Recognise role of the media in UAE's progress

Although the UAE retained its position, ranking third in the Arab region, on the Press Freedom index, issued by Reporters Without Borders, there certainly is a long way to go for the country's media. The technical and financial growth in the UAE media surpasses the media in most Arab states. But the challenge is to translate that into a genuinely relevant press that reflects the complexity of this modern country. For example, we in the media admit there is a lack of world-standard investigative journalism or critical reporting that takes decision makers to task.

We are able though to challenge, in some instances, the prevailing wisdom when it comes to the interests of citizens and residents. In Gulf News, we always stand up for the rights of consumers and the entire spectrum of the labour force. Relevant government bodies in most of those instances actually were responsive.

However, the past year was overly challenging for the country's media as the global financial downturn impacted the economies of most of the regional states including the UAE.

The UAE press was in the frontline of a perplexing media campaign, mostly in the West, that targeted the country and Dubai in particular. As we strived to explain and inform, without resorting to scare tactics and creating unjustified panic, we were bombarded with endless rounds of sensational and distorted stories that didn't reflect the reality in this country.

We felt it was our responsibility to tell the real story and correct the distortions; but we were criticised for that. It was not the government that tried to influence the media in the UAE, it was other media outlets, including established news agencies.

The year that passed was testing. We might have weathered that storm but we still recognise the real challenge remains local. The press has to be recognised as an indispensable partner in the development process as the UAE moves up the economic ladder to join the league of emerging markets.