No news is good news, one of my tutors told me last year when I was working toward a master’s degree in international journalism. A few months ago I started a doctoral research in the field of Transnational Broadcasting Studies. Among my intentions is to apply discourse analysis to examining the textuals and visuals of news content. What I have discovered so far is that news of any source or from any nation is never neutral. Ideology forms a pivotal element in most published stories where there is often a hidden message behind it. This explains why a great amount of respected newspapers worldwide avoid a controversial angle in a media-oriented debate, especially when reporting sensitive matters. In doing so they favor a patriotic stance. Indeed, there is nothing wrong with exercising emotionally-controlled language to boost viewer figures which can be seen in its extreme in Britain and the US where brutal media campaigns are undertaken against international terrorism. One may ask what would a discerning reader gain from this intro? Or how can a discussion of such an issue be relevant to Arab News’ 30th anniversary? The newspaper’s name (Arab News) in itself symbolizes a variety of interpretations. The title “Arab News” encompasses the Arab League and its 22 members, the Middle East peace process, the war on terror, political conflicts, conspiracy theories and as a direct consequence the wave of hatred that emerged between the Islamic and Western civilizations. Other media theories can be revisited unintentionally, such as, the clash of civilizations, the simplified framework (an up-to-date version of Arabian Nights), the emergence of Islamophobia in the West and the promises of Western civil liberty to Arabs. Reforms and democracy, despite their unsubtle meanings, have become an obsession and such terminology has been bandied about on many an occasion as a cure to the ills in the Arab world. These governments announce almost daily that they will initiate policies to cut the ever rising percentage of unemployment, to improve people’s standard of living and to protect their citizens’ human rights, but does the usage of rhetoric and flourishing words solve the problem! When I last visited Jeddah, I spoke to a number of so-called Saudi intellectuals who disapproved of that which cannot be criticized i.e. the death of the author theory and its relation to the Saudi constitution. Why has this come about? From what I understand, a term develops in a society through time and its definition is influenced gradually by visible, political, cultural and social changes. This coincides with a society’s heritage which requires internal and not external components. By the same implication this affects what is regarded as newsworthy and what is not. In its 30th anniversary, the mission of Arab News as a representative of the modest Islamic view in Saudi Arabia, is to try to challenge the external interference in local Saudi affairs, as well as making expatriates, whom constitute the majority of its readership, aware of the proper teaching of Islam. As a reader of Arab News I highly recommend the weekly supplement (Review) for its professional handling of subjects associated with tradition and popular culture. Lastly, I would like to thank the editor in chief of this newspaper for his invitation and wish him and the rest of his staff a happy anniversary. Bader bin Saud Communication and Media Research Institute University of Westminster United Kingdom |
