Investigative Journalism

I have deep respect for the work of investigative journalists. They often work under very difficult circumstances – risking persecution, law suits and harassment. But investigative journalism is indispensable. We have a saying in my country: The tabloids keep the democracy clean. Journalists are the ones that make sure that the authorities are held accountable for their actions – or lack of action.

In my part of the World, the relationship between journalists and officials has generally been tricky – it is like a love/hate relationship – without much love. Within the public sector many used to live by the saying: “I have the right to remain silent – otherwise I will be misquoted and my statement used against me”. Very few had any interest in speaking to journalists for exact this reason and because speaking to journalists would never ever do you any good in your career. If you where so unlucky to actually talk to a journalist and if – god forbid – you actually got quoted for something – you could be quite sure that the upper ranks were not amused.

This phenomenon is changing in many ways. For start, we know that is it no longer possible to keep a lid on stories. Freedom of speech for public servants as well as for everyone else, the right of access to documents and a generally very high standard of investigative journalism makes it pointless to try to hide information that mostly is available if you know how to look. History has also thought us that it is not the misdeed itself that makes a government fall or cost civil servants their career. No, it is the cover-up after something has been discovered that bring down governments. So the lesson is quite clear – if an investigative journalist is on to something it is generally better to take the issue seriously – maybe even cooperate – in order to try to solve the problem before it is too late. The story will go to press anyway. Journalists would probably say that the government is trying to outsmart them. I would say it is a more professional way of dealing with the press.

I know this reality is very far from the one that investigative journalists are facing in this region but for governments and states that take freedom of press and freedom of speech seriously they have to go down this road. And don’t worry – there will still be stories to investigate.

There is another phenomenon that also is changing. Journalists on established media are no longer alone in doing investigative reporting. New media is transforming the landscape and traditional journalists now face competition from bloggers, You Tubers and informal networks and NGO’s. For the printed press the outlook is not rosy at all. But as with all competition there is also an opportunity – and the opportunity is to be better, be more relevant, and in particular to become much more credible.

Credibility has very much to do with skills and techniques. If a critical investigative story is based on good journalistic research and sound criticism of sources it will become irrefutable. And with increased credibility the readers will come back. Yesterday, to my great interest I heard that Al Masri al Yawm as a result of their recent investigative reporting on the pollution of the Nile had had a substantial increase in sales. Readers want that kind of stories. And this is exactly why government-owned press and papers will face a hard time – they will not be credible in investigating their owners.

We have been told, that “for freedom of press – the sky is the limit”. As Danish ambassador I cannot be more in agreement with that statement – and it saddens me to see, that according to Jordanian journalists themselves, self-censorship is the common rule. Self-censorship is to do the dirty work for the otherwise would-be censors - how can we then reach the sky? It is not enough to stand on our toes – we have to build the ladder ourself.

We have also been told that the level of criticism and boldness in articles should be matched by an equal level of research techniques, fact check and scrutiny. This is a crucial point and not only for investigative journalism. Because what use is freedom of the press if journalists are not capable of conducting proper research? We all have agendas that we want to promote. Good journalists know that and take this into account when researching and writing their articles. I am sorry to say that – based on a number of personal experiences in Jordan – this is not always the case in Jordan. Sources are accepted at face value and let far too easy off the hook. Add to this that systematically fact checking of numbers, dates, names etc. is often absent in articles.

Maybe other journalists should take one of the ARIJ classes on how to prepare for that crucial confronting mother-of-all-interviews? Or at least read and learn from the manual ARIJ published yesterday (.pdf – and really worth a read)

This brings me to ARIJ. Last year we celebrated the first ARIJ conference for Investigative Journalism in the Arab region. It was a milestone and rightly praised by Tim Sebastian in an article in New York Times. This year is also a tribute to all who care for good, professional, solid and not least credible journalism in a region where that is not a given thing.

On the Danish side we are very proud to be part of the ARIJ project since its inception in 2004 through a number of Danish institutions and foremost among them International Media Support.

The team that ARIJ have put together, from the extremely qualified persons on the board over the outstanding and high profile trainers participating in this year’s conference to the amazing general manager Rana Sabbagh is second to none. The mere fact that ARIJ have been able to get such an outstanding group of people involved is a clear sign of its success – and of its necessity both for the region but also for the profession. As I said – the competition is fierce and the product has to become better. Investigative journalism is one of the areas where the traditional press still can have an edge. And it is needed for the sake of society.

(Excerpts of a speech on the occasion of the second Conference for Investigative Journalism in the Arab Region on November 21st)

Fighter

Welcome to post no. 100

  The movie showing in Jordan will have subtitles in Arabic.

Many young people in Europe and the Middle East find that sports and arts is an alternative way to express and challenge themselves. The Danish contribution to the EU Film festival deals with the themes of intercultural dialogue and youth expression through sports; “Fighter” is about a young Turkish-Danish girl who is not only fighting to improve her Kung Fu skills, but also struggling to cope with the intercultural complications and expectations of society, family and friends as she creates her own identity.
 
The Danish Embassy and MS Action Aid would like to invite you to participate in two events together with the leading actress from the movie, Semra Turan, where you will have the opportunity to debate and experience different ways of self expression in company of young engaged athletes and artists from Denmark and Jordan:
 
The 5^th of November in Amman at King Hussein Cultural Centre at 6pm: A debate about ways and limitations of youth expression with engaged young athletes and artists from Denmark and Amman, including the leading actress. Movie starts at 8 pm.
                   
The 6^th of November in Amman at Al-Hussein Cultural Centre at 5pm: You will have another chance to view the movie “Fighter”.
 
The 7^th of November in Zarqa at King Abdallah Cultural Centre at 3pm: Engaged young athletes and artists from Denmark, Amman and Zarqa will perform, share and debate different ways of self expression through sports and arts. The screening of the movie will take place at 6pm and be followed by a joint discussion with the audience.

Oprah goes to Denmark – Watch this

Followers of this blog will know that my country have had its share of bad press coverage. So now to something totally different.

Oprah Winfrey recently visited Copenhagen in Chicago’s unsuccessful bid for the Olympics 2016. During her stay she shot a sequence about danes and the way they live for her show. It is a quite rosy story but it also give some insights to some of the things that Danes value in their life.

If you’re into Oprah this is something for you.

I think I am going to have a look at how they live in Dubai – the contrast must be remarkable

Freedom of Press

Reporters Without Borders have made their 2009 index of press freedom public. 

Jordan is 112th on the list – an improvement from last year. Reading the Methodology paper RSF mentions that the Index ”measure the level of self-censorship in each country and the ability of the media to investigate and criticise” which is probably what puts Jordan in the lower half.

On top of the list you find a group of Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland – and Ireland) – all at an equal high score of zero points meaning full freedom of Press.

The first 15 countries are all small and highly developed countries and no one more than roughly double the size of Jordan in population. It seems that size does matter…and there is room for Jordan in the club.

Ramim – The Last Breath

This week I had one of those experiences that will stay with me for a long time when remembering Jordan.

I really didn’t have the time to go, but a couple of days before I noticed that a new Jordanian short documentary was going to be aired at the Royal Film Commission. It was entitled “Ramim” which of course didn’t say anything to me at that time, but the subject was clear: Environmental degradation in Jordan.

It is not often topics like that are discussed in Jordan – and definitely not in a locally produced film – so I just had to go – despite other engagements. I came half an hour early – hoping that we might start on time we didn’t but the setting and the scenery is as you probably know great….

The film itself was so good and interesting that you actually forgot you were at the RFC. The documentary is done in a very low key fashion mixing what should be (but apparently isn’t – read: Zarqa River) huge political scandals with good hints about how to live in a more sustainable way. It is a film that speaks for itself – and I will absolutely encourage you to watch it if you get the chance.

I have asked for a copy – not received yet unfortunately – and I hope that the producers will upload it on YouTube or elsewhere – or at least make it sure that it is widely distributed in Jordan. If I get info on where it will be aired in the near future I’ll update this post.