Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Bahrain doesn’t only need a new daily newspaper, its readers deserve one.
Think of Bahrain’s English-language newspapers and the word anachronistic springs to mind — the impish word dancing like a dervish and cackling incessantly at the mundane pages that fill our mornings.
Recently a senior journalist at one of these newspapers told me that the reader didn’t matter (“Who cares…it’s not like they’re going to switch to another newspaper”). Such a view is a cardinal sin among journalists and designers in the industry. Without readers, papers cease to have any meaning, and their advertising space sells wind to vacuum-dwellers.
For far too long these newspapers have pandered to advertisers, longingly staring at the bottom line, with nary a thought to what the reader wants. Bahrain’s English-papers sit on pedestals spouting obsolete truths packaged in hopelessly archaic design. They are filled with 400 word press releases, written by the real masters of the island’s game — the PR agencies, while journalists’ dustbins lie filled with forgotten ideals, rather than ego-stroking guff.
What we need is a shake-up. A vibrant young team with a finger on the pulse of the great big world of newspaper design and innovation, ready to buckle down and give readers what they deserve: information delivered with panache and a sense of purpose.
Proprietors and editors must take stock of what’s happening in the industry around the world; they must shake off the yokes of racism and cronyism, and stand up and be counted. Hobnobbing with the social elite may kill a few hours, but at the end of the day EVERY reader pays the rent, not just the ones who tell you what a lovely job you’re doing over champagne and caviar.
We must strive to not only educate readers on topics they may wish to learn about, but also provide them with the information that will help them form independent opinions. Slapping in press releases and slapdash reporting may get us home on time, but home is where we should stay if that’s how we intend to keep running Bahrain’s newspapers.
Bring on some real competition, it’ll do everyone a world of good.
Dean Williams
