The online edition of the Global Investigative Journalism Conference held in November 2021 comprised several separate meetings for English-speaking, German, Portuguese, and Arabic speaking journalists. While the goal of these meetings was networking and finding opportunities for cooperation among investigative journalists, and even moving forward in developing investigative journalism scene in their respective regions, a state of frustration has dominated the Arabic session where participants discussed the weakness of investigative journalism in the Arab region, which does not even exist in some Arab countries, as some participants indicated.
“The experience of working in the investigative journalism sector in the Arab world has always been similar to working during the COVID-19 pandemic circumstances,” said one participant from Lebanon. “It’s a very risky and toxic work experience,” said another from the Arabian Gulf.
In an attempt to get closer to the features of this ongoing journalistic crisis in the Arab region, I ran a conversation with one of the participants in the session, Ahmad Makharesh, a Yemeni journalist and academic, who has been studying the reality of investigative journalism in the Arab region for at least the past seven years.
Makharesh is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Southern Mississippi studying the possibility of combining the concepts of investigative journalism and citizen journalism. In 2019, his research entitled “Arab Citizens’ Perceptions of the Investigative Journalism” was published by Arkansas State University.
*The conversation is translated from Arabic and slightly edited for the sake of brevity.
How do you interpret the frustration that dominated the Arabic-speaking journalists’ session at GIJC2021, who were not able to share their work, suggestions, and ideas for reporting and collaboration as intended by GIJC, but rather stuck in discussing the absence of investigative journalism?
Ahmad Makharesh: Well, it was expected that the session would revolve around what you call the “absence” of investigative journalism in the Arab region. Personally, I am against using the word “absence”. Let’s call it “weakness” or “deficiencies”, because there are Arab investigative attempts and distinct initiatives such as ARIJ, which is the greatest body of investigative journalists in the Arab region, and the use of the word “absence” is unfair to those exiting efforts.
The concept of investigative journalism in the Arab region is not yet very popular among societies, and this is a question I have been researching since 2015. It is even seen as “problems journalism” by journalists themselves, and by that I mean it brings misfortunes to those practicing it. There are many reasons for this, including the repressive atmosphere and arrests against all those who approach this type of journalism.
During my research career, every time I presented a research proposal to my supervisor the same question would come to me: “Did you measure the risk to your life first?”. This recurring question has a clear indication.
In the Arab world, we’re talking about media outlets that hardly feature a single investigative report in a month, in the best scenario.
The Arabic session at the GIJC is just a reflection of all of what I mentioned.
Ok. Let’s call it the “weakness” of investigative journalism in the Arab region and not “absence” as per your preference. What are the main reasons for the “weakness”, in your opinion?
The points I will list now are the product of my own research and also inspired by readings and interviews I conducted with pioneers of investigative journalism in the Arab region.
Let me start with the grave dangers that Arab journalists will be exposed to if they even think of practicing this type of journalism, whether on a physical, psychological, or even legal level.
The political dimension is an obstacle, of course. It’s related to politicians’ perception of investigative journalists and their work. They are seen as journalists who are looking for shortcomings and failures of officials. This is very uncomfortable for our governments in the Arab world. It is difficult for politicians to accept journalists in general. So, what do you expect when it comes to investigative journalists?
Many of our journalists have been in prison and others have been subjected to enforced disappearance. This constitutes a point of retreat for anyone who thinks of producing investigative journalism in the Arab world.
Another important reason to highlight is the lack of information and data accessible by Arab investigative journalists. Most Arab countries do not have laws guaranteeing the right of access to information for journalists. Only Tunisia and Jordan, I think, have such laws, with many problems in implementation.
I think there is a cultural aspect to consider as a reason as well, related to the nature of Arab societies these days. According to many academic researchers, Arab citizens do not care much about general data and statistics, and they do not feel they are involved in issues of public affairs in their countries. Arab societies avoid talking about many public issues.
This has very complex reasons. For example, the low living situation of Arab citizens, who have no time to think of public issues but to work hard to secure enough food for their family members. When you are hungry, you wouldn’t care about anything in the universe, but only to secure your food.
There is also a lack of confidence of the Arab citizen in the media outlets and their governments as well. Because citizens believe journalism contents are always subjected to control of governments.
It is also related to education. These days, there is a noticeable interest by Arab students to study journalism. But there are academic shortcomings in the curriculums. How many investigative journalism modules does a student take? Maybe one, as maximum, in a four-year study program. Teachers of investigative journalism are still very few. Curriculums are usually outdated and far from the latest developments, especially those related to digital tools.
Arab media organizations do not allocate budgets to spend on investigative journalism. This is because some media outlets are pro-governments, while others just want to avoid troubles. There is a lack of qualifications and experiences, and poor financial resources, sometimes.
This is a circle of complex and accumulated causes, all built on one another.
If this is the scene of investigative journalism in the Arab region, then what are journalists busy with? What is the permissible scope of their work?
Let me start answering this question by sharing the result of one of my academic research, which examined the reasons why Arab youth enroll in journalism colleges in their countries. It was their love of fame. This was shocking given that we are talking about university students driven by dreams of fame and limelight as their main motivation. There is a distortion of the concept of journalism in the Arab region.
This is due to, I think, the existence of a large sector that occupies Arab media organization, which is entertainment. Additionally, news coverage for daily consumption.
In Yemen, for example, I see that young journalists are preoccupied with two things: either promoting for the ruling party or constantly criticizing it due to political rivalries. This binary reflects a practice that is far from the essence of professional journalism but stems from political affiliation.
Unfortunately, these are the motives for “journalistic” production. Investigative curiosity is not one of the motivators currently.
Also, conflict areas, which are many in the Arab region, keep Arab journalists busy in these endless circles covering daily political conflicts instead of dedicating time for deep professional investigative journalistic work.
We cannot always blame those journalists who struggle to make an income. Most of the time, they can’t be very selective about where to work. This is a privilege that they don’t have.
What is the extent of the danger that journalists may be exposed to if they deviate from the norm and conduct an investigative report in the Arab region?
Let’s not mention again the nature of the Arab regimes and the general political atmosphere that we know. The dangers are known, starting from detention and torture to killing and even targeting their families.
The harm may also be non-governmental, from individuals or gangs who have certain interests, in countries where there is no much protection for citizens in general, and journalists in particular, which makes the task more difficult for journalists.
Losing reputation and credibility at any moment could also be a scenario. The reluctance of editorial boards, and the inevitable confrontations with editors who want to avoid troubles.
Here I would like to refer to the statement of the prominent Arab journalist Yosri Fouda. “There is no journalistic story worth losing your life for,” which I agree with.
What is the Arab citizens’ view of investigative journalism, in your opinion?
As I told you, there is no trust in media, nor in the journalistic materials produced. People always conjure up conspiracy theories. They do not believe that Arab media outlets expose corruption. Rather, they see it as avoiding sensitive issues.
This has prompted many to seek information from social media channels rather than traditional media. Some prefer to obtain information from non-Arab sources.
Does the investigative work of foreign journalists in the Arab region, or those Arab journalists holding foreign nationalities, provide an alternative to the weak Arab investigative journalism scene?
I think that journalists coming from Europe or America to produce a journalistic investigation in the Arab region will not be able to reach the level of local journalists from the region. Arab journalists are the sons of their local environment. Even if journalists are qualified and have all the financial support they need, they will encounter obstacles related to handling issues foreign to them.
I think they have no privileges in terms of their access to information in the Arab region. The information ban applies to foreign journalists as well as to local Arab journalists. I think local journalists have better penetration and information-grabbing opportunities.
Arab journalists are in daily contact with their community and know the dimensions of the issues they deal with by instinct.
In your paper that you are currently preparing, the idea of merging the concepts of citizen journalism and investigative journalism is presented. What is your vision for this merge, and how do you aspire for ordinary citizens to practice investigative journalism?
When I presented this research proposal to the supervisory committee, they were very interested. There is no research conducted from this angle so far.
Try to think of the number of investigative reports that were started by ordinary people and completed by journalists. Stories always start with ordinary people. They know their issues and are often aware of problems around them. So, there is something very interesting and powerful over there that could be exploited.
As for your question of how qualified ordinary people are, that’s what I’m going to look into. At least, the Arab Spring demonstrated the striking power of citizen journalists who performed well without any training.
What is the way to create a real investigative journalism scene in the Arab region?
It is difficult to come up with a clear roadmap. There are no clear steps, honestly. I prefer to be realistic rather than producing rhetoric.
I would say journalists should produce as much deep content as they can without losing their lives. This is the remedy for now.
It’s a difficult reality that we live and work in. We have to be realistic.
ARIJ, once again, is a model of the wise and balanced way of dealing with our situation in the Arab world.
Let’s just work within the permissible spaces. There are some.
Is there really a permissible scope for investigative journalism at all?
Contents should not always address the existential issues and main problems of Arab regimes. There are permissible ranges that journalists can report about and directly related to people’s daily life.
There are certain governmental policies dominating our countries. We as journalists can’t change that in a day. We need to adapt.
Don’t you think that such a methodology prolongs the journalistic crisis we are witnessing in the Arab region?
“There is no journalistic story worth losing your life for,” remember this.
This rule was not created to sustain the repressive atmosphere in the Arab region, but rather to control the enthusiasm of our young journalists and curb their recklessness, because we need these energies that would fruit something in the future.
I do see some positive changes. Note how many Arab journalists are participating in the GIJC conference. There is an interest. There is a motive. These journalists bought tickets and dedicated time to attend as many sessions as they could and to connect with international colleagues despite all the professional obstacles they face. These efforts will one day bear fruit.