Kuwaiti journalism faces 'economic problems'

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KUWAIT: The biggest problem facing the Kuwaiti press is not freedom, but economic difficulties, according to the Editor-in-Chief of a leading local newspaper. The statement came during a seminar held at the Arab Media Forum's headquarters in Yarmouk on Monday evening. The seminar hosted the Editors-in-Chief of three Kuwaiti newspapers, Al-Qabas, Al-Siyasah, and Awan, to speak about the difficulties facing the local press.

Walid Al-Nisf, the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Qabas said that the influence of advertising on the Kuwaiti press is "extremely huge." "The financial crisis and the internet are pressing heavily on the press all over the world. The advertising income of the Kuwaiti press in the year 2009 plunged by 25-35 percent, and big enterprises enjoy major influence on the finance pages. We have much less freedom in the finance pages than we have in the political ones," he said.

Al-Nisf added that the arrival of a 'new wave' of newspapers had positively affected the veteran local dailies "The new newspapers got us to rethink the ways in which we present the news, and come up with new designs to compete with the newcomers," he explained. The prominent local media figure asserted that Al-Qabas always tries to avoid using any sectarian language.

For example," he said, "Today Islamist MP Hayef Al-Mutairi, submitted 100 questions to Shiite minister Fadhil Safar, and we are not going to carry this news tomorrow, because it seems like it has sectarian motivations.

Muhammad Al-Rumaihi, the Editor-in-Chief of Awan, said that the word 'freedom' is the most repeated word in the constitution, but emphasized that with freedom comes responsibility. He argued that there is a lack of professionalism in the Kuwaiti press. "The failure to distinguish between news, opinion and rumor is a common mistake in the local media. The society loves 'hot blood' and scandals. People over-badmouth each other, and there is a tendency in society to accept criticism when it's aimed at others
, but not when its addressed to oneself," he said.

Democracy means the ability to respectfully disagree with one another, Al-Rumaihi asserted, but there is a misunderstanding in Kuwait of the way people interact within democracy. "Each group has its own principles and red lines, but only a few people respect the principles of other groups. I'd even say there is a struggle of interests involved in Kuwaiti society," he said.

The Editor-in-Chief of Al-Seyassah, Ahmad Al-Jarallah, said that the local media could not have caused any harm if the government wasn't so 'weak." "The political scene in the country changes based on a single article published in a local newspaper. For example, when one daily published a report stating that there were 'disco-style' cafes in Salmiya, the next day, the government announced it would close all the cafes in the country after a certain hour. If it were a strong government, that article wouldn't have had such impact," he concluded.

By Ahmad Saeid

© Kuwait Times 2010