Soccer Dad

Journalism: Growth Industry in the Arab World

Khaled Abu Toameh recently wrote "Arafat Meets the Fourth Estate"

A Palestinian journalist arrives at the home of his sweetheart to ask for her hand. When the would-be father-in-law hears that the man works as a journalist, he asks: "How can you marry my daughter and make her feel safe when neither the Palestinian Authority nor your union are capable of defending you?" The would-be-bride, who is standing behind the door, bursts into tears when she hears what her father has to say.

This was only a cartoon.
Well this wasn't. "Libyan Newspaper Editor Fired After Calling on Qaddafi to Change from Revolutionary to President"

The editor of the Libyan daily Al-Zahf Al-Akhdar, Dr. Abd Al-Qader Al-Hudheiri, stood trial and was subsequently fired from his newspaper following the publication of his article 'The Time Has Come for a Libyan President.' The article called on Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, whose official title is "Leader of the Revolution," to become a president, and stated that the Libyan 'revolution' has passed, and that it is time to establish an 'ordinary state.' The paper was shut down for one week

Of course it helps to stay on the right side of the government. MEMRI reports about "Saudi Payments for Foreign Journalists"

"Mr. Al-Sudairi confirms that payments were made, but why haven't we seen the desired effect? Mr. Al-Sudairi provided a heartbreaking answer in his article. He said that those who receive payments from us 'do not write one word to refute Western media campaigns, as if the payments are made to prevent them [too] from writing against us … i.e. they are the price of their silence.

I guess we can take some comfort that those bribes didn't work.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at February 26, 2004 11:51 PM