There is no way to undertake this subject objectively, in my humble opinion. Therefore, you can expect me to lash out irrationally at the several media peers in our beloved Sultanate of Oman during the continuity of this post.
Getting on with the topic at hand..
The Omani media - in all it's classes - from radio, TV, and printed media has proven over and over again that it is by all means the worst ever machine to ever work in the industry of 'making the news'.
There are several reasons to that, in my opinion. One of them being that there isn't scope for adventuresome in the way that the media approaches its audience to lure it, to grab it - there isn't a source of creativity to lure the population to stories that haven't yet seen the light of day.
There hasn't been much of a much creative approach as to what should be given up on the table. It is more like a routine job. We're basically working our asses off to these 'media giants' and acting out as if we were relay stations for the news that gets printed off in the worldwide press.
There's never been an exclusive story by the Omani media in general unless it happens exclusively in Oman. Like when there are torrential rains. Our local news sources are rumors for God's sake. How low could ever get to the point whereby we rely on the rumor mill to give in the news like it is?
Take, for instance, the last few two weeks of frantic tourists keeping away from the beaches because there was a rumor about Oman expecting a Tsunami: people actually believed it. And who do we have to thank for that? A Shahman.
In terms of freedom of press, there's not much room for it here in Oman because most of the topics that are handled by the media are all pretty much government controlled to a certain extent. So there isn't much of a whisper that this country does not hear. A complete outcry to the democratic values of the first amendment.
There are a number of other issues that need to be addressed but would be deemed far too controversial and extremely sensitive to be discussed.
So, I leave it here for you to decide on whether you think I am right or wrong through a proper justification of reasoning.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
how the Omani media is so pathetic
Posted by Sleepless In Muscat at 00:38
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2 comments:
I know it may seem ridiculous to emphasize the weather in the news. It's short-term news after all. But supposing you get floods like this regularly with global warming? In the Interior, they caused a lot of damage. How much money would have to be set aside by individuals and authorities to continually repair such damage? What steps could be taken to avoid it?
sunnoch:
Thanks very much for your comment. Although I don't see how it is related to the post, I will answer it anyhow.
The Muscat Sewage Water Company had been established very recently to provide sewage services for the entire capital of Muscat. All well and dandy; this does not excuse the fact that the proper authorities did not choose to do such a project in conjunction with laying out the roads structure.
As a result, everyone is suffering in rainfalls especially of late where downpour has exceeded average rates around this year.
What could be done and what is done, however, are two very different issues, I'm afraid. There are no proper temporary solutions to drive out the current rainy seasons should we face the same all over again. This was anticipated when the entire Qurum commercial area was flooded up to its knees. While authorities stood at a standstill just scratching their head looking for a clue.
Needless to say, these kind of situations emphasize on the need to be proactive in the field of anticipating the worst in terms of emergency management services in the entire Sultanate of Oman.
I hope I have answered your question and sorry for the long reply.
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