UAE's media still has to face its biggest challenge: Its own censorship

Dubai: Journalists pushing the boundaries and government officials appreciating the value of transparency are two major factors which has been expanding press freedom in the UAE, said a top academician.

"It is clear that press freedom in the UAE is expanding," said Dr Kenneth Starck, Dean of College of Communication and Media Sciences, Zayed University.

He said: "As indicated by [the order from] His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the governing officials are seeing the value of greater transparency. These developments bode well for the advancement of the UAE on the world stage."

"Every system has its own constraints, whether economic or social. But generally speaking, the fewer constraints, the greater the press freedom," he added.

Critical stance

According to Dr Starck, an important gauge of press freedom is how much latitude media have in criticising different aspects of society. "In recent years, the UAE, has seen a significant expansion of its freedom, and it's evident in a number of ways.

"You can point to the increasing critical stance of the media toward different aspects of society, such as coverage of labour issues and the courts. Plus Shaikh Mohammad's recent decision on not imprisoning journalists while carrying out their duties," stressed Dr Starck.

He said the recent freedom index of the press watchdog organisation, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) marked that the UAE press freedom has risen several notches this year.

Fazal Malek, a journalism faculty member of Dubai Men's College of the Higher Colleges of Technology, said the UAE enjoys a fair amount of freedom of press as it has emerged a regional leader in allowing choice, freedom and pluralism in its growing media.

"A combination of factors has led to this freedom. First is the advent of new communication technologies, which have given a greater choice to people to access a variety of media. So censorship, in many ways, has become irrelevant as people can view a variety of news with little interference. The UAE government has facilitated this diversity by opening its door to the international media," he explained.

Malek said the UAE has followed a liberal media policy to let various forms of media to flourish and report freely. "There have been a few instances where the media did not have a smooth ride. But after every incident, the policies have been amended or laws enforced to promote freedom to report and write news," he said.

Shaikh Mohammad's directive to ban imprisonment of journalists for offences related to profession is a clear stand the UAE is taking to promote the freedom of press.

He said: "Most journalists are confident this will usher in a new era of journalism in the UAE. This commitment is visible in the pluralistic media which is emerging herein."

He noted that the UAE has jumped 12 places to a better ranking on the 2007 World Press Freedom Index in recognition of the initiatives taken to ensure press freedom.

"In retrospect, the emergence and legitimacy in the Arab media [post 9/11] ... discourse counter the western media [and] has lead a wider credibility of the local media among its readers. The media in the UAE is no exception to this transformation, and people's expectations from their 'own media' has increased" said Malek.
Awareness

The biggest challenge to the freedom of press in the UAE comes through self-censorship, said Malek.

"This seems to be more an issue of awareness rather than any pressure. We as academics are trying our best to inculcate in media students the principles of press freedom but there needs to be an industry wide initiative to train journalists, especially in professional ethics, social responsibility and media laws.

Similarly, there is need for more interaction between the UAE journalists and journalist from other parts of the world."

The freedom of press cannot be absolute. "To avoid the abuse and misuse of the freedom, it has to be qualified. The sensationalism, vulgarisation and attacks on people's privacy ... on pretext of press freedom are something least required .... Freedom of press should take into account local and regional sensitivities but that does not mean that journalist should self-censor. There has to be a meaningful balance," said Malek.