UAE | Media

What the Editors and media experts have to say

Sami Al Reyami - Editor-in-Chief, Emarat Al Youm

"Most online magazines, blogs and online forums are not bound by the codes of ethics and style guides that newspapers are bound by. They are not written by professionals, are unregulated and are not even registered with the journalists' association. How can we consider them to be journalistic publications?"

Aidan White- General Secretary, International Federation of Journalists

"The Gulf states have begun to produce media with a very independent and wide-ranging world view, but they can become strangely hesitant when reporting home affairs. That suggests governments must do more to encourage newsrooms to be more vigorous in their reporting, ignoring political pressure and local bias. When they do this they will create models of media for modern Arab society."

Sultan Saud Al Qasimi- Emirati commentator and non-resident fellow at the Dubai School of Government

"One can't lay the blame on the substandard coverage [of the financial crisis] in the local press only on these media outlets as a large part of it was due to the fact that Dubai still has no official spokesperson despite repeated promises by senior officials of the creation of such a post. This vacuum is an ideal breeding ground of unsubstantiated rumours as people's perceptions of events find their way into international newspapers in a few days time."

Ahmad Mohammad Bin Gareeb- Editor-in-Chief, Hetta.com

"In other countries, when a media outlet exposes a politician, an investigation is opened on the official in question. Here, we are investigating the messenger and no one asks about the official in question... why is it that the authorities only take criticism seriously and act upon it when it is highlighted in the foreign press, and ignore it when it is published by the local press?"

Mohammad Yousuf, Chairman, UAE Journalists Association

"Journalists want to be independent and governed by laws that determine our red lines — not directives over the telephone from various people telling us what is or is not acceptable to report. Previously, these telephone directives came from very few people, but now they are coming from a number of sources, often from officials with interests in both the government sector and the private sector".

Dr Aisha Al Nuaimi, Associate professor of mass communications at Sharjah University

"I hope the draft law, in its present form, [will] not be passed and the relevant authorities [will] consider the demands of journalists to promote a free media environment. Press freedom in the UAE has declined, and the credibility of most media outlets and journalists was squandered because they allowed the authorities' dictates and pressure to shape their work… Specialised courts to hear media-related cases would not make a difference if the media law is bad."

Ali Jaber - Dean, Mohammad Bin Rashid School For Communication, American University in Dubai

"The more the media receives court cases, the healthier it seems. I'm with court cases against the media, as it means the media is doing something right. It's not a good sign to have fewer court cases against the media. The last thing you want to see is compliance complacency."