TOWARDS LIGHT -
By Yahya al Naabi -
Journalistic writing requires credibility and trustworthiness. Perhaps for some it is merely playing with words and phrases. Only those who write in newspapers know the difficulties of the profession. I recently came face to face with such difficulties during the covering of the Kuwait parliamentary elections.
The elections were held in an extremely democratic manner with the candidates speaking with full freedom about the crisis facing the nation and its outstanding issues. This is normal in a nation whose policies are based on the principle of negotiation and whose constitution is considered the oldest among the GCC states.
In the morning we used to read all the newspapers — there are 14 of them in Kuwait — and the election-related op-ed articles really made for perplexing reading. We were baffled by the scathing criticism in these articles. Shortly afterwards we took a breather and began thinking more deeply and calmly about the whole matter. We paid many visits to the candidates’ stations and public coffee shops that existed in Kuwait since ages and are a source of pride for the Kuwaitis. These coffee shops bring together all segments of the Kuwaiti society and serve as forums for discussing local and international politics.
Everything there is discussable no matter what. I listened to some pro- and anti-government candidates who were openly discussing political matters. Their debates were civilised at times and vehement at other times. Some of them used demagogic language to woo voters, some used convincing logic. To sum it up, all styles were there, everything that you can imagine.
Certain newspapers exaggerated some issues and avoided covering others and the reason was that they are hired to do so by some candidates, thereby casting away their credibility and professionalism.
Will we see journalists’ work becoming a commodity for sale or a tender for the highest bidder? If this is the way for dealing with journalistic matters how can readers follow what is written in newspapers, and how can they be able to distinguish between the real and the fabricated among oceans of published matter?
It is good to have many newspapers in any country but it is better to have ones that are both credible and reliable.
Greetings to the state of Kuwait which is really the centre of democracy and freedom in the Gulf region. It is a country where the people can talk freely about local politics without being watched by security. The healthy political practices there have created an atmosphere of deep political culture to their citizens.