Last week, the US business magazine Forbes released its annual World’s Billionaires list. Not long after that, a major scandal and a cat fight took place on the global media ring. Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia stated that he was not happy with his 26th position on the ranking. In addition, he accused the US magazine of manipulating the chart. His attacks were promptly answered back by Forbes’ Kerry Dolan who wrote a 4-page article protecting the interests of her employer and mocking the Prince’s lifestyle and statements.
Dolan’s writing was quickly welcomed by the Western world and a few social media platforms. The prince, on the other hand, was illustrated as a materialistic and strong-minded individual.
Here is the place to clarify – we are not taking any positions. Moreover, we do not wish to do so! In this article, we are only going to discuss the Western journalists and the way they often present the Arab world not only in the West, but also on the local press.
The Negative Image of the Middle East – Myth or Fact
Over the last few decades, there is a new tendency in the Western world. The Arab region is illustrated as a violent, disgusting and out-of-order place. Various journalists from faraway places come to countries like the UAE and then write long and imaginatively descriptive articles. Strangely, these reporters have spent only a few days in the country, but they already sound like they know more about it and its policies than the locals do. The majority of the journalists who were not raised and born in the region follow the trend to write mostly about the negative things they see. Insulting remarks about the lifestyle are not an exception. However, they fail to even mention that the city and the entire county is one of the most generous in the world.
In addition, Western journalists seem to be sceptical and even paranoid about some practises in the Middle East, which, by the way are also common in the West. For instance, the simple reviewing of the journalistic material or a book by the local government is often perceived by foreigners as censoring. In comparison, when a country like the UK, for example, does that, it is not considered as something out of the ordinary or as an act that is violating the human rights and privacy.
The Root of the Problem
Where does this negative trend and opinion of the Middle East come from? There are two main factors with high impact on the situation. The first of them is, unfortunately, the local media. For many years now, the Arab media has been dominated by foreign reporters. Only in the United Arab Emirates the percentage of journalists who are expatriates is 98%. What does this mean? Well, it points that a big part of the published articles in the local media is lacking some key insight. Even though, Western journalists possess great skill in language, writing and constructing a story, they do not have the essential cultural understanding and knowledge of the region and its policies. Even though expatriate reporters sometimes do their best to offer the most accurate news possible, they still remain somewhere in the middle between the Arab and the Western world and culture.
The negative trend also steps in the fact that Western society in general expects to read and hear about revolts, instability and wars in the Middle East. In fact, such news seem much more interesting and comforting for them than reading about the Western weakening economies and political mistakes. The financial security of the Gulf countries, in particular, since long time is a subject of pure jealousy and ill intentions.
Case Study
That brings us back to the author of the recent Forbes article about the Saudi Arabia’s prince wealth – Kerry Dolan. If you have read her article, you probably remember that Dolan mocked the prince’s unreasonably lavish lifestyle. One of the highlights in her article was the description of the throne in his private jet. However, Dolan laid less emphasis on the fact that she has also travelled on that plane and that she has also enjoyed the same view as the royal family. And this didn’t happen just once, but in the course of 15 years, as she first met the prince back in 1998, according to her writings. Back in 2009, the reporter was invited by the prince to pay him a one-week long visit. Dolan stayed at his home and observed his personal life and gathered information about his wealth. In addition, she boarded the famous jet with the throne, to accompany the prince and his wife to a charity event. But the charity fact was also not included in Dolan’s recent publication which was mainly occupied by the prince’s billionaire ambitions and reckless spending. So, she was in a sort of a professional relationship with the Saudi prince for the past fifteen years, eat and travelled with him and his family, and stayed on their premises in their country. She was offered the rare for a Western journalist opportunity to observe the private life of a Saudi royal with a tremendous financial power. Yet, she didn’t hesitate to tarnish the reputation of her host in an ugly and emotional article, full of negative assumptions. Neither did so the the editor who approved the publication or Forbes Media’s management. Perhaps a little censorship or a self-censorship is not a bad idea after all, even on international level.
The interesting thing about the whole incident is that this is not the first time when the same prince accuses Forbes of being inaccurate in its rating. Moreover, that was even stated by Kerry Dolan herself. So why did the journalist made the effort to compile such a long and excessively detailed article just now, after 15 years of knowing him? No matter the true reason behind that, personal or business-related, her story turned into a hit. Also, with or without intention, the prince and his wealth also took the headlines.
In general, writings with similar character or simply full of accusations and jealousy appear in Western publications quite often. Someone flew to the Gulf for a 3-day conference, then returns home and writes a $200 or $500 article about life he or she barely saw from the window of the taxi on the the way to the hotel. Millions of readers are not aware of the circumstances and blindly trust what a compatriot journalist with a common name would like them to believe. So, a story unfolds over the time, full of curious details and aimed ay generating publicity and revenue for the publisher. Is this story real of fictional becomes less and less importnat with the time.
Where are the Arab journalist and Western journalists with long-term practise in the Arab world? They should receive more attention and acceptance from the global and local media. Western newsrooms should rely more on local professionals in their operations. In addition, the Arab world also needs to value highly reporters who are really very familiar with the region. That is the only way for the Gulf region to receive more accurate and true-to-the-original media coverage.
I agree with the author. It seems self-serving and insensitive to bash a man after receiving his royal hospitality. I di not read the Forbes article, nor do I plan to. Everyone is worthy of respect and understanding, especially one who has shown you care and consideration. It may very well be western jealousy that makes us speak ill of our hosts. However, in all fairness the way of life here in the ME is very much different than the western world. This being said, there does seem to be an absence of order and logic from the western perspective. But this in no way excuses irresponsible or shoddy journalism.
I generally dislike people who claim to be related to the God himself or to any of the prophets. they can’t stand democracy, so, i dislike them. Besides, their long view of governance is giving out allowances to natives, not encouraging non-royals to pursue studies and have careers. And, I agree with the Dolan article.
At our camp, we do not agree with anyone! Kerry Dolan, and respectively Forbes, is unethical, while they claim the other party is, despite their nearly 18 years-long relationship.