By Najem Abdullah

KUWAIT, July 21 (KUNA) -- Chief editors of the new Kuwaiti Arabic-language dailies' agreed that their new publications have been a much-needed refreshing breeze to the Kuwaiti news industry by increasing competition for readers and journalists.

For the past 50 years the Kuwaiti readership was limited to five Arabic-language dailies, which has inhibited the growth and development of the industry and its staff that were the region's pioneers during the 1960's and 1970's.

Abdulhamid Al-Daas, Editor-in-Chief of "Alam Al-Youm," Mohammad Al-Ouda, Editor-in-Chief of "Al-Wasat" and Khalid Hilal Al-Mutairi, Editor-in-Chief of "Al-Jarida" agreed that a newspaper must offer unbiased coverage aside from an editorial that states the newspaper's opinion on national issues.

Al-Daas, a career-journalist, predicted that the industry in Kuwait will be overhauled in the upcoming months as the new reality sets in.

Asked about the paper's focus on local events, Al-Daas said a local news medium cannot compete with satellite news and other media that are closer to Arab and international news sources, citing the current struggles in Lebanon as an example.

Al-Ouda, a former ambassador, said the new competition for qualified local staffers has increased the pay in the field.

He added, unfortunately, before the new licenses were approved, the Kuwaiti press's history has only influenced the political or economic decision-making process a few times. Each daily has been following its own agenda often time to the detriment of its real role, Al-Ouda said.

Al-Ouda refuses the pro-government and anti-government labels given to papers, as a democratic country Kuwait has a large margin of freedom practiced by the press daily.

Al-Mutairi said he believed that the newspaper's role is to inform its readers without wasting their time with unnecessary fillers or misinforming its readership with base-less news.

Al-Mutairi stressed the significance of having local political opinion leaders writing columns in a newspaper to engage its readers in analysis.

Studies have shown that the Kuwaiti market can handle atleast eight Arabic-language dailies, he added.

The biggest obstacle Kuwaiti journalists face when trying to report unbiased stories is understanding the government's elusive take on issues such as suggested draft laws, Al-Mutairi said.