People in glasshouses should not throw stones

Expatriate journalists in the UAE have done themselves no favours this week. If anything, they have shown themselves in a very bad light.

It all started over a week ago, when a rumour spread around Dubai that an employee of a reputable publishing company had been caught in flagrante delicto on a beach in Jumeirah. As to date no charge has been made against her or her partner, a tourist to the UAE, anything that followed was based on pure speculation and gossip. This was combined with an obvious desire by her colleagues to discredit her as much as possible.

Such was, and is, the intensity of comment that it soon became common knowledge, even among the foreign press. And such was its intensity that it became difficult to determine the truth from what was fabricated out of spite or pure titillation. Yet what is obvious from all the hearsay is that the so-called journalists contributing to the blogs and whispers were ignoring the normal standards of ethical journalism.

It used to be that a journalist was required to check a story from at least three independent sources; internet and blogs soon put an end to that as everyone and his neighbour became instant journalists, throwing caution to the wind.

So much for the amateurs among us, but when it comes to blog sites that are by and for journalists, isn't it reasonable to expect a fair standard of reporting from the contributors? Apparently not. It's now fair game to dish the dirt to anyone with impunity in the belief that, as a blog, anyone can say and do whatever they like.

But in the UAE journalists are expected to follow a Code of Ethics. The Editors-in-Chief of all reputed print media have agreed to and signed a code accepting to abide by certain standards.

We at Gulf News came out with our own Code of Ethics prior to that signed by media chiefs, which is more exacting in its requirements.

Included in this code are not only the standards expected of Gulf News staff and journalists, but also the manner in which articles must be researched and published. Of its very nature is demanding, so to maintain the high standards of our newspaper and its associate products.

For example, it is not expected of staff to slag off present or former members of staff - something which has obviously been forgotten by contributors to the various blogs. And, what is most despicable is that charges have yet to be made against the persons involved. It is apparent some journalists believe in hanging a person before they have been tried.

I have no wish to defend or accuse the couple - that is for the courts to decide once they have agreed what charges to place before them. Certainly it is correct that anyone who has lived in the UAE even for a short time will know how to abide by its laws. Equally, if as the victim allegedly claims, they were both drunk, then as adults they should know their capacity and stay within it. Admittedly, as at all boozy parties, it is often difficult to keep a tight reign on what is being consumed.

Not proven

If all the crimes that are alleged to have taken place were actually committed, then whatever punishment the courts hand out will doubtless be appropriate. But even if the alleged crimes were committed, it still does not give anyone, including her former colleagues, the right to disparage her. Equally, if the charges are not proven, then what is being bandied about by so-called friends of hers should bring shame upon them, not the victim.

Of the many blogs there are on UAE journalism and journalists, few and far between are those that have anything good to say about the media. As most, if not all, contributors are journalists who are or were working in the UAE, it reflects very badly on the country's publishing industry as a whole. And, as many comments are made by disillusioned journalists who probably would have failed in any society, their comments only serve to damage the reputation of the nation as a whole.

Certainly there are areas where improvements can be made - which country does not have that need? - but these issues are being addressed. For cynical journalists to point a finger at whoever happens to be in front of them, without first verifying facts, discredits the very business they claim they represent.

Get a life Nicholas. The lady has confessed to the deed in public and you are still defending her. Is it you, your concern or your passport coming to the defense of a compatriot? As for blogs, times have changed and there are new tools available to journalists to get leads and follow on their story- of course with proper follow up. But don't discredit new technology.. Look ahead and into history
Sebelito
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 13, 2008, 13:22

Why then, did a journalist from Gulf News post on that blog asking for the accused to get in touch with her and give her a story? And before any trial has taken place. It seems like your own paper is throwing the biggest stones here.
Emmett
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 13, 2008, 11:50

That kind of thing in journalism has been happening for a long time. It is good that someone finally wrote about it. It is a shame though that it took something like a case against a Brit (making it a high profile case I guess) before anyone cried about unethical journalism. I wonder if anyone would write the same if it happened to a south Asian for example.
Ali
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 13, 2008, 10:09