Underestimation of the Power of the Media Cannot Last Long! [Archives:1999/29/Last Page]

In the globalizing world we are living in, the role of media and information has become extremely important. We in Yemen are beginning to feel this power. The latest such thing was when the final concluding statements of the Emerging Democracies Forum included as part of the Sanaa Declaration the sentence: “providing for private ownership of media and ensuring the impartiality of state-owned media through independent boards or other means.” We are slowly realizing that the media is in fact an extremely strong source of power. For it is more powerful than the leader of the most powerful country, Mr. Bill Clinton, the President of the United States. We all noticed how the media gave him lots of trouble. Was he able to do something about it? The answer is “No, the media was too powerful”. Being part of this changing world, Yemen is also witnessing the growth of this power. As more newspapers, more media organs, and in the near future privately owned TV channels and radios will be founded for the first time in Yemen, media’s power increase. Media can be so useful when directed in the right direction. For example, when controlled by the private sector, it can investigate corrupt officials and expose them to the public through TV. Media can expose the wrongdoing of officials, businessmen, or anyone abusing the law. It can at the same time praise and highlight people with good deeds to the public.
However, to be more logical, media cannot play its assigned role in Yemen as it does everywhere else in the world. Yemen is a country living with traditional concepts that cannot be controlled easily. Take for example, if a media organ reports that a tribal sheik was corrupt in some way or another and had received bribes, etc. the tribe will not let this go. The least that could happen is that the tribe could storm the media organ’s location, and force the editor to apologize for what has been said, even though the organ only said the truth. Trying to enforce the use of modern tools in a traditional society is quite challenging. Democracy as a whole cannot be implemented unless there is some commitment from the government to have everyone respect the law and abide to it. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to have a democratic country with free media.
As the fourth arm of the government, until recently, media was not respected enough. The reason for that is very simple, there was no free media. The only media organs available then were the governmental newspapers, Radio, and TV channels. But today, things have begun to change. Private newspapers are now open to criticize, report, and investigate many things the government doesn’t want to be shown to the public. The breakdown, the storming, the closing, and the trial of so many newspapers only indicates that they have become quite strong organs that are doing their job of being watchdogs keeping an eye on the news events, and the mismanagement of some sectors in community. Now that the government is committed to implementing the law that enables private media, they have no excuse for delay.
Soon, the parliament is expected to issue a law permitting the privatization of media, just like any other business (schools, hospitals, companies, etc.) For the people who underestimate the power of media I say be careful, the media is coming, the free media is coming.
Walid Al-Saqqaf,
Yemen Times

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