I’ve always wanted to analyse the
problems faced by journalists who work for organisations that are based in the
Middle East, because doing so provides a challenge seldom found in the West.
This report lists the work I had
been assigned by the publications, how the press laws in Oman played a hand in
shaping my articles, how they are detrimental to society, how I was able to
work around them and what I learned from this experience.
Overview: Omani media industry
Like most of the other Arab
nations,
(Fenton, 2009), the press in Oman has
strict limits on freedom of free speech and expression. Global freedom watchdog
Freedom House categorises Oman’s press
as ‘Not Free’
(Freedom House, 2012).
Issued in 1984, Oman’s press laws
are highly restrictive (Freedom House, 2012). Omani publications
are heavily censored and criticism of the government is banned (O'Rourke, 2011), even if it is found
guilty of shirking its duties.
For example, three years ago, two
Omani journalists were jailed for exposing a corruption racket inside the
Ministry of Justice (Al-Shaibany, 2011). This is because the government views
the press as a tool for ‘nation building and reinforcing social integration’. (Hetherington & Najem, 2013).
This blanket ban also restricts
the media from criticising governmental policies across all walks of life.
For example, financial magazine Oman Economic Review recently conducted
a survey of banks in Oman and reported positively on all of them. The magazine
had to, because Omani banks are partly owned by the government (Bologna & Prasad, 2010).
These included interviews with
the banks’ top brass and didn’t question their long-term sustainability and
growth. How these banks were going to continue to function once the nation’s
fleeting oil reserves had dried up wasn’t mentioned, since it is known that
most Arab states have oil-based economies (Winckler, 2005).
This is very dangerous, as it
means people can lose their savings overnight without being forewarned.
The government uses publications to
pass information to people. Readers’ feedback is rarely entertained. (Rugh, 2004)
Attempting to bypass this
censorship, several online discussion forums have sprung up, chief among them
being
Sablat
Oman, with close to 100,000 registered users
(Reality in Oman, 2009). Topics here range
from international discussions such as Iran’s nuclear programme to domestic
ones such as forced marriage.
But even these sites aren’t
wholly free. Although Oman only experienced minor protests during the Arab
Spring three years ago, the call to protest against the government was
instigated by sites such as Sablat Oman (Worrall, 2012), just as social media was (and still is)
being used throughout the rest of the Arab world to coordinate action (Lindsey, 2013) during the Arab
Spring.
As a consequence, Sablat Oman was
temporarily blocked (Freedom House, 2012).
The changing Omani labour market
One of a journalist’s most
important tools is his list of contacts because they provide information that
is vital to stories (Keeble, 2007). These lists take years to develop –
like mine did – and are constantly added to and subtracted from (Stephenson, 1998).
It is because of these contacts
that I was able to get a foothold into Omani media market.
My father knew Mr. Sandeep
Sehgal, CEO of media house
United Media
Services (UMS), who required freelancers.
Journalists in Oman require a
license to practise their profession (Ministry of Information, 2002), and at news
conferences, must carry ID. Because of a lack of skilled locals, companies hire
expatriates to fill vacancies.
As the country developed, the
government continued to invite foreigners to fill jobs in an expanding labour
market.
Since 2003, the government has introduced
Omanisation, where locals are given preference over expatriates. Ergo, the
government has been reducing the number of work visas for expatriates (Vaidya, 2013).
This is because of a recent
population boom in Arabia. In 2006, there was a 42% increase in the number of
people who were below the age of 15 years in the Arab world, compared to 20% in
the developed world and 35% in the developing world (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2006). This increased
labour pool would therefore need to be given preference when it comes to
employment. Correspondingly, 40% of all Omanis are between 20 and 44 years old (Watfa, 2009).
Unfortunately, there is a lack of
skilled Omanis across the media (Josephi, 2010) and other sectors. Training the next
generation of Omanis is time consuming (Oxford Business Group, 2013).
Here, freelancers like me come
in. Although technically not allowed under law (Freedom House, 2012), there are no listed
work restrictions on those who come to Oman on visit or resident visas as
listed on UK visas.
Freelancers are allowed to write
articles and conduct interviews.
My work
During this assignment, I’d done
two articles. The first was a piece on travel titled “10 Tourist Destinations
of Myth and Legend” for Signature magazine,
a lifestyle magazine run by UMS.
The second was an exclusive
interview with former Arsenal winger Fredrik Ljungberg.
In addition, I went for a
week-long internship with the editorial department at UMS, to get a feel of how
those who are responsible for the content of publications in Oman do so within
the framework of the law.
My first article
How the law shaped its
construction
The article was about ten
relatively unheard-of tourist destinations. Five of these were set in the
Middle East, the other five were from the rest of the world.
The first instruction I was given
was that there were to be no destinations which were located in nations that
had poor diplomatic relations with the Sultanate of Oman. The second was that there were to be no
tourist places that had a direct connection to religion.
That first directive meant that I
could not mention places that were located in Israel, because Oman is one of 31
nations to not recognise the sovereignty of the Jewish State (U.S. Congress, 2008).
I had initially wanted to write
about visiting the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Held in great reverence by
Muslims, Jews and Christians (Ring, et al., 1996), it was also supposed to be the
original resting place of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Loud, 2010).
The second instruction meant that
I couldn’t write about places that were primarily famous for religious reasons.
In Oman, many laws are based on Islamic law. Publications must cover articles of
culture, religion and tradition without criticism and promoting religion via
media is prohibited (Josephi, 2010).
Islam is the dominant religion here
and is central to life (U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2006) and there are still
disagreements among Arabs regarding religious practice. Promoting religion might
therefore lead to popular dissent (Figenschou, 2014 ).
For example, seven months ago,
local magazine The Week published an
interview with a gay expatriate living in Oman who said that the nation was
quite tolerant to homosexuals. The magazine later had to apologise for this
article (AFP, 2013),
despite speaking about Oman positively, since Islam forbids homosexuality (Al-Haqq Kugle, 2010) and is punished in
Oman via imprisonment (AFP, 2013).
I couldn’t therefore write about Easter
Island, which is famous for its massive monolithic head constructs called Moai, which were constructed by its former
inhabitants, the Rapa Nui, between 1250 and 1500 AD (Fischer, 2005).
These heads were considered by
the Rapa Nui to be deified versions of their ancestors, which are why this
island is famous (Hunt & Lipo, 2011). To mention them
would therefore be promoting religion.
My workaround
Some of the other areas I described
did have religious significance, but were also famous otherwise. I therefore omitted
their religious significance.
Delphi was where the most
powerful Ancient Greek Oracles resided, and it was believed that they could foretell
the future because they were blessed by the gods (Kofsky, 2000). Similarly, the Egyptians constructed
pyramids were constructed to honour the gods, besides serving as their Pharaohs’
tombs (Munt, 2013).
I therefore mentioned that the
oracles were blessed with the ability to predict the future, but didn’t mention
a divine connection. The Egyptians however believed that mummification was a
cultural, not a religious belief (Rockwood, 2014) and so that could be mentioned.
Tenochtitlan and Chichen Itza
involved the Aztec and Mayan civilisations, which practiced
religiously-motivated human sacrifice (Palmer-Fernandez, 2004) to please the gods in
exchange for plentiful harvests and rainfall (Page, 2010).
Most interesting here was that
they waged war to capture people to sacrifice (Perl, 2008),
which draws parallels with the Islamic concept of jihad or war for the sake of religion (Habeck, 2006).
I therefore described these
cities as architectural marvels and made sure my piece spoke about Aztec and
Mayan society, not religious acts.
I’d written on Petra,
a UN Heritage Site that was only
discovered by the West in the early 19
th century
(Walker, 2009). But it had long
been a place of great significance for the Arabs even during Biblical times.
Petra was where Moses ‘raised his
arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the
community and their livestock drank.’ (Wantang, 2013). That could therefore not be mentioned and
I focused on Petra from an archaeological perspective.
I’d also mentioned Hornstrandir in
Iceland, where Viking leader Erik the Red reportedly settled before sailing for
Greenland (Agnarsdóttir, 2001). The Vikings practised paganism as a
form of religion (Strmiska, 2005), which couldn’t be mentioned.
I’d added three alternative
locations in case one of the ten were unacceptable. Machu Picchu was one. Even
here, I’d only mentioned the names of temples because they were architectural
marvels that were years ahead of its time in terms of construction, (Peterson, 2006) with no mention of
religious practices.
But while writing about Zanzibar,
which was once part of Oman’s empire, I couldn’t mention the thriving slave
trade in that region (Dumper & Stanley, 2007), because it goes
against Oman’s current establishment. I therefore completely excluded the slave
trade while describing Zanzibar’s trade.
My second article
While freelancing for UMS, I received
the opportunity to interview Arsenal legend Fredrik Ljungberg, who’d come to
visit Oman’s
Arsenal Soccer
School.
A meet and greet had been
organised for the press, after which he would take part in training sessions
with the children at the School. That was only open to the school’s children
and their parents.
Because my editor knew Mr Mihir
Khimji, the director at the School, he could arrange for an exclusive
interview. The visit of a footballer of Mr. Ljungberg’s calibre is quite a
prestigious event and the publication that has his interview would certainly
have a competitive edge in the media market.
Timing was of the essence here as
this interview would have to be included in his itinerary. I was informed of
the interview a good two days before Mr. Ljungberg arrived. Mr. Ljungberg was
in Oman for less than a day and he had a packed schedule. Someone who’d not
known Mr. Khimji would’ve had to make the request to interview him through the
official channels at the Soccer School. They might have been rejected because
his time was extremely limited.
Meeting Mr. Ljungberg was a great
experience as it taught me not to get carried away while interviewing celebrities.
As a football journalist, there will be many personages I will interview during
my career and I have to remember to behave professionally.
Psychological and social consequences
of these press laws
Because I had to censor my travel
article, it might provide a skewed perspective of these locations. People
therefore become unaware and ignorant (de Baets, 2002) of the great histories of these places.
For example, it is widely
believed (Raj & Morpeth, 2007) that Machu Picchu
was a pagan centre of spiritual energy around the world, similar to Stonehenge,
the Taj Mahal and the Pyramids that made people more spiritually aware. To
learn about these places would greatly add to the cultural and spiritual
education of people.
Similarly, people are missing out
on learning about Christian history because informing them about Biblical sites
in Petra isn’t allowed. Learning about these places makes people religiously
tolerant (Knauth, 2013). Religion has long been a source of
conflict and learning about other religions could lead to conflict resolution (Garfinkel, 2008).
I believe that for a society to
advance properly, it must be provided with uncensored information. People can
then make informed opinions based on the complete set of facts to allow for
social pluralism and an open discussion of ideas (Council of Europe, 1982).
Despite the light tone of my work,
I was scared of even accidentally breaking these laws. I was therefore forced
to self-censor my work, thereby foregoing my freedom of expression, a
cornerstone of creative and artistic freedom (Cuny & Polacek, 2012), which is essential
for human development (Short, 2009).
This lack of freedom of free
speech stunts mental growth and robs humans of the tools required to develop
their minds. It prevents people from using their minds to form and then ask questions
against the system, making society backward (Baggini & Southwell, 2012).
Most articles I wrote during my
internship were leisure pieces, with little political investigative journalism
happening. Ergo, there was no application of the mind, leading to little
creative journalistic development
While there a little
investigative journalism, that centres on social events which uplift society. A
majority of pieces in magazines are leisure articles. It is the same with
editorial columns.
That Freedom of Expression was
included in the Rights of Man (Brett, 1998)
shows how important it is for human development. When governments enforce
absolute censorship, it is quite likely that this lack of forming questions
will spread to other aspects of life, thereby further stunting mental growth
and society can never develop.
Qatar is one Middle East nation
that has realised this. The Al-Jazeera Network was the first to introduce free
speech to the Arab world and went so far as to criticise the Saudi Arabian,
Bahraini and even Qatari governments (Falk, 2008).
But other Arab nations do not
seem to agree with this line of thought. In 2008, they signed a restrictive
media charter which instructed broadcasters ‘not to not damage social harmony,
public unity, national order or traditional virtues’ (Zweiri & Murphy, 2011).
Qatar was the only
nation that refused to sign this document because it realised that unrestricted
media was necessary for the country’s social development (Miles, 2005).
This aside, the Qatar Foundation
for Education, Science and Community development hosts the Doha Debates which
are televised on BBC World and are viewed as a forum of dialogue and free
speech. They are no holds barred discussions where controversial topics are
argued for and against by a live audience and a panel of experts (Oxford Business Group, 2007).
Also, in 2006, an Arabic
programme named Lakoom Al Karaar (The
Decision is Yours) began broadcasting on Qatar National TV. This programme
offered children the opportunity to question decision-makers on issues that
mattered to them, encouraging them to talk to their government from an early
age (Oxford Business Group, 2009).
What this does is promote free
speech and will surely benefit future generations of Qataris.
What I learned
There is much that I’ve learned
here. I was able to think out of the box. As journalists, we are trained to
strike at the heart of the matter and flesh out the story from there (Iorio, 2004). But because there
were some things I had to overlook, it taught me to look change the heart of
the matter and construct a story around that.
Charles Darwin’s theory of
evolution says that there should be creative freedom for self-determination (Corey, 1994) and these
restrictions actually helped me realise that it was possible to create
informative pieces that people would want to read even with all these censors
in place and that ability to form a story with only limited information at your
disposal is I think a very handy talent to have.
For example, during my
internship, I wrote a piece on Five Inspirational TED Talks by Women. One of
them was delivered by Liberian Nobel Laureate
Leymah
Gbowee. She empowered women to vote against corrupt officials, but centring
the story on that meant it would be considered against the government. I
therefore centred it around her providing education to African women so that
they could remain self-sufficient, which meant it was still thought-provoking
journalism.
A version of the travel article I
would’ve written has been posted on my blog:
www.gbvishjourno.blogspot.com.
Also on the blog is the write-up on Leymah Gbowee’s talk that. I’d initially
planned on writing
I also learnt that having access
to people in power helps bypass administrative ‘gatekeepers’ (Randall, 2007) such as secretaries who might control
access to potential interviewees. This can help provide the competitive edge for
your publication to stand out from the rest.
But the negatives here dwarf the
positive lessons. The government claims that these restrictions have been
placed for positive social construction, but society cannot be positively
constructed without unrestricted access to free media (Miles, 2005).
What I’ve also experienced here
is that journalists and editors are under constant pressure to censor their
work, because even an accidental slip-up might mean breaking the law.
This constant pressure is
extremely detrimental to one’s mental and physical wellbeing (Cooper & Burnham, 2009). That makes the
pursuing of a career involving in-depth investigative and political journalism
highly for most Middle Eastern publications extremely unfeasible.
Unless, therefore, these
sanctions are lifted or eased forthwith, not only will skilled journalists seek
out other countries for employment, but more importantly, it’ll be extremely
difficult for a broad-minded society to be formed in Oman and by extension,
other places that have such draconian press laws.
Bibliography
AFP., 2013. Journalists
of The Week in Oman quizzed over gay article. [Online]
Available at: http://www.news.com.au/world/journalists-of-the-week-in-oman-quizzed-over-gay-article/story-fndir2ev-1226712681906
[Accessed 11 April 2014].
Agnarsdóttir, A., 2001. Voyages
and Exploration in the North Atlantic from the Middle Ages to the Xviith
Century: Papers Presented at the 19th International Congress of Historical
Sciences, Oslo 2000. 1st ed. Reykjavik: University of Iceland.
Al-Haqq Kugle, S. S., 2010. Homosexuality
in Islam: Critical Reflection on Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Muslims. 1st
ed. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Al-Shaibany, S., 2011. Omani
journalists face jail for corruption article. [Online]
Available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/22/us-oman-journalists-idUSTRE78L1UO20110922
[Accessed 09 April 2014].
Baggini, J. & Southwell,
G., 2012. Philosophy: Key Texts. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Bologna, P. & Prasad,
A., 2010. Oman: Banking Sector Resilience, Washington, D.C.:
International Monetary Fund.
Brett, S., 1998. Limits
of Tolerance: Freedom of Expression and the Public Debate in Chile. 1998
ed. Washington, D.C.: Human Rights Watch.
Council of Europe, 1982. Official
Report OF Debates Volume II, Strasbourg: European Union.
Cooper, Y. & Burnham,
A., 2009. Working our way to better mental health: a framework for action,
Richmond: The Stationery Office Limited.
Corey, M. A., 1994. Back
to Darwin: The Scientific Case for Deistic Evolution. 1st ed. Lanham: Rowman
and Littlefied.
Cuny, L. & Polacek, R.,
2012. Access to Culture - a Fundamental Right of all Citizens, Brussels:
European House for Culture.
de Baets, A., 2002. Censorship
of Historical Thought: A World Guide, 1945-2000. 1st ed. Westport:
Greenwood Press.
Dumper, M. & Stanley, B.
E., 2007. Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical
Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIA.
Falk, A., 2008. Islamic
Terror: Conscious and Unconscious Motives. 1st ed. Westport: Greenwood.
Fenton, T., 2009. The Arab
media's problems. [Online]
Available at: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/090519/arab-media-problems
[Accessed 08 April 2014].
Freedom House, 2012. Oman
- Freedom House. [Online]
Available at: http://www.freedomhouse.org/country/oman
[Accessed 08 April 2014].
Figenschou, T. U., 2014 . Al
Jazeera and the Global Media Landscape: The South is Talking Back. 1st
ed. New York: Routledge.
Fischer, S. R., 2005. Island
at the End of the World: The Turbulent History of Easter Island. 1st ed. London:
Redaktion Books.
Garfinkel, R., 2008. What
Works?: Evaluating Interfaith Dialogue Programs, Washington, D.C.: United
States Institute for Peace.
Habeck, M., 2006. Knowing
the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror, Baltimore: Johns
Hopkins University.
Hetherington, M. &
Najem, T. P., 2013. Good Governance in the Middle East Oil Monarchies. 1st
ed. Oxford: Routledge.
Hunt, T. & Lipo, C.,
2011. The Statues that Walked: Unraveling the Mystery of Easter Island. 1st
ed. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Iorio, S. H., 2004. Qualitative
Research in Journalism: Taking It to the Streets, Mahwah: Routledge.
Josephi, B. U., 2010. Journalism
Education in Countries with Limited Media Freedom. 1st ed. New York:
Peter Lang Publishing.
Keeble, R., 2007. Print
Journalism - A Critical Introduction. 1st ed. Oxford: Routledge.
Knauth, T., 2013. Tolerance
– a Key concept for dealing with cultural and religious diversity in
education, Essen: University of Duisburg-Essen.
Kofsky, A., 2000. Eusebius
of Caesarea Against Paganism. 1st ed. Leiden: Kominklijke Brill NV.
Lindsey, R. A., 2013. What
the Arab Spring Tells Us About the Future of Social Media in Revolutionary
Movements. Small Wars Journal, 9(7), p. 1.
Loud, G. A., 2010. The
Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa: The History of the Expedition of the Emperor
Frederick and Related Texts. 1st ed. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing.
Miles, H., 2005. Al-Jazeera:
The Inside Story of the Arab News Channel that is Challenging the West. 1st
ed. New York: Grove Press.
Ministry of Information,
2002. The Executive Regulations - Provisions Related to Newspapers. [Online]
Available at: http://www.omanet.om/english/press/pub4b.asp
[Accessed 09 April 2014].
Munt, H., 2013. The
Construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza According to Herodotus. 1st ed.
Norderstedt: Silke Foerstner and Iris Munt.
Nicoll, F., 2011. Oman:
Sultan Qaboos still popular despite discontent. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12639699
[Accessed 10 April 2014].
Oxford Business Group, 2007.
The Report: Emerging Qatar 2007. 1st ed. London: Oxford Business
Group.
Oxford Business Group, 2009.
The Report: Qatar 2009. 1st ed. London: Oxford Business Group.
Oxford Business Group, 2013.
Developing the workforce: Omanisation has created both challenges and
opportunities. [Online]
Available at: http://www.oxfordbusinessgroup.com/news/developing-workforce-omanisation-has-created-both-challenges-and-opportunities
[Accessed 10 April 2014].
O'Rourke, S., 2011. Teaching
Journalism in Oman - Reflections after the Arab Spring. In: Pacific
Journalism Review. Auckland: Auckland University of Technology, pp.
109-127.
Page, C. F., 2010. Stimulating
Awareness about Life. 1st ed. Bloomington: iUniverse.
Palmer-Fernandez, G., 2004. Encyclopedia
of Religion and War. 1st ed. Abingdon: Routledge.
Perl, L., 2008. Theocracy,
Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Corporation.
Peterson, S., 2006. Machu
Picchu. 1st ed. Mankato: Creative Education.
Raj, R. & Morpeth, D.,
2007. Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage Festivals Management: An
International Perspective. 1st ed. Cambridge: CAB.
Randall, D., 2007. The
Universal Journalist. 3rd ed. London: Pluto Press.
Ring, T., Salkin, R. M.
& La Boda, S., 1996. International Dictionary of Historic Places:
Middle East and Africa, Volume 4. 1st ed. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn
Publishers.
Reality in Oman, 2009. Sablat
Oman: a Glimpse. [Online]
Available at: http://realityinoman.wordpress.com/tag/sablat-oman/
[Accessed 10 April 2014].
Rockwood, L., 2014. Ancient
Egyptian Culture. 1st ed. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.
Rugh, W. A., 2004. Arab
Mass Media: Newspapers, Radio, and Television in Arab Politics. 1st ed. Westport:
Praeger Publishers.
Short, C., 2009. The Art
Theory of Wassily Kandinsky, 1909-1928: The Quest for Synthesis, Frankfurt:
Peter Lang.
Stephenson, D., 1998. How
to Succeed in Newspaper Journalism. 1st ed. London: The Express.
Strmiska, M., 2005. Modern
Paganism in World Cultures: Comparative Perspectives. 1st ed. Santa
Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
Taylor, J., 2012. Petra
and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabataeans. 2nd ed. London: I.B. Tauris.
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, 2006. Arab Cultural
Awareness: 58 Factsheets, Leavenworth: United States Army.
United States Congress,
2008. Urging the Government of the Republic of Iraq to recognize the right
of the State of Israel to exist, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government
Printing Office.
Vaidya, S. K., 2013. Oman
tightens rules on expatriate workers. [Online]
Available at: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/oman/oman-tightens-rules-on-expatriate-workers-1.1231629
[Accessed 09 April 2014].
Walker, J., 2009. Jordan.
1st ed. Melbourne: Lonely Planet.
Wantang, F., 2013. Face
to Face Meetings with Jesus Christ: Biblical Mysteries Revealed in His Own
Words Like Never Before in Human History. 1st ed. Bloomington: Author
House.
Watfa, N., 2009. The
National Occupational Safety and Health Profile of the Sultanate of Oman, Muscat:
International Labour Organisation.
Winckler, O., 2005. Arab
Political Demography: Population growth and natalist policies. 1st ed.
Eastbourne: Sussex Academic Press.
Worrall, J., 2012. Oman: the
"Forgotten" Corner of the Arab Spring. Middle East Policy
Council, XIX(Fall Issue), pp. 1-9.
Zweiri, M. & Murphy, E.,
2011. The New Arab Media: Technology, Image and Perception. 1st ed.
Reading: Ithaca Press.
