Countering negative media portrayal

Undoubtedly, media has emerged as the most potent weapon in the hands of nations. With the advent of new modes of communication, the impact of media has become even greater unlike in the past.
In the old good days, radio was the main source of news. Rumors also had their share. Nonetheless, the media, with its various components, remains the main drive behind whatever that goes around us.
The media could be manipulated but it gets worse when it reaches on the verge of silliness while covering some issue. This is perhaps the most dangerous thing because while doing so an issue is presented in a very simple manner, sometimes in the garb of entertainment, that it misleads the masses in a subtle manner. This negative journalism creates stereotypes and drives a wedge between people from different parts of the world. This writer calls it poisoning of the mind. It is a slow process of bombarding the masses with wrong information so as to shape up their perceptions the way some powers want them to be for their vested interests.
Examples of this are the recent reports by some absurd media outlets, showing pictures or videos of young Saudis outside the Kingdom while eating, shopping or wearing costumes of foreign countries. The headlines are always the same: See a Saudi young man dancing in the streets of Manhattan, see a Saudi girl wearing jeans and watch a Saudi family shopping in Harrods. This is Kafkaesque mass media.
These examples are always personal behaviors, but the motive behind reporting them is to show three key points with respect to the Saudis. First, that these people are repressed and under pressure and they avail themselves of every opportunity to leave the country and enjoy their freedom. Second, these people are ignorant who haven’t seen any other country but their own, hence it is amazing to see people dancing in streets, eating in restaurants, or sitting by a river. Third, people of the world are more advanced and intelligent than the Saudis.
The main point here is to show that the Saudis are rich who spend lavishly on entertainment in one trip more than what another man from some other country could save in one year. Hence, when the material is presented in a sarcastic manner, this shows how dangerous the absurd media is. If we put this news itself in a more professional way, we would say that the Saudi people enjoy high income and love to travel and learn, and they could easily blend in with other cultures. Saudis respect their country’s laws, traditions and customs, and they respect other peoples’ traditions as well. They are hospitable and generous people and they deal with everyone as if they were their brothers. Moreover, the Saudi people are cheerful and open-minded and psychological balanced.
We recognize that we are not perfect people and we make mistakes like any other individual or society, but the question is why this media does not talk about the positive aspects and concentrate only on the negatives. Why doesn’t it talk about graduation ceremonies of the Saudi graduates abroad, why doesn’t it cover activities of special needs people who win awards in international competitions? Why can’t we see on YouTube a clip titled Riyadh working for a better future showing the metro project?
These are just some questions, as the list is endless. It is good enough to make people smile, but to ridicule others is immoral and unethical. Giving one-sided picture could be anything but far from objectivity. This is stereotyping and a stigma to label other people with and this is exactly what this absurd media is doing. They care most to show our flaws or failures that are common in every society. And we don’t want our media to whitewash them, but we want it to show the other side of the coin.