun live, isn’t exposed. And the women who suffer the injustices of a so-called traditional society, while their men indulge in the freedoms of a modern world, rarely have their say.

But like most journalists, I make mental notes of the laborers forced to defecate on street corners for lack of toilets, and the Emirati woman who calls me once every four or five months to remind me she’s willing to talk, but not today; I hoard these stories, knowing full well that if I pursue them I’ll get barred from the emirate. But I’m waiting for the day I leave and have the freedom to write with the sort of brutal honesty these stories deserve."

read more here (article is 2 seperate pages)

blogging

From Mahmood's Den...

"I loved what the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the UAE, Dr. Anwar Gergash said in response to a question by the moderator which he laid out how blogs should be regarded as far as laws are concerned and that is the traditional press should use the strictest rules of journalistic ethics, a little bit more leeway should be given to TV and radio, while blogs should be the least controlled, and their owners most certainly should not be chased with libel lawsuits.

Why? He explained that theory specifically well which demonstrates his deep understanding of new media in general and his preparedness to accept criticism. He said that there should be a separation between news and opinions; news must be reported with full journalist ethics as the cascading effects of reporting incorrect news might have some adverse reactions; while in the case of opinions and comments, those should be regarded as the essence of freedom of expression and their instigators should be left alone. I suspect he also holds the opinion that if someone takes umbrage with those opinions, then they should be resolved by posting a response to that opinion or comment, or even creating a blog and posting their competing thoughts on that.

Dr. Gergash says that he follows blogs as he gets the raw information from them, rather than the editor doctored content from the traditional main stream media. He says that if there are 4 television stations in a country and maybe 30 newspapers, there are more than 500 blogs in that country possibly and if those 500 bloggers are talking about a unique particular subject then that has weight and indicates the unadulterated feeling on the street. Something that you cannot get from traditional media."

-- from here

How to blog it

Is blogging here like the West? No of course not, but that's the point; understand what's possible, and what will cause you strife, and your blogging future should remain bright.

So concludes ArabianBusiness.com journalist Matthew Wade's article on blogging in the region.

Read it here.

Creative Majlis Invites Creative Professionals and Community Service Enthusiasts in Dubai and UAE

Creative Majlis - a global network of creative professionals and community service enthusiasts pooling in their skills and talents for social causes - is celebrating its first anniversary.

In one year, we have grown from two founding members - Farrukh Naeem and Mayura Sandeep, both advertising professionals determined to use their skills for community service - to more than 300 members across the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, Russia, Belgium, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, India, Pakistan, Hungary and of course - our home ground - the United Arab Emirates.

Creative Majlis members now include advertising professionals, copywriters, art directors, creative directors, film makers, doctors, psychologists, journalists, event managers, entrepreneurs, finance professionals, web designers, cartoonists - basically anyone who would like to volunteer time and ability and work together for humanitarian and social development efforts.

If you wish to join hands with people around the world and make a difference by contributing your skill and talent (we do not raise or ask for any funds or money - just your skills), we invite you to our anniversary celebrations:

The North Ballroom
Four Points Sheraton
Bur Dubai
on
17 February 2007
from 6.00 pm onwards

Entry is free for everyone but prior RSVP is essential, which you can do by calling or SMS-ing your RSVP (incuding number of attendees) to Farrukh Naeem, the co-founder of Creative Majlis on 050-7151722, or adding your 'Yes' at the event details page at the following link:
http://www.ryze.com/ed.a?eid=33448

For more information on Creative Majlis and our projects, please visit www.creativemajlis.com

Technorati Tags:Creative Majlis, UAE, Dubai, Community Service in the UAE, Humanitarian, Community Service, Social Service, Creativity, CSR, CSR UAE, Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Social Responsibility UAE

Introducing Dubai Media Observer

[Update: thanks to permission granted for us to take on the Dubai Media Observer brand.]

Thanks for the invitation. We are Dubai Media Observer. In the media, about the media - what the region's media is too scared to discuss. There are a team of us writing this from the UAE and outside.

Campaign ME is shut down

Word on the street is that ITP has suddenly pulled the plug on its successful advertising weekly Campaign ME. I tried to check the magazine's website, but it redirected me to Arabian Business magazine's website. There is no trace of any Campaign ME content, not even its blog.

To be honest, when i first heard the news, I thought it was a marketing stunt or something. But it seems to be for real and I also heard the whole thing has something to do with a licencing issue between ITP's management and the London-based Campaign.

Does anyone know what exactly is going on? Do share..