Bahrain's information minister, Dr Mohammad Abdul Ghaffar, a former chief of mission to Washington, is a man of poise and a suave diplomat with commendable political experience.
So when Abdul Ghaffar told a parliamentarian recently to seek any information he wanted from him directly instead of relying on newspapers, because they could be inaccurate, some journalists felt it was an attack on the credibility and integrity of the press.
The ministry later issued a clarification of Abdul Ghaffar's comment, but the media seemed reluctant to let the issue pass.
Abdul Ghaffar's remark has brought to the surface an intense debate simmering in press circles: How credible is the Bahraini press today?
A recent spate of legal cases against journalists has alarmed the Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA) and the Journalists Syndicate and both institutions have grown edgy about a new culture of litigation supplanting tolerance in the country.
Most of the cases — 60 in all, filed between 2005 and 2006 — were filed by individuals, including a minister, who felt slighted by comments and news reported in the press.
The media reported the cases as attacks on journalists and freedom of speech.
Hard hitter
But the media's own standards were seriously challenged when a complaint against journalists emanated from one of its own ilk — well-known media professional Sameera Rajab.
Addressing a forum on the status of the press in Bahrain recently, Sameera, a journalist and columnist who has often been at the centre of controversy, said that 80 per cent of the nation's columnists were a threat to national security and that punitive measures against journalists should be enforced.
It was a bombshell which instantly drew the ire of media professionals. No journalist had ever dared to criticise or comment on Bahrain's columnists who were often venerated as newsmakers and opinion shapers.
Her charge was promptly rejected as a blatant and malicious allegation aimed at discrediting the press corps, and an unpardonable assault on the patriotism of the columnists.
The BJA, driven by a rather hawkish board which was elected in January, demanded that Sameera retract her claims and issue an apology. Sameera did not respond.
Soon afterwards, veteran journalist Mohammad Fadhel, whose moderate views and qualifications make him one of the best-read columnists, wrote an editorial painting a bleak picture of the Bahraini press. In it, Fadhel blasted newspapers' policies which allowed novice journalists and debutant reporters to cover delicate issues that require a high level of experience and expertise.
He also attacked newspapers that pamper inexperienced journalists by allowing them space to publish columns and express their views on a wide spectrum of sensitive issues. His comments opened a Pandora's box.
With six Arabic dailies in circulation and rumours that two more newspapers are likely to be launched before the end of the year — but no media training institute — Bahrain was bound to face a crisis of journalistic standards and have questions raised about the credibility of its media.
Competitive pressures
For a long time, Akhbar Al Khaleej depended on the rich experience of Bahraini and Egyptian journalists.
However, when Al Ayam was established in 1989, several journalists from the Bahrain News Agency and Akhbar Al Khaleej joined the new newspaper, forcing the two established institutions to tap into the local and regional markets for new journalists to staff their offices.
But when Al Wasat was founded in 2002, the competition between the three newspapers became ruthless. The sense of competition in a limited market demanded more investments in human and financial resources amid the lure of opportunities and the trap of disillusionment.
The trend continued with the launch of three more newspapers — Al Mithaq, Al Watan and Al Waqt. Constant staff changes dominated the media scene with young, new reporters staffing otherwise empty offices.
New standards prioritised exclusivity over accuracy, self-aggrandising publicity over genuine professionalism. It was a dangerous game that had ominous pitfalls.
The appearance of younger and more energetic staff — ambitious and better paid — was like a breath of fresh air for a profession that had witnessed long spells of stagnation and lack of creativity.
However, it also meant that this newer generation of journalists would not necessarily follow in the footsteps of their more experienced colleagues when dealing with potentially contentious issues. Veteran journalists decried this new trend in the Bahraini press. According to Mohammad Al Banki, the editor-in-chief of Al Watan, the fault lies with the new breed of people who are recruited by the local newspapers.
"The existence of several dailies without the presence of adequately qualified journalists allowed young people to enter the press field. Their knowledge was formed during the 1980s and 1990s, a period of unrest in Bahrain and their skills are often average," he says.
While accepting Al Banki's comments on the dangerous implications for the credibility of the press, Fadhel adds that most newspapers have not taken their young journalists off sensitive beats and serious columns.
"What compounds the situation is that many of them are unashamedly clinging to a culture that makes them willing to accept gifts and bribes for their reports and columns," he says.
But he has no doubt about who the culprits are. "The newspapers should not be absolved of their responsibilities in the creation of this new generation of journalists who think that after two years in the field, they are entitled to decision-making positions and writing columns," says Al Banki.
"The tradition of waiting at least ten years before allowing journalists to write columns seems to have been thrown away by newspapers. It is a real shame."
Ethical benchmark
Sameera is equally clear in her condemnation of the tendency to give debutant journalists the opportunity to express views on delicate issues.
"Newspapers should not hand over to young people the opportunity to write columns or even to write serious reports. It is unfortunate that we have entered an era of media reforms through a generation of journalists whose culture and knowledge are limited," she says.
Sawsan Al Shaer, whose professionalism and deep insight have made her one of the highest-paid columnists in Bahrain, does not hesitate to put the blame on journalists seeking fame.
"We have to look at the facts on the ground. For some journalists, it is not Journalism 101; it is Power 101. They take on some high-profile personalities and practically force them to take legal action against them. They either provoke, denigrate or criticise these public figures so harshly that they take them to court.
Thus is born a 'hero journalist' with an outstanding reputation," she says sarcastically.
"We have to be careful and not consider every reporter taken to court as a hero. Journalists have to assume their responsibilities fully and must do their job honestly and professionally and not seek popular fame and prestige built on phony acts of heroism."
For Sameera, a set of references or a guide has become a necessity.
The benchmarks, says Anwar Abdul Rahman, editor-in-chief of Akhbar Al Khaleej, will be necessary to confront sectarianism, the greatest danger to newspapers today.
"In the 1950s, Bahrainis, both Sunnis and Shiites, were pan-Arabists. In the 1960s, Bahrainis, both Sunnis and Shiites, tended towards the political Left. But after 1979, Sunnis and Shiites did not look at political developments through the same prism and, therefore, could not agree. This has led to the present situation in which sectarianism has become an issue for the press," says Abdul Rahman.
Another source of worry is that some journalists were ready to accept financial and other rewards from candidates running for parliamentary and municipal elections in November last year.
"We will take action against any journalist found guilty of planting publicity stories or promoting propaganda tactics in the newspapers," the BJA warned.
But the warning led to a new question: How can the association carry out its threat and who has the right to hold journalists accountable for their actions?
Then the more significant issue became inevitable: Should journalists, as the so-called credible monitors of developments in the country, be allowed greater liberties than other citizens?
Ebrahim Bashmi, an editor who has unsuccessfully lobbied for a new press law in the Shura Council where he has been a member for five years, believes that journalists are not above the law.
"However, we need to take into consideration their difficult conditions. Unlike deputies, they have no immunity and often have to write articles even when they do not have access to the information and officials refuse to cooperate."
For some journalists, this pressure to deliver even when the conditions are not favourable leads to serious malpractices that include phony interviews and fabricated reports.
"We need to have a code of ethics that will regulate relations between the different newspapers and among journalists," Al Banki says.
