Countering the rumor culture: Press undergoing reform

By Lina Shannak
"WE ARE living in a transition period, where our paces aren’t steady yet, shifting from forward to backward on the democratic lane. New legislations that guarantee freedom of speech and access to information are the answers to the press present predicaments," said Dr Nabil Al-Shareef, ad-Dustour’s responsible editor-in-chief, reiterating that the media, especially the dailies, enjoy a high level of credibility among the Jordanian people.
Al-Ghad’s chief editor, Mousa Barhoumeh, agreed with Al-Shareef, saying, "Claiming that the Jordanian media lost its credibility means generalizing and distorting the real image, which shows a genuine interest by Jordanians."
Accused of inflaming the recent furors over the Jordan Festival and the sale of state -owned lands, the press is set to undergo comprehensive reform to counter the "irresponsible" reporting that relies on rumor as a source of information.


To ensure that journalists’ qualifications are upgraded, HM King Abdullah II established in July a special fund to train journalists. Also at Yarmouk University, where one of the only two faculties of journalism resides, the admission average has been raised to 70 percent. Amendments are due to be implemented in the near future to train graduates of journalism and grant them immediate membership in the association, according to Jordan Press Association President Abdul Wahab Zgheilat.
According Barhoumeh the media will be seen to function as a fourth estate only when new democratic legislations are enacted, access to information is assured, and all sorts of censorship-including self censorship-are removed.
"We still suffer from lack of access to information; when a spokesperson doesn’t speak out, media personnel will seek information from other sources that may not be credible," Barhoumeh pointed out.
In its latest report on the media’s freedom in Jordan, which was issued in July describing the freedom as "acceptable", the Higher Media Council (HMC) revealed that the most frequent violation of freedoms is the difficulty to obtain information, as the responding media personnel reported 424 cases of encountering difficulties and even the complete denial of access in some cases.
"The enactment of a law that safeguards the access to information doesn’t necessarily mean that the access is assured; in this case, the bureaucratic stipulations of the law are the obstacle," ad-Dustour’s columnist Batir Wardam commented.
Several entities have criticized the law on access to information, such as the Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) and the National Center for Human Rights (NCHR), strongly opposing the Law’s stipulation granting a new entity, The Information Council, the power to organize and supervise the revealing of information as the said council would not enjoy independence when dealing with journalists’ demands.
"Such legislations and others, which obstruct the advancement of media merely on the grounds of technicalities such as in the case of the ATV channel and al-Luweibdeh magazine, tend to inhibit investments in this domain," concluded Wardam.
In the CDFJ poll on May 3, World Press Freedom Day, 23.7 percent of a sample of 501 journalists believed that the JPA has no effective role in safeguarding their freedoms; nevertheless, Zgheilat affirms that high on his agenda is the intention to reconsider the laws that regulate this profession.
"However, our first obstacle is the House of Deputies; they feel threatened by a free media and believe that they should be immune to criticism. Unfortunately, the same people who preach about diversity and urge us to adopt dialogue do not themselves accept the different opinions openly," stated Zgheilat. He pointed out that he hopes to meet with parliamentarians when the House is in session to amend laws that restrict the freedoms, as he believes the restrictions should not be enacted but rather should emanate from professional ethics.
Zgheilat also explained that "while we don’t enjoy total freedom, still we haven’t exploited to the fullest the level we’re allowed". "Self-censorship is still prevailing to an extent that I find unjustified; it is probably the same phobia that is inherent when dealing with politics," he added.
Barhoumeh attributes the predominance of self-censorship to various factors such as inherited guidelines; unchallenged social norms; religious groups that believe they monopolize the truth; and people who are self-righteous and don’t allow others to tackle what they consider as taboo.
"In communities that aren’t accustomed to democracy, it is easy to stigmatize others who don’t agree with a certain viewpoint. Sometimes certain religious groups, believing they’re entrusted to implement God’s will, try to eclipse the role of authorities and threaten our freedoms," said Barhoumeh.
"After the occupation of Iraq, the Danish cartoons’ issue and other crises, a plethora of sensitivities is imposed on people who don’t want to be accused of sectarianism or betrayal but just seek to be self-critical satirically," commented famed Caricaturist Imad Hajjaj, adding that such accusations even when proven wrong will negatively affect a person’s popularity and reputation, which any caricaturist cannot risk.
However, he pointed out that he has been stretching the furthest limit without exceeding it.
Commenting on officials who agree to answer journalists’ questions on condition of reviewing the articles before publication, Yihya Shqeir, an al-Arab al-Yaum journalist, affirmed that it is an unacceptable practice by all measures.
Shqeir, an expert on press laws, explained that this request by the officials contravene the constitution that doesn’t allow this form of censorship unless there is an emergency law implemented.
"There is nothing called a sensitive issue that touches the sovereignty of the state; even in so-called issues, a journalist has the right to pose questions, then after the article is published, the official has numerous ways to respond if there happens to be any misinformation," said Shqeir, adding that astute journalists never let an official edit for them, while apprentices may not dare to challenge the request.